VANCOUVER — The UBC Thunderbirds (2-1, 7-9) won their second straight against the visiting Lewis-Clark State Warriors (1-2, 5-6-1) but settled for the Saturday doubleheader split at Tourmaline West Stadium.
Rookie pitcher
Daniel Sereda was thrust into action early in the first half of the double bill and was outstanding for the 'Birds, picking up his first conference win in a 3-2 decision for UBC. The 'Birds got solid offensive support for the young reliever, out-hitting the Warriors 7-5, with four of those coming from freshmen.
"Not only was it Lewis-Clark State with an exceptional offensive lineup, but (Sereda) had to come in and as a freshman to have that kind of poise and have that calmness about him to go out there and still execute I thought was pretty good," said UBC head coach
Chris Pritchett.
The Warriors bounced back in game two to secure their first win in conference play with a 2-1 victory. Gerald Hein pitched six scoreless innings for Lewis-Clark as the visitors from Idaho kept UBC off the board until the ninth inning. The T-Birds' comeback fell just short as they snapped a five-game overall win streak while suffering their first loss in conference play this season.
Game One
While it took the Warriors eight innings to get on the board in Friday's series opener, they struck early in the first half of Saturday's doubleheader when designated hitter Kyle Callahan doubled to deep centre driving home Kody Garvin who doubled earlier in the inning.
Adam McKillican had a good start on the mound for the 'Birds but was forced out of the game after just three innings due to an injury concern. The junior right-hander allowed two hits and one run while striking out four and was looking otherwise strong. It forced UBC to their bullpen early as Sereda entered his first conference game.
The rookie did his job in the top of the fourth and then UBC's hitters did theirs in the bottom half. With two down,
Ty Penner hit his second single of the game and advanced to second on a
Jordan Dray walk. Sophomore second baseman
Nolan Weger then drove a first pitch triple past the left fielder, driving in a pair of runs as the 'Birds took their first lead of the game.
Penner finished the day 3-for-8 at the plate, one of several freshmen who have stood out early in their rookie T-Birds season.
"Ty's had good consistent at bats throughout the season, that's big for us, anyone that's going to be consistent for us in the middle of the order regardless of what year he is helps us offensively," added Pritchett. "We'll count on those guys. They're trying to just grind and battle and force long at bats and see as many pitches as they can, they've been doing a pretty good job at it and we'll continue to work on it."
LC tied things up in the top of the seventh on a two out single by sophomore outfielder Riley Way.
The Warriors went to reliever Ryan Kaser to pitch the bottom half of the inning who gave up a leadoff stand-up double to UBC catcher
Zach Prisciak. The 'Birds went back in front on a Nolan Or sacrifice fly scoring pinch-runner
Brandon Hupe from third.
Sereda stood strong in the final two innings as he picked up his first conference win going six strong allowing just one run on three hits while striking out four. The rookie from Vancouver threw 104 pitches and allowed the 'Birds to keep the rest of their bullpen fresh after McKillican's early exit.
Game Two
Jared Spearing got the nod for his first conference start for the blue and gold in the second half of Saturday's doubleheader and had a solid first three innings allowing three hits with a walk and two strikeouts.
The Warriors got to Spearing in the top of the fourth when Darren Trainor unleashed a two-run home run over the left-centre wall to give the visitors a 2-0 lead. The sophomore ended up going five innings allowing two earned runs on three hits with three strikeouts while being credited with the loss.
Hein continued to hold the T-Birds at bay through five innings allowing just two hits with five strikeouts.
After a double play by LC in the bottom of the ninth brought UBC to their final out,
Jaxon Valcke entered as a pinch hitter and promptly double down the right field line on his first pitch to bring
Nolan Weger home and close the game to a single run.
But senior reliever Joe Riley, who was brought in to close out the ninth, did just that, striking out
Mike Fitzsimmons to earn the Warriors the 2-1 victory, their first win of the conference season while giving the T-Birds their first loss.
Hein picked up his first win allowing just two hits and four walks while striking out five through six innings of work. Riley was credited with the save.
"We have a chance to win a series against Lewis-Clark State and we've put ourselves in a position that we'd be happy with but I don't think anyone here would be satisfied if we walked away with a split, we want to win the series," added Pritchett who saw his team battle hard but fall just a bit short in Saturday's second half. "The bench stayed pretty consistent throughout, right through the end of the game. We didn't get it done but it wasn't for lack of effort."
After winning the opener Friday night, the T-Birds can go for their first series win over LC in two years in Sunday's finale which is set for 11:00 a.m. PT at Tourmaline West Stadium.
