VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds came painfully close to their first berth at the NAIA World Series since 2006, but fell 6-3 to the host Lewis-Clark State Warriors in the final game of the 2022 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round, presented by Avista.

After defeating the No. 5 ranked Warriors Wednesday night to force one more game to determine who would move on from the regional tournament, LC State scored the final six runs Thursday to end the Thunderbirds remarkable season.

The T-Birds opened the do-or-die game nine with a bang, staking out a 3-0 lead by the end of the first inning. With the bases loaded, Warriors starting pitcher Drake Borschowa issued a walk to Nathan Shute, bringing the first run of the game across.

Brett Corbeth gave the 'Birds a 3-0 advantage with a two RBI single down the right side.



T-Birds starter Sean Heppner was able to hold the Warriors off the board until the top of the third when LC cut UBC's lead to one with a Sam Linscott single that scored two.

The Warriors tied the game 3-3 in the fourth and Linscott struck again in the fifth with a two run homer to give the hosts the lead.

UBC looked set to possibly claw their way out of the deficit in their half of the seventh when Ty Penner was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with two down. But LC reliever Dawson Day got Brandon Hupe to strike out, ending the threat and keeping the Warriors' lead intact.

LC added some insurance in the eighth with a Zach Threlfall solo home run. Day presided over a three-up, three-down bottom half of the inning while Trent Sellers did likewise in the ninth, picking up his 10^th save of the season as the Warriors clinched a berth in next week's World Series for the 39^th time.



The loss ends what was a truly memorable season for the T-Birds who finally returned to NAIA action after two years lost to the pandemic. Head Coach Chris Pritchett took a relatively young, inexperienced team and guided them to within a win of the
NAIA World Series, completing the year with a 33-26 overall record. The 'Birds went an impressive 14-5 in their final 19 games of the season.

UBC's dream of getting back to the big dance will have to wait, but with so much promise on the roster, that dream could become a reality sooner rather than later.