VANCOUVER – For a sixth straight season, the UBC Thunderbirds Softball program (24-19, 17-13) have earned a berth in the Cascade Collegiate Conference double-elimination championship tournament. Jennifer McKellar's squad enters the six-team tournament in Klamath Falls, OR as the #5 seed and will begin their championship quest Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. against #4 ranked Eastern Oregon Mountaineers (31-17, 19-11). 
 
The 2023 season was successful on many fronts for the blue and gold who had four separate winning streaks of four-or-more games. But with the postseason now upon us, Jennifer McKellar is stressing the importance of a 'reset' and getting her team focused for what could be a marathon weekend in Klamath Falls.


 
"We developed a strong belief in who we are what we're able to do when we want to," remarked head coach Jennifer McKellar when reflecting on the past season, "We had several winning streaks, we won a series against a nationally ranked team. We were in the fight and made our opponents work for it. We know that we can break into that top tier and so much of this season has been figuring out what we need to do and how we need to do it. We were resilient too. No challenge was too big. We battled weather, three games in a day, long travel, and we always found a way to come together. We were resilient and gritty and no problem was ever too big."
 
Offensively the trio of Mia Valcke, Keona Nordquist and Shae Sever led the charge for UBC. Valcke compiled a team-leading .418 batting average along with a .482 on base percentage. Nordquist led UBC in 11 offensive categories including: Homeruns (3), hits (56), runs scored (37) and slugging percentage (.585). Shae Sever finished first with 40 RBI, 15 doubles and 22 walks.
 
"When we're at our best offensively it's always more than one player contributing," added McKellar who has kept the team in Ashland, OR for the past week, allowing them to practice, prepare and bond ahead of the high stakes weekend. "In a tournament like this, games are going to be tighter with way less margin for error. How do we score runners? How do we advance runners? Taking each at bat as it comes. Those are the primary messages."


 
Shae Sever's contributions were equally felt from the circle. The second-year product of Richmond, B.C. led all UBC pitchers with 12 wins, 94.2 innings pitched, 114 strikeouts and 16 starts. Further pitching contributions can be expected from Lindsay Bell and Shelby Kempel who combined for 140.2 innings pitched during the season. When it comes to the pitching strategy this weekend, McKellar is keeping an open mind. "In a tournament like this everybody responds differently. We've been versatile all year on the mound and we are ready for all scenarios. You'll see everybody's number one and it presents a unique set of circumstances. It'll be best on best every game out until the game dictates otherwise. Fortunately for us we have plenty of trust and confidence in our pitchers to do the job."


 
The 'Birds have every reason to feel confident heading into their opening tilt with the Mountaineers. In three regular season meetings against EOU this season, UBC went 2-1 during a three-game homestand that took place on March 10^th and 11^th. The Mountaineer offense features six hitters who had plus .300 averages. The duo of Gates Leatherwood (6) and Hannah Tyree (6) combined for 12 homeruns while pitcher Kaylie Hoskins won 18 games while striking out a league-best 285 hitters – 118 more than the next closest pitcher.
 
"We can't afford to give her too much credit," added McKellar when speaking about Kaylie Hoskins. "We have to take confidence from our previous win against her this year. We've been talking all week through video about not letting the problem get too big. If you get a good pitch early, jump on it, but if you need to battle late in a count, then let's not give her any additional momentum."
 
The task is tall, no doubt, for UBC, but Jennifer McKellar has no problem embracing an underdog role. "Our belief is going to be our X-Factor," concluded McKellar. "We're going to give it our best and have fun while we do it. We're ready to embrace the underdog role as best as we can. We're going to need good pitching, clean defense, and production from the top of our lineup. These are going to be massive contributors."
 
The schedule for the entire championship tournament can be found below:
 
2023 CCC Softball Tournament Schedule (All times Pacific)

Friday, May 5
Game 1 - 9 a.m. | #4 EOU vs. #5 UBC 
Game 2 - 11:30 a.m. | #3 CI  vs. #6 CC
Game 3 - 2 p.m. | Winner Game 1 vs. #1 Oregon Tech
Game 4 - 4:30 p.m. | Winner Game 2 vs. #2 SOU

Saturday, May 6
Game 5 - 9 a.m. | Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 3 (loser eliminated)
Game 6 - 11:30 a.m. | Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 4 (loser eliminated)
Game 7 - 2 p.m. | Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Game 8 - 4:30 p.m. | Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 (loser eliminated)

Sunday, May 7
Game 9 - 11 a.m. | Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (loser eliminated)
Game 10 - 1:30 p.m. | Championship - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9
Game 11 - 30 min after Game 10 | If Necessary
 
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