VANCOUVER –  The UBC Thunderbirds (14-11, 6-5) came up short against the College of Idaho Yotes (19-7, 10-0), dropping both games of Friday's doubleheader 3-0 and 8-1 at Collings Field. This series marked the second straight matchup with a ranked opponent for the 'Birds, this time running into the scorching hot NAIA No.21-ranked Yotes, who came into the weekend on a ten-game winning streak.


 
Game 1:
The Yotes required little time to get an early lead to start the day. UBC's Shae Sever took to the rubber to begin the game and was throwing with power, however, the visitors were able to scratch across a run in the first on a groundout.
 
The game remained even keeled for the next handful of innings with both pitchers shutting down their oppositions, until the top of the fourth. Following a chopper to Sever, which bounced off the top of her glove for the infield single, Yote outfielder Lexi Navarrete stepped up to the plate and delivered. Connecting on a pitch in zone, she shot the ball into deep right, eventually making its way over the fence for the two-run homer, extending the lead to 3-0.
 
The Thunderbirds rallied and were able to mount pressure in the bottom of the fifth. An error helped Caitlin Bradley-Tse reach first. Stepping into the box next was Keona Nordquist who sent a blooper into shallow centre, falling in between three Yotes. This sent Bradley-Tse on the move to third, just beating the throw, which allowed Nordquist to make a heads up play and advance to second. The T-Birds could not cash either running in scoring position however, and that was as close as they came to scoring.
 
The later innings were quick, resulting in the shutout victory for the visitors. Both pitchers threw complete games, with Sever racking up five strikeouts and Idaho's Annie Polster a pair.


 
Game 2:
Both sides had plenty of baserunners early on, but the first run in the second game of the day did not cross the plate until the top of the third – and it came with an exclamation point. After her teammate reached on and error, Idaho's Lolo Walker put the barrel to the ball and sent it to deep center field for the home run. The Yotes didn't stop there. The whole lineup was putting the ball in play, leading to three more runs and inflating their lead to 5-0 before the 'Birds finally set them down. 
 
UBC looked to respond in the bottom half of the third. After Brielle Donoghue singled to center, Kaitlyn Kim took one for the team with a hit-by-pitch to put runners on first and second. Then, veteran Gabrielle Dorval approached the plate and smoked a single into right, sending Donoghue home for the 'Birds first run of the day. However, their rally would end there, leaving two baserunners on to end the inning.
 
The Yotes' offence would continue to hum as their lead swelled to 8-1 in the top of sixth. While the 'Birds scratched and clawed with contact, the hits simply were not falling, handing the home side their second loss of the day.  
 


The two teams return to Collings Field at Nobel Park on Saturday for another doubleheader. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. (PT) followed by more action at 1:00 p.m. (PT) for the fourth and final game of the series.