STAYTON, Ore. – The UBC Thunderbirds (25-19, 16-10) brought their bats in a big way en route to sweeping their final Cascade Collegiate Conference weekend road series of the regular season against the Corban University Warriors (4-42, 2-25). The Thunderbirds came out swinging in both games one and three of the day, run-ruling the Warriors 17-0 and 12-2. The second game of the day provided some strong pitching for UBC which resulted in a 5-1 victory.
Game 1 – UBC 17, CRB 0 (5 Innings)
Following the cancelation of Friday's doubleheader at Corban due to rain, both teams were optimistic they could resume competition today, starting with a 10 am first pitch at Warrior Field. UBC wasted no time unleashing the bats on the Warriors, scoring four runs in the top of the first, culminating in a triple from junior centerfielder Caitlin Bradley-Tse, who was able to score after sliding into third on an errant throw.
The Thunderbirds would return to the batter's box in the top of the second and use small ball to get three more runs across in the inning and stretch their lead to seven. After a quiet bottom half of the inning, the game would have to be moved to Stayton High School for the completion of today's games.
UBC returned to the small ball following the two-hour delay, scoring all of their runs via walks, wild pitches, or base-hit singles in rout to their 17-0 win in game one. Junior second baseman Kaitlyn Kim went 3-for-3 with four RBI, only to be matched by her freshman teammate Jessica Heutink who played first base and provided three hits and four RBI as well.
The Warriors' lineup for game one was lined up and down with the seniors who would step on Warrior Field for the final time in their college career. Seniors who were injured even had the opportunity to participate in game one prior to the location change. After the second inning concluded and the game was postponed, Warrior Nation was given the opportunity to honor the seniors one last time. Many family members and friends braved the rain and muddy conditions to take pictures and gather with the players, creating a special environment despite the conditions.
Game 2 – UBC 5, CRB 1
A quick ten-minute intermission between the games was just enough to bring about a different feel to the Stayton softball field. Game two was the polar opposite of game one, with a strong pitchers' duel breaking out.
Sophomore Carleen Murray pitched a no-hitter for the Thunderbirds deep into the sixth inning prior to the Warriors getting a hit on the board. When the Warriors finally broke through, they managed to capitalize on their hits to get a run across via a double by senior shortstop Cami Kerze. Murray would go on to get out of the sixth with only one run as a blemish on her otherwise impressive outing.
The Warriors would send sophomore Vanesa Quinones to the circle in game two. Quinones performed mightily in her seven innings of work, allowing only three runs on seven hits. Timely hitting by British Columbia in the fourth and fifth innings broke up the shutout for the Warriors. After taking a 3-1 lead into the seventh, the Thunderbirds sealed the game with two insurance runs to stretch the lead to what would ultimately be the final score, 5-1.
Continuing the theme of honoring seniors happened in game two as well. Senior designated player Tatiana Liu, who has not pitched since 2022, was given the game ball at the circle in the seventh inning by her father. The emotional moment was met with excitement from the Warrior players and fans.
Game 3 – UBC 12, CRB 2
After a solid pitching performance by both starters in game two, the bats woke back up for the Thunderbirds in game three. A cloudy and overcast afternoon turned into a wet early evening for the final game of the tripleheader. In similar fashion to game one, British Columbia opened the game with four runs in the first inning.
Taking advantage of erratic pitching allowed constant pressure to be applied to the Navy and Gold pitching staff, specifically in the first inning when multiple walks and a hit by pitch were given up for unearned runs allowed to UBC.
After a quiet second inning, British Columbia would take advantage of three consecutive walks to reapply pressure. As was the case for most of the day, disciplined at-bats led to small ball hitting. Junior outfielder Arshleen Bajwa singled in two runs after the bases were loaded. Bradley-Tse would resume her offensive barrage by singling in a run and then stealing a base the next pitch. Kim capped off the scoring with a walk that brought in Bradley-Tse, making the score 9-0.
Bajwa and Bradley-Tse would return to the batter's box in the fourth inning and supply more offensive firepower to the game. Bajwa singled in a run to culminate her three RBI game. Bradley-Tse singled right after Bajwa, bringing in a run and capitalizing off an error to get to third and bring home the twelfth and final run of the game.
As the T-Birds make their way home to the UBC campus they'll make a stop to take part in one final CCC regular season contest with playoff seeding still on the line. The 'Birds will meet the College of Idaho Yotes for a make up game (that was postponed at UBC in late March) that will be hosted at a neutral site by Bushnell University at 10:00 a.m. Sunday morning. UBC is firmly locked in fifth spot in the standings ahead of next weekend's CCC Championship tournament hosted by Oregon Tech, however the Yotes can finish either in third or fourth place. A Yotes win on Sunday and they leapfrog Southern Oregon University for third spot but a loss will ensure they settle for fourth place overall.
