KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The UBC Thunderbirds completed a four-game series sweep of the host Oregon Tech Hustlin' Owls with a pair of wins Sunday at Kiger Stadium in Klamath Falls, Ore.
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UBC (14-11, 9-3 NAIA West) won 6-4 in Game 1, and closed out the weekend with a 4-3 triumph over OIT (6-21, 2-10 NAIA W).
Game 1
Mike Fitzsimmons and
Jordan Dray recorded two hits and two runs batted in each to lead the T-Birds.
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Fitzsimmons hit a sacrifice fly, and Dray a two-RBI double in the fifth inning to give UBC a 5-2 lead. Austin Florez and Josh Kallstrom batted in two for the Owls in the bottom of the fifth with a homer and triple, respectively, to close the gap to 5-4.
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Nolan Weger drove in an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh to close out the scoring at 6-4.
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The T-Birds went ahead 2-0 in the third inning but the Owls responded soon after as an Austin Zavala home run scored two to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth.
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UBC's
Barry Caine pitched 4.1 innings of no-hit relief to earn the victory and improve to 3-0.
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Austen Butler also contributed two hits, and an RBI, to the winning cause.
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Game 2
Jaxon Valcke hit a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to propel UBC to a 4-3 comeback win.
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The two teams went scoreless until the fifth inning, when T-Bird
Brandon Hupe hit an RBI single to score Dray.
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The Owls came back to take a 2-1 lead after taking advantage of five walks in the bottom of the sixth.
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UBC tied things up in the seventh on a Dray RBI single, but a Zavala single batted in another run for Tech, which gave them a 4-3 lead.
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Valcke and Dray had two hits apiece to lead UBC.
In his first start of the season, T-Bird pitcher
James Bradwell threw five shutout innings and struck out six batters while giving up just three hits.
Patrick van den Brink (1-1) pitched the final 1.1. innings to earn the victory.
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UBC, winner of five straight and the leader in the NAIA West standings, will play at second-place College of Idaho (13-18, 7-5 NAIA West) next weekend in Caldwell, Idaho. The series will start with a single game Friday, followed by a Saturday doubleheader and a single matchup on Sunday morning.
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