Marsh Madness: UBC infielder powers team to sweep

UBC infielder Aaron Mash (Nanaimo, B.C.) drove in eight runs for the Thunderbirds in their series against Corban University. Photo: Gibi Saini, UBC Thunderbirds

March 24, 2024

By Ian French

UBC Communications

VANCOUVER, B.C. – The UBC Thunderbirds (20-11, 5-3) secured the series sweep over the Corban University Warriors (6-23, 1-7) in dramatic fashion at Tourmaline West Stadium on Sunday.

Following a 9-5 win to start the day, the second matchup saw the 'Birds earn their final victory of the series by way of a Mitchell Middlemiss walk-off solo shot in the bottom of the 10th, ending the low scoring affair at 3-2.

Aaron Marsh was the offensive catalyst for UBC all weekend long, picking up multiple hits in each game and driving in eight runs over the course of the series, while the T-Birds pitching staff gave up just seven total runs over the four games.

"I like the way we responded. We had a rough series last week, three of the four were all close games. But I think the guys got right to work on Tuesday and we played better this weekend," said UBC head coach Chris Pritchett. "It's all you can ask for if it doesn't go right. You learn from it and you get better, and I think this team did."

Game 1

The Warriors sought revenge from Saturday's action as they got to work in the top of the first inning. Following a double into right, which put runners on second and third, Nainoa Ka'ahanui singled through the left side to get both runners home and give the visitors the early, 2-0 lead.

The 'Birds responded in the bottom half by squeaking a run over the plate due to an error in the field. However, the Warriors went right back to it in the second. Lucas Mertlich started the frame with a leadoff solo shot to deep right to regain their two-run advantage.

The Thunderbirds fought back once again by quickly getting two runners in scoring position in the bottom half of the second. Kaden Zarowny stepped in and scorched one into left field for the two-RBI double to tie the game. Zarowny wouldn't be standing on second for long, as Marsh was next up. After waiting for his pitch, Marsh shot one into the gap in right for the second RBI double of the inning, giving the home side the 4-3 lead.

After picking up another run in the third, the Thunderbirds looked to extend their lead in the fourth, and the red-hot Marsh delivered again. The UBC infielder connected for his seventh hit at that point in the series, shooting one deep into left for another double. After a balk sent him to third, a Trent Lenihan sacrifice fly would secure another run for the home side.

The Warriors kept it close, scoring two more runs over the next two innings to shrink the lead to just one. However, the home side was able to tack on a few more runs with some timely hitting in the later innings to walk away with the 9-5 victory.

Game 2

The beginning to this one was a complete flip from the rest of the series with a low scoring start. The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth. Leading off the inning was David Draayers who singled into right, and a bobble in the outfield allowed the UBC shortstop to reach second base. Aidan Rose was next up and followed with a hit of his own, finding space in right centre field to send Draayers home with the RBI single.

Stellar pitching from both sides would keep the score the same until the top of the seventh. After a two-out walk, Warriors outfielder Lucas Mertlich stepped into the box and drilled one deep over the right-centre fence for the two-run bomb, his second home run on the day, giving his Warriors the lead.

Once again, the 'Birds took little time to answer as, in the bottom half of the seventh, Marsh continued his hot hitting weekend by smacking another ball off of the fence in right field and making it to third for the leadoff triple. Lenihan was next and kept his strong weekend going, shooting it to the fielder in deep centre, giving Marsh the window to reach home on the sacrifice fly and tying the game at two apiece.

The game eventually needed extras where a smooth inning-ending double play closed out the top of 10th and set the 'Birds up for magic in the bottom half. UBC's shortstop Mitchell Middlemiss was leading off and took no time to hand his team the win by crushing one to deep right centre, clearing the fence for the electrifying walk off solo shot.

"Mitch has a lot of power and last year, he used to play maybe 50 percent of the time and now he's hitting in the middle of our order everyday," said Pritchett. "I think what we're seeing is a guy that's a bit more relaxed knowing he's going to get more at bats and he's really starting to produce."

Another standout performer on the day was UBC's game two starting pitcher Daniel Orfaly, who was stellar on the mound. Orfaly commanded the zone with ease, leading him to pitch seven complete innings, giving up just two hits and striking out eight batters along the way.

"I think our defence looked really good because our pitcher was really good," said Pritchett. "That was his best start in a while and he had control of three pitches, having batters off balance until he made one mistake in the seventh and they hit it. So, he was great."

The Thunderbirds will hit the road for next week's matchup, travelling to La Grande, to face off against the Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers for a four-game series. First pitch for game one is set for 11:00 a.m. P.T. on Saturday, while the doubleheader continues with game 2 beginning at 2:00 p.m. P.T.