February 28, 2025

By Ian French

UBC Communications

Vancouver, B.C — The UBC Thunderbirds kicked off a four-game weekend series against the seventh-ranked Lewis-Clark State College Warriors with an 8-3 loss Friday afternoon at Tourmaline West Stadium.

The game began in a low-scoring, pitcher's duel until a pair of home runs in the fifth and sixth innings — two of the five total home runs on the day — put the Warriors in front, and they did not look back.

It was shortly after both teams took to the field that the Warriors grabbed an early lead. With one out and runners on the corners, Lewis-Clark State posted a run on the board via a sacrifice fly to right field. The Warriors followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position, however Ryan Beitel (Surrey, B.C.), on the mound for UBC, shut the door by striking out the following batter, ending the threat and the inning.

The next two stanzas were efficient on both sides, three-up and three-down, until the bottom of the fourth when Thunderbird catcher/outfielder Kyle Yip (Calgary, Alta.) stepped into the box with one out and a runner on base. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Yip connected well, sending the ball deep over the wall in left-centre for the tide-turning, two-run home run.

The UBC 2-1 lead was short-lived as the Warriors responded in the top of the fifth. Following a leadoff single, Warriors outfielder Brandon Cabrera delivered a deep, no-doubter to left field to retake his team's one-run advantage. The lead continued to see-saw as UBC's Jonny McGill (Richmond, B.C.) made an impact in the bottom half of the frame with a two-out, solo shot to deep left-centre, evening the game at three apiece.

As the scoring floodgates began to burst, Lewis-Clark piled on with yet another two-run homer. Coming off the bat of Bulla Ephan, the Warriors' catcher demolished the ball to left field, handing his team the 5-3 advantage. UBC looked to punch back once again in the bottom half of the sixth but, with one out and two runners in scoring position, Warriors starting pitcher, Evan Canfield snatched the wind out of the Thunderbirds' sails by producing a strikeout and ground out to solidify his team's rising momentum.

Scoring subsided in the seventh, while the top of the eighth saw the Warriors garner another run from an RBI double from John Paul Avila. Lewis-Clark looked to add-on as they managed to load the bases with two outs. However, on the mound in relief for Beitel, UBC's James Brock (Burnaby, B.C.) kept the 'Birds in the game by freezing the batter with an inning-ending strikeout.

The Thunderbirds couldn't muster much more offence in the bottom half of the eighth, leading to a top of the ninth where the Warriors looked to silence any hope for their opponents. Following a leadoff walk, Lewis-Clark's Izzy Madariaga smacked the final home run of the day with a two-run shot to left-centre. The T-Birds attempted to make noise with their final three outs but, following a leadoff double, UBC could not get the ball in play, ending the game with an 8-3 loss.

Warriors' hurler Evan Canfield earned the win, striking out six across six innings of work, while senior infielder Dominic Signorelli contributed three hits on the day, two of which were doubles. Standouts for UBC included Yip, who ended Friday's action with a home run and a double, while McGill collected three hits through five at-bats, one of which left the park for a solo home run.

The UBC Thunderbirds will return to Tourmaline West Stadium on Saturday for a doubleheader against the Lewis Clark State College Warriors. First pitch for the day's opening game is set for 1:00 p.m. P.T. while the second matchup is scheduled to follow at 4:00 p.m. P.T.