May 1, 2023

T-Birds split final day of season, enter conference tournament as No. 2 seed

By Jeff Sargeant

UBC Communications

VANCOUVER – The emotions were bittersweet for the UBC Thunderbirds who split their final doubleheader of the regular season with the Corban University Warriors Sunday afternoon at Tourmaline West Stadium, as were the results.

On a day that saw the T-Birds (31-19, 16-8) honour their eight graduating seniors, it turned out to be their final day in the blue and gold at home after failing to secure the weekend sweep which would have clinched first place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference and the right to host next week’s conference championship tournament.

But after dropping a 9-5 decision, the ‘Birds rallied for an impressive 9-2 victory to claim the series win to head to Klamath Falls, Ore. next weekend as the No. 2 seed.

“There’s no question all of us were trying to win all four games and be the No. 1 seed going into this thing … we didn’t get it done, but we are playing at a high level,” said UBC head coach Chris Pritchett, disappointed in failing to secure first place but pleased with the overall performance. “I’m really happy with where we’re at going into the tournament. We bounced back and played well again in game four, nobody hung their heads. It was an emotional day, we had seniors that have been here, some of them five years, through a pandemic, there was a lot going on in these guys’ minds, but overall I thought the series was really good.”

Game One

The Warriors (16-30, 10-14) had an ideal start to Sunday, staking out a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Kyle Clay opened scoring with an RBI double and later scored himself when Elijah Maris rifled a liner past third base.

Trent Lenihan drove home Aaron Marsh to get one run back in the bottom of the inning. A Jonny McGill base hit loaded the bases with two down but Hayden Van Acker got a ground out to end the threat. Corban increased their lead to three runs in the second on a T-Birds fielding error which scored a pair.

The ‘Birds went to their bullpen early with Daniel Sereda entering the game to start the third. Maris managed a leadoff single and later stole second, but in an attempt to steal third was caught in a run down for their first out of the inning. The veteran T-Birds pitcher then retired his next two batters to quickly get his team back to the plate.

Down 6-1, the T-Birds rallied in their half of the fifth, scoring four times to cut the lead to a single run. Mike Fitzsimmons earned a bases loaded walk with none out. A wild pitch scored Luciano Letteri from third and Lenihan followed up with a two-RBI double all the way to the centre field wall.

Corban outfielder Michon Cole scored from second, just beating the throw to home on an Aidan Bunn single up the middle to give the visitors some breathing room while the Warriors tacked on two more in the top of the ninth.

The loss clinched first place in the conference for Oregon Tech, dashing UBC’s hopes of hosting the CCC championship for the first time in program history.

Game Two

After honouring their graduating seniors between games, the T-Birds quickly shifted focus back to the field.

In his last appearance at Tourmaline West Stadium, UBC DH Brandon Hupe hammered a two run homer, his second bomb in as many days and seventh of the season, to give the ‘Birds the early lead.

After a Russell Young walk loaded the bases in the bottom of the second, Marsh hit a single to right to score two more.

With the bases loaded yet again later in the inning, McGill launched a mammoth grand slam that hit the scoreboard in right field, clearing the bases and giving UBC an 8-0 lead.

After Young drove home Kyle Anderson with a double in the third, the Warriors finally got themselves on the board in the top of the eighth when Ryan Clay hit a two-run homer to left, the only runs conceded by the ‘Birds as a total of six different pitchers made an appearance.

Ryan Heppner earned his sixth win of the season while James Brock, Adam Khan, Vicarte Domingo, Graham Seltzer, and Evan Hoegler each pitched a complete inning allowing just five Corban hits between them all.

“My main focus was we want guys ready and sharp going down next week,” said Pritchett, explaining his strategy for the final game. “So those pitchers that came in I didn’t want them to wait two weeks before they get in and all of a sudden we stick them in a 4-4 game trying to move on in a tournament. It was a matter of getting guys ready.

“There are a couple guys dinged up so a little bit of a balance but also making sure we could still compete against a really good team. We know they can score runs and I thought our pitchers did a really good job coming in one at a time to shut them down.”

While the Warriors see their 2023 season come to a close, the T-Birds hope they’ll be playing well into the spring, starting with next weekend’s Cascade Championship, hosted by Oregon Tech. UBC will face the College of Idaho Yotes in the opening game of the tournament at 11:00 a.m. PT on Saturday, May 6.