KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Playing on the road in Klamath Falls after field concerns caused UBC's home opener to be rescheduled, the T-Birds (14-10, 4-3) dropped a pair of close games, 4-0 and 2-1, to the NAIA No.2-ranked Oregon Tech Owls (25-3, 10-1) on Saturday.
Coming off a series win over what were then the No.1-ranked Southern Oregon Raiders, the 'Birds were playing their first games since receiving the most votes in the NAIA Coaches Poll in program history. A record 54 voting points makes the blue and gold the implied No.28-ranked team in the national association, the first time UBC has ever been within the top 30.
Battling in a conference that now features each of the top three teams in the NAIA, UBC showed it can hold its own with the best in the U.S. by hanging with the Owls for both halves of their doubleheader. Oregon Tech needed a big sixth inning to put away game one and an extra inning homerun to take game two.
In the teams' first meeting since the Oregon Tech defeated UBC to win last year's Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship,
Carleen Murray held the might Owls offence in check, allowing two earned runs over 5 1/3 innings. Unfortunately for the T-Birds' ace, a fielder error led to two additional unearned runs against her and she was facing Owls star pitcher Kristine Schmidt, who won out in the battle between the pitchers with the two lowest ERAs in the conference (.091 for Murray, 1.03 for Schmidt).
The 'Birds simply could not touch Schmidt, with
Jillian Matsubara's single to lead off the fifth inning the only hit the junior allowed all game. She needed 89 pitches for the complete game shutout, pushing her record this season to a perfect 11-0.
Game two was another pitchers' duel, beginning with UBC's
Brynn Fortier battling OIT's Alli Parker.
The T-Birds got their first, and only, run of the day in a scrappy second inning.
With one out,
Mattea Burrill singled to third from a two-strike count. Behind her,
Claire Hill battled back from an 0-2 count to hit an infield single of her own, before
Brielle Donoghue knocked a single into center on the first pitch she saw to load the bases. Following a strikeout,
Marin Jorgenson smacked a clutch two-out single down the left field line to score Burrill and give the 'Birds a 1-0 lead.
Fortier maintain the slim advantage until the bottom of the sixth, when a defensive miscue led to UBC losing its lead. With Nita Cook on second and one out, a dropped fly ball in foul territory gave OIT's Addison Kachnik a second life, which she took full advantage of. Kachnik knocked a single up the middle on the sixth pitch of her at bat, scoring Cook on an unearned run to tie the game at 1-1.
After a two-base error put a runner in scoring position in the top of the seventh, Murray returned to the circle for the 'Birds and kept the Owls off the board by the skin of her teeth. A walk and hit batter loaded the bases with two outs, before Murray fell behind 3-0 to OIT first baseman and three-hitter Puakea Milbourne. Ever composed, the reigning CCC Pitcher of the Week fought back to a full count before inducing a groundout to shortstop to send the game to extra innings.
With Schmidt back in the circle for the Owls as well, the game one starters went at it again. Both aces retired the side in order in the eighth, but Brooklyn Loose got to Murray in the ninth, taking her deep to left field for a solo homerun.
Burrill reached on a walk in the bottom of the ninth, but was erased on a game ending double play, as the Owls took Saturday's second game 2-1.
The two teams will play another doubleheader in Klamath Falls on Sunday, with first pitch set for 11:00 a.m. (PT).
