VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds (10-6, 5-3) secured their second straight victory in as many tries over the visiting Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers (13-8, 5-4) Saturday afternoon at Collings Field. Gabrielle Dorval paced the UBC attack with three hits while Kaitlyn Kim scored a pair of runs. On the mound, Shae Sever once again delivered in the clutch for UBC as she took to the mound with the bases loaded and only one out in the fourth inning, and did not allow a run. The lone run for Eastern Oregon came in the first inning off a Hannah Tyree RBI. The win for UBC earned them a 2-1 series victory over EOU.


 
"We've believed all year that our team was capable of a result like this, but to go out and execute the way we did reinforces it to the players," remarked head coach Jennifer McKellar post game. "They came to the park today knowing what their job was and how they were going to do it. This was a big hurdle for us, but we've gotten over it, and now it's on to the next challenge."
 
After a double-header split yesterday, the Mountaineers kicked off the top half of the first inning with a pair of hits and a walk which resulted in a 1-0 lead off the Hannah Tyree single. Some timely defense by UBC though prevented EOU from mounting more of an attack and the score sat at 1-0 EOU heading into the bottom half of the inning.
 
Mountaineers starter Kaylie Hoskins was sharp early as she would retire the first six UBC batters she faced through the first two innings. A lead-off double from Gabrielle Dorval in the bottom of the third inning halted Hoskins' early run of outs, but a pop-up and two ground outs ended the UBC threat heading into the fourth inning.
 
Thanks to another pair of hits and a walk, EOU had the bases loaded with only one out in their half of the fourth inning, which led to the game's turning point. For a second straight game, Shae Sever took to the mound for UBC in a high leverage situation, and for a second straight game she delivered. Sever started by fanning Kelly Monaghan and then forced pinch-hitter Jessica Touchard to fly out to left field, keeping the score at only 1-0 for the visitors.
 
"Again, Shae is built for those situations," claimed McKellar. "We were very confident that when she came in to pitch that she could get us out of that jam. Having dealt with a similar situation yesterday, we were familiar with the pressure and it allowed us to deal with that pressure head on."
 
In their portion of the fourth, the UBC bats would come alive. It started with Keona Nordquist who reached base with one out thanks to a fielding error. Shae Sever then got hit by a pitch to put two runners on. Kaitlyn Kim then laced a single that scored Nordquist, tying the game. Mia Valcke then stepped in as a pinch-hitter and was able to drive home Sever on a sacrifice fly to right field. Gabrielle Dorval then completed the three-run inning with a single that scored Kim from second base.
 
After a scoreless fifth inning on both sides, the Mountaineers went hitless in their half of the sixth. That set the stage for UBC to tack on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth off the bat of Arshleen Bajwa. With the bases loaded and only one out, the UBC left fielder was able to score Kaitlyn Kim off a sacrifice fly to center field.
 
Karly Hanosky led off the seventh with a single for Eastern Oregon, but the comeback bid ended there. Shae Sever retired each of the next three hitters, cementing the 4-1 victory for UBC and giving them the 2-1 series edge.
 
"We just raised our bar higher," concluded McKellar. "Our ceiling is so much higher now than it was before this weekend. We know how to come out and beat the big dogs and take games from ranked teams. That's what we're here to do, and our team is built for it."
 

??SB | Fresh off a 4-1 victory Saturday at Collings Field, Shae Sever and her teammates are all smiles after @UBCSoftball earned a series victory over the @eoumountaineers. #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/dd1bgdw2DI

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) March 11, 2023

Up next for UBC – A trip South to Montana to battle the University of Providence in a two-day, four-game double-header that is scheduled to begin Friday, March 17^th at 1:00 pm PT.