SURREY, B.C. – Shelby Kempel hit a walk-off grand slam home run to lift the UBC softball team to a comeback 7-3 win over the Northwest Christian (Ore.) Beacons in the Thunderbirds' 2020 home and Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) opener Friday afternoon at Softball City.
 
The second game between the teams was postponed to Saturday, which will see a pair of CCC contests starting at 2 p.m.
 
UBC (2-6, 1-0 Cascade Collegiate Conference) trailed 3-0 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, but scored three times to tie the game, setting the stage for Kempel's big moment in the seventh.
 
Mia Valcke and Cassa Courtney walked to lead off the home half of the seventh. Rookie Hanna Hansen moved them up a base each with a sacrifice bunt, before Megan Hendrickson drew another walk to load the bases, and force an NCU (3-14, 0-4 CCC) pitching change that brought starter Emma Jegtvig back into the game. Jegtvig earned the second out of the inning via a strikeout, and was on the verge of ending the home side's threat, but the next batter Kempel nailed a 1-2 pitch over the left-field fence to cap off the come-from-behind triumph.

"It feels pretty amazing, knowing our team was down by three and we came back in the last couple of innings, it really shows hard work pays off," said Kempel.
 

?? SB | @UBCSoftball takes the 7-3 win over @GoBEACONS in game 1 of their home opening series. Due to rain, game 2 today has been postponed. The teams will play at 2pm and 4pm on Saturday. #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/b85ItW89KS

— UBC Thunderbirds / @UBCTBirds (@ubctbirds) February 29, 2020

 
In the sixth, Emily Chorpita got a one-out walk to load the bases for the Thunderbirds. NCU got the second out of the inning on an acrobatic catch by pitcher Anniyah Farley, as she dove towards the third-base foul line to catch a short pop-up from Kempel. Unfortunately for the visitors, the next batter Olivia Malesku drove a two-run single to centre field to get UBC to within a run at 3-2. Taylore Jones then hit a single to the shortstop to bring Chorpita home and level the score at 3-3.
 
UBC had seven total hits, with four coming in the final two innings.
 
The Beacons brought three runs across in the third inning, with Noel Balderston opening the scoring with a one-out bases-loaded walk. NCU scored twice on the next play, which included two UBC errors, one fielding and one throwing.
 
"I know it was frustrating for our players throughout the game," said UBC head coach Gord Collings. "They were trying really hard but they were popping the ball up because they were too eager. So once they settled down, and once they started hitting the ball on the ground, and hitting line drives, it totally changed the complexion of the game because we got base runners and put some pressure on the defence and things started to happen. I'm just so proud of the way they bounced back, they did well. That's what I was hoping for and they came through."
 

Not only was Kempel the hero at the plate for UBC, she was also instrumental in affecting the game's outcome from inside the pitching circle. She came into the game in the third to relieve an injured Damara Begin and gave up just an unearned run in 4.2 innings to earn the win. The second-year player is now 2-1 in 2020.
 
"Coming out of the bullpen, I knew I had to play a pretty big role," remarked Kempel. "I came in with the bases loaded and the count at 3-0. That's a pretty tough position to come into but it's a mental game too, so I'd say having confidence in myself and knowing I can down this under pressure really helped me persevere through that."
 
With her four runs batted in on Friday, Kempel now leads the Thunderbirds with six, tied with Malesku, who had two RBI against NCU.
 
Malesku was 2-for-3 batting for UBC. Along with Kempel's home run, Jordan Britten-Yung, Jones, Courtney and Hendrickson had the other hits for the T-Birds.