KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – On a day that featured 52 runs scored between the UBC Thunderbirds (30-12, 24-6) and the Oregon Tech Owls (22-21, 14-16), a doubleheader that began at noon had to be suspended due to darkness before the second game could be completed, setting up another monster day of baseball on Sunday.
The T-Birds were an out away from defeat in the first game of the series, before a massive ninth inning rally put them out in front for good. They took the lead in the top of the ninth of the second game as well, before a pause was enacted with play to resume in the morning.
GAME ONE
The series opener featured some crazy momentum swings, with the two teams trading big innings. First, it was the Owls putting three on the board in the bottom half of the first, including a two-run homer from Logan Macy.
Kellen Bourne then answered back in the top of the second with a three-run home run of his own, and the 'Birds tacked on two more to take the lead before they were hit with a third out. Their fourth score came following a throwing error from the Owls' infield, and after loading the bases
Braeden Scott was hit by a pitch to make it 5-3.
That lead didn't last for long, however, as Oregon Tech hit back with a four-spot in the bottom of the third, and took a lead that they would hold onto for the rest of the game.
That was certainly not due for a lack of fight on the UBC side, as they kept fighting to try and push themselves back in front. A
Lou Fujiwara run off a fielder's choice in the sixth was followed by another pair of runs from the Owls in the bottom half of the inning, but the Thunderbirds again got themselves within one following RBIs from
Jordan Stewart and
Kansai Sugimoto in the seventh.
Hope temporarily seemed to be lost when another Macy long ball made it 11-8 for the home team entering the final inning, but the 'Birds had one more rally in them.
With two outs, the bases loaded, and the game on the line,
Braeden Scott fired a two-run single up the middle to again cut the lead to just one.
Calvin Warrillow then decided he'd get more than one more, as the pinch-hitter stepped into the box and launched just his second homer of the season to put UBC in front.
Lucas Huynh closed out a 1-2-3 inning for the save – his fifth of the year – to complete the fantastic comeback.
GAME TWO
The 'Birds – not wanting to have to rely on the same type of late heroics – got off to a strong start in the second game of the day. After Warrillow and Bourne both got on base to begin the second inning,
Stephen Waters opened the scoring with an RBI single to left. A
Matt Vanslyke sacrifice bunt then set up Fujiwara for a single of his own that scored Bourne, putting UBC up 2-0.
The parade of RBI singles continued from
David Krahn and
Josh Cote in the top of the fourth, before Warrillow interrupted it with another homer that made it a seven-run ballgame and more than doubled his previous season-high for most RBIs in a single weekend series.
The Owls fought back, however, and got themselves right back in the game in the bottom half of that same inning. After loading the bases, Aidan Corkery brought home two runs with a single of his own, the start of an eight-score inning capped off by a Dylan Edwards two-run hit that gave the hosts the lead.
The roller coaster of a day continued when Bourne and Stewart teamed up to give UBC the lead back in the sixth with a pair of RBIs of their own, only for the Owls to score another four runs in their half of the same inning to make it 12-9.
It was all UBC from there, however, as yet another Warrillow bomb put two more runs on the board in the seventh, and the top of the ninth bore fruit once again with a Bourne homer, Vanslyke scoring off a wild pitch and Krahn smacking a two-run double.
Up 16-12 and still with a man on second with two outs, the Thunderbirds weren't able to continue their run before play was stopped. The game will resume from that point at 10:30 a.m. (PT) tomorrow, followed by two more games to end off the series.
