VANCOUVER – Saturday afternoon at Collings Field at Nobel Park, the UBC Thunderbirds (24-14, 17-9) dropped a 6-4 non-conference decision to the visiting Carroll College Fighting Saints (11-16, 14-25). Kaitlynn Ayers paced the Saints attack with a three-run homerun while Abbie Amend pitched all seven innings. UBC countered with a two-RBI effort from
Gabrielle Dorval and multi-hit performances from
Mia Valcke and
Arshleen Bajwa. The 'Birds do end up taking the series 3-1 after posting three straight victories yesterday in conference competition.
The visitors threatened in the top half of the first with two runners on base and two outs. But UBC starter
Shelby Kempel struck out Saints leftfielder Haylee Curry to end the threat.
Shortstop
Mia Valcke then led off the game for UBC with a loud double as part of a sequence where the first three UBC batters reached base. But after
Shae Sever popped out,
Mia Valcke was then thrown out at home giving Carroll a timely double play. One batter later veteran
Olivia Malesku singled, scoring
Hanna Hansen, which put the blue and gold up 1-0.
Gabrielle Dorval then stepped in and laced a double to left center field which brought home
Keona Nordquist and Malesku, giving the home side a 3-0 cushion.
The UBC defense did their part in the second inning as
Keona Nordquist made a terrific diving stab at a grounder at second base to record the first out. Then pitcher
Shelby Kempel robbed Kati Slater of a hit when she stabbed a line drive for the second out. Neither team plated a run in the second inning.
Carroll's bats came up huge though in the third. With one out Jessica Nimmo reached base on a single, and then advanced up one when Alyssa Lybbert earned a walk. Then with a massive swing of the bat, Kaitlynn Ayers tied the game at 3-3 with a towering homerun to right center.
Two of the next three Saints reached base, which spelled the end of the afternoon for UBC starter
Shelby Kempel. In came
Taylor McRae to try and stop the threat, but she was greeted by two consecutive Carroll singles from Kenna Thomas and Abbie Amend, and the road squad held a 4-3 lead after their half of the third.
One inning later, the Saints added some much-needed insurance when Haley Kampka delivered a massive two-out, two-run single that scored Nimmo and Lybbert – Both of whom reached base with singles earlier in the inning.
From there both Abbie Amend and
Taylor McRae settled into a groove with neither pitcher facing more than four hitters in each of their next two innings.
McRae recorded a one-two-three top-half of the seventh inning for UBC, and back came Amend for Carroll to try and complete the victory.
With one out in the bottom half of the seventh,
Mia Valcke started a rally with a single, and then promptly stole second base before a
Hanna Hansen strike out. But
Keona Nordquist showed no quit as she smacked an RBI single to score Valcke, bringing the tying run to the plate in
Shae Sever.
Unfortunately the 'Birds comeback bid would end there as Sever lined out to center field, giving the Saints their first win of the weekend and haulting the UBC winning streak at six games.
Abbie Amend improved her pitching record to 6-2 for Carroll College while
Shelby Kempel's record fell to 5-4.
Jennifer McKellar's club, who have already clinched a berth in the Cascade Collegiate Conference playoffs, will now head back to the road for a five-game weekend beginning Friday afternoon at Oregon Tech.
