LEWISTON, Idaho – At the conclusion of a very busy three days in Idaho, the Thunderbirds emerged as the second-place finishers at the 2026 Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship.
An 8-2 win over Bushnell began Sunday's action, a result crucial in that it earned the 'Birds an automatic qualifier spot in the NAIA Baseball Championship Opening Round.
That set up another bout against hosts Lewis-Clark State, with UBC needing to win in order to force a rubber match for the championship. Unfortunately, it was the Warriors who pulled through to claim their second successive conference title.
GAME ONE
The Thunderbirds got off to a hot start, chasing Bushnell starting pitcher Loreto Siniscalchi in the first inning. After recording an out on their first at-bat, the next six T-Birds all proceeded to get on base.
That included an RBI single from
Josh Cote and a three-run homer off the bat of
Kellen Bourne that pushed the 'Birds out into a sizable early lead.
Those were the only runs that UBC scored through the first four innings, but
Myles Chamberlain didn't need any more run support on the mound as he was absolutely dealing to begin the game. He finished off the fourth having allowed no hits and just one walk, while boasting five strikeouts.
After the 'Birds added to their lead on consecutive singles from
Matt Vanslyke and
Lou Fujiwara in the top of the fifth to make it 6-0, the Beacons finally got on the board with their first hit of the game – a solo home run by Caleb Richter.
Bushnell did get one more on the board in the following inning, but that's as close as they would get.
Kansai Sugimoto added the final bit of insurance with a two-run single in the seventh, and the duo of
Kaden Douglas-Pluff and
Mason Chien combined to throw the final three scoreless innings.
GAME TWO
Facing a well-rested Lewis-Clark State side immediately following the conclusion of the first game of the day, the Thunderbirds suffered the reverse of their win over Bushnell by falling into an early hole with a three-run opening inning for the home team.
After loading the bases in the top of the third, the T-Birds were able to get on the board thanks to a sacrifice fly from Cote, but that was all they could manage for the frame. The Warriors answered back in the bottom half of the same inning when Izzy Madariaga came home on a Sam Weber ground out to second.
The Warriors took a 6-1 lead into the sixth, when
Calvin Warrillow got another one back for UBC thanks to some strong baserunning. After stealing second and advancing to third on the same play following a throwing error, a wild pitch then allowed the Toronto native to scamper home.
Once again, however, Lewis-Clark State answered right back with a four-run inning of their own in the bottom half of the sixth. Bryce Johnson provided the exclamation mark with a three-run homer, and another pair of Warriors runs in the eighth finished off the scoring.
The Thunderbirds now will wait and see which group they will be assigned to for the NAIA Opening Round. There, they will battle either three or four other teams in another double-elimination tournament from Monday, May 11 to Thursday, May 14, with a spot in the NAIA World Series on the line.
