VANCOUVER – In their first Cascade Collegiate Conference action in two weeks, the UBC Thunderbirds split a Friday doubleheader against the Bushnell Beacons in Eugene, Oregon, both games coming down to the wire.
The T-Birds (19-20, 6-7) scored the final three runs of the series opener, two of them in the ninth, for a 4-3 comeback win while the Beacons (10-31, 8-10) returned the favour with a walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth in game two.
The first ever conference affair played between the two in Eugene saw the Beacons open scoring in the bottom of the fourth when Reece Carganill drove in Dylan Carson from third. Bushnell doubled their lead the following frame with an RBI single.
UBC finally got to Bushnell starter Abbott Haffar in the top of the seventh when Cam Sanderson singled to left, bringing home
Jonny McGill who led the inning with a triple.
The Beacons restored their two-run lead in their half of the seventh but the rest of the scoring belonged to the 'Birds.
A
Nolan Weger RBI double cut the deficit back to a single run in the top of the eighth.
Noah Or hit a double of his own in the ninth to score Sanderson, tying the game before
Aidan Rose scored on a throwing error for what turned out to be the game winning run.
Adam Khan picked up the win in relief for UBC with
Vicarte Domingo pitching a dominant final inning to earn his fourth save of the season, striking out two of the three batters he faced.
Game 2
The second half of Friday's double dip saw the T-Birds open scoring in the second on a Sanderson sacrifice fly.
Bushnell took their first lead of the game in their half of the inning with a Carson solo home run and a Peyton Hino RBI single.
Brandon Hupe tied the game 2-2 in the third with a base hit to left scoring Or and the 'Birds took their biggest lead of the afternoon in the top of the fifth when
Nathan Shute drove in a pair of runs to stake out a 4-2 advantage.
Down to their final out and still down by a pair of runs, the Beacons got within one with a Brandon Reed RBI double. Jameson Hussey ended the game with a walkoff hit to left that scored a pair of runs as the Beacons notched their first victory against UBC in program history.
The T-Birds and Beacons battle in yet another doubleheader Saturday in Eugene. First pitch of game one is set for 11:00 a.m. PT.