LEWISTON, Ida. - The No.4-seed UBC Thunderbirds defeated the No.5-seed Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) Eagles 5-2 in the first game of the Lewiston Bracket in the Opening Round of the 2024 NAIA Baseball Championships before falling 8-1 to the No.1-seed Lewis Clark State Warriors in their second game of the day.

The win and loss move the T-Birds on to day two of the double elimination NAIA National Championship Qualifier tournament, where they will play the loser of a morning matchup between Embry-Riddle and Oklahoma City in an elimination game at 6:00 p.m. (PT) on Tuesday.

Game 1

The 'Birds first game was a pitching duel, with both starters going eight innings, most runs unearned, and UBC's Sean Heppner getting the victory after striking out 11 while holding the Eagles scoreless over his eight frames. Embry-Riddle's Cole Altherr threw a complete game in the loss, hurling an incredible 154 pitches and allowing just two earned runs.



Trent Lenihan reached base three times and scored twice to lead the UBC offence on a day where the two teams combined for just one extra-base hit; a seventh inning double from 'Birds center-fielder Kaden Zarowny.

Heppner set the tone for the game right away by striking out the side in side in order in the top of the first, ultimately racking up five punch outs in his first two innings.

The T-Birds gave their ace some immediate run support. Catcher Russell Young smacked a single in UBC's first at bat before walks to Lenihan and Jonny McGill loaded the bases. Up stepped team RBI leader Mitchell Middless, who dropped a single in to right field to open the scoring. A Kyle Anderson RBI groundout later, the T-Birds had a 2-0 lead.

The 'Birds added to their advantage in the second. A single and an error put a runner in scoring position for Young, who punched his second hit of the day through the infield before the T-Birds had recorded their fourth out, building UBC's lead to 3-0.

Embry-Riddle threatened for the first time in the fourth with a pair of singles, but Heppner battled back after falling behind 3-0 the next batter and eventually induced a groundout to set the Eagles down.

The blue and gold built their lead further to 4-0 in the fifth when Lenihan scampered home after the Eagles committed their third error of the day.

Another error in the sixth led to the T-Birds scoring again, with three of their five tallies unearned.



That proved to be more than enough run support for Heppner, who was dominant from start to finish. He was lifted before the ninth inning after allowing just three hits over his eight scoreless innings.
With Heppner gone, the Eagles finally found some offence and staged a ninth inning rally. A single, followed by an error and a walk loaded the bases with no outs, bringing the tying run on deck.

Embry-Riddle right fielder Luke Jepsen then drilled a ball off of the wall in left-centre, but luckily for the T-Birds the runners all froze, fearing it may be caught. That meant Jepsen's third hit of the day ended up as a long single and scored just one run. The senior had most of his team's five total hits.

UBC then called on first-year reliever Evan Hoegler to work out of the bases loaded, no outs jam. He fell behind 3-0 to the first batter he faced, but battled back to earn a massive strikeout. Hoegler then induced a flyout to shallow right field, not allowing the runners to advance, before hitting the next batter. That scored a second run for the Eagles and put the tying run on first with two outs. However, Hoegler got second basemen Max Murphy to roll over on a tough pitch, inducing a groundout to shortstop to end the threat and the game at 5-2.
 

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Game 2

Facing the host, No.1 seed and team that eliminated them from the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship Tournament in their second game of the day, the Thunderbirds got off to a quick start against the Lewis-Clark State Warriors and their ace Sean Spencer.

For the second time on Monday, T-Birds catcher Russell Young hit a single in UBC's first at bat and for the second time pinch-runner Jackson Boomer made it count by coming around to score, following singles from Jonny McGill and Mitchell Middlemiss.



On the bump for the 'Birds was Vicarte Domingo, who is typically a reliever, but the hard-throwing right-hander earned the start after enjoying success against the potent Lewis-State lineup in multiple meetings this year.

Domingo danced around a double in the first to maintain the early lead, but the Warriors broke through in the second. A walk and then two singles saw LC State score before getting an out, but Domingo settled in and stranded both other runners to keep the game tied 1-1 after two innings.

Following a quick third, the Warriors scored again in the fourth, this time using the longball. First baseman Jake Gish, who scored LC State's first run, led off their half of the inning with a towering shot that just stayed fair down the left field line.

The Warriors looked poised to add to their lead later in the inning with runners on first and third with no outs. Jake Marquez hit a fly ball to shallow center, the runner on third tagged, but T-Birds center fielder Kaden Zarowny was ready. He camped out just behind the ball, stepped in to the catch and in one fluid motion whipped a frozen rope toward home. Young did not have to move a muscle as the ball found the UBC catcher right in front of the plate, beating the runner by a good two meters, and Young smoothly applied to tag for the inning ending double play, keeping the deficit at 2-1.

Lewis-Clark State flashed their own fine defence in the fifth. Zarowny led off the inning by smashing a ball to left-center, seemingly destined to be an extra base hit. However, battling a strong wind pushing the ball away from him, Warriors centerfielder Carter Booth made a leaping catch at the wall to set his counterpart down. Not to be outdone, LC State first baseman Gish had a defensive gem of his own the very next batter, tracking a foul ball pop-up and leaning far over the wall near the first base dugout to make a basket catch for the second unlikely out of the inning.



Both starting pitchers were in fine form and each pitched seven complete innings. Domingo surpassed his season high pitch count by 40, as UBC's closer from last season fired 93 pitches in a clutch, quality start after never before throwing more than 4.2 innings in his Thunderbirds career.

In a somewhat surprising move, the Warriors sent Spencer around to begin the eighth despite the fact he had thrown 99 pitches before the inning began and had given up two hits the inning before. After getting a quick first out, McGill and Middlemiss hit back to back singles for the second time in the game, finally chasing the LC State star from the mound. Reliever Cameron Smith was up to the task however, inducing a ground out and strikeout immediately after entering to strand both UBC runners.

With Domingo out of the game in the eighth, the Warriors offence quickly attacked the UBC bullpen. The first six LC State batters all reached base in an inning that saw the hosts bat around their order and ultimately tally six runs to blow the game open, taking an 8-1 lead that held up as the final score.

The T-Birds stranded 12 runners over the course of the game and actually out-hit the Warrios 12-10, with the final score misrepresenting what was overwhelmingly a tight and evenly played game.

The loss puts UBC in elimination games for the rest of their tournament, starting with a loser-goes-home battle against a to-be-determined opponent at 6:00 p.m. (PT) on Tuesday.