Right-handed hitter Kennedy Ainge making contact with a pitch, as seen from the first base dugout
Gary Marshall/Carroll College Fighting Saints
7
Winner British Columbia UBC 15-12
6
Carroll (MT) CC 12-13-1
Winner
British Columbia UBC
15-12
7
Final
6
Carroll (MT) CC
12-13-1
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
British Columbia UBC 2 0 3 0 0 0 2 7 11 3
Carroll (MT) CC 0 0 5 0 0 0 1 6 6 1

W: Woodward, Riley (2-5) L: K. Venner (8-7)

12
British Columbia UBC 16-12
13
Winner Carroll (MT) CC 12-14-1
British Columbia UBC
16-12
12
Final
13
Carroll (MT) CC
12-14-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
British Columbia UBC 2 0 5 1 2 0 0 2 0 12 17 3
Carroll (MT) CC 1 0 6 0 1 2 0 2 1 13 12 2

W: A. Amend (4-6) L: Woodward, Riley (2-6)

Game Recap: Softball | | Carroll Communications (with notes from UBC Communications)

'Birds split with Saints after extra inning drama in finale

HELENA, Mont. - The UBC Thunderbirds (16-13, 8-6) won their Cascade Collegiate Conference swing game with the Carroll College Fighting Saints (13-14-1, 7-7) on Friday, 7-6, but lost a wild, extra innings affair in the final game of the series, 13-12, at Centennial Park.

Kaitlyn Kim was the game one hero for UBC, breaking a seventh inning tie with a two-run homer that proved to be the difference. Game two saw the blue and gold take an eighth-inning lead on a two-run, bases loaded single from Kennedy Ainge before the Saints rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the inning, before winning it with a walk-off single in the ninth.

T-Birds two-way star Shae Sever pitched multiple innings in both games while also picking up three hits in each, including a homer, scoring three total runs while driving in five on the day. Kim drove in a pair of runs in each contest, following up her game-winning homer in the first half of the doubleheader with four hits in the second half. Riley Woodward picked up both the win and the loss for UBC, throwing the most innings in each game for the 'Birds despite exclusively coming out of the bullpen.

Shae Sever delivering a pitch, arm extended out in front of her with the ball, front leg raised

GAME ONE
Sever, UBC's game one starter, provided herself some nice run support in the early innings of the morning tilt. She blasted a two-run shot to deep right center in the first inning, giving the T-Birds a 2-0 lead after one, then provided an RBI single in the third to extend the advantage. Ainge added another two runs later in the frame with a sharp single, and UBC carried a 5-0 edge heading into the bottom of the third.

Ellie Koerber (Billings, Mont. / JR) provided a spark for the Saints with a solo home run of her own in the third, kick-starting a big inning for Carroll. Alyssa Lybbert (Las Vegas, Nev. / JR) blasted an RBI double to score one, then scored on a wild pitch following a sacrifice fly from Kenna Thomas (Belgrade, Mont. / JR). Kaitlynn Ayers (Twin Falls, Idaho / SR) capped the run with an RBi single, evening the game at 5-5 heading into the fourth.

Kim hammered a middle-middle pitch in the top of the seventh, giving the Thunderbirds a two-run lead once again, 7-5. Lybbert responded in the bottom half with a sac-fly to narrow the deficit to one run, but Carroll stranded runners at second and third to lose the final conference game of the series 7-6.

Keona Nordquist tagging out a Fighting Saints runner trying to get back to second base.

GAME TWO
The afternoon game featured more runs scored than most Big-Ten Football games, and took nearly as long to finish.

UBC got on the board first with a two-run single from Kim, but Carroll got one back in the bottom of the first with a Morgan Sunchild (Great Falls, Mont. / SO) sac-fly, and the Thunderbirds led 2-1 after one.

The third inning featured 11 runs between the two teams. UBC batted around in the top half of the frame, adding five total runs on four hits, starting with a Keona Nordquist single, hit No. 100 in her career, and capped by a Kaitlyn Eng two-run double. The Saints responded with six runs on four hits in the bottom half of the inning, highlighted by a Sammie Labrum (Kalispell, Mont. / SO) grand slam. An Ellie Koerber RBI double evened the game at 7-7 heading into the fourth.

The Saints walked in a run in the fourth, and the T-Birds added two more runs in the fifth to regain the lead at 10-7.

An infield error allowed a Carroll run to cross home in the bottom of the fifth, Sunchild then added a two-run blast to right field in the next inning, once again knotting the game up at 10-10 and sending it to extra innings.

Avery Mossop pursing her lips as she makes contact with the ball

Ainge gave the 'Birds a two-run lead in the eighth inning with a shot to the fence, but Labrum then went yard for the second time in the game, a two-run blast of her own to force another extra frame.

A leadoff double from Ellie Koerber was cashed in three batters later when Alyssa Lybbert found the grass on a sharp grounder through the gap at short to give Carroll the come-from-behind 13-12 win in extras.

Up next for the T-Birds a four-game series at home against Oregon Tech, with doubleheaders set to start Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Find the team's complete schedule here.
 
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