Odie Hollingshed finished with three hits for CU
Concordia Earns Split with No. 9 UBC
VANCOUVER, B.C. – Strong pitching performances ruled the day as Concordia University split an NAIA West baseball doubleheader with the ninth-ranked University of British Columbia Saturday afternoon. The T-Birds defeated the Cavaliers 3-1 in the opener before CU earned a 6-2 victory in the second game.
With the split, Concordia’s record moves to 10-21 overall and 4-14 in the NAIA West. British Columbia now sits at 22-8 overall and 18-3 in regional play.
British Columbia 3, Concordia 1
BOX SCORE
Tyson Kisselburg limited British Columbia to three runs in six innings, but UBC’s Eric Brown stifled the CU offense en route to the T-Bird victory. Brown limited the Cavs to one run on five hits in six innings, and Shawn Hetherington pitched the ninth to earn the save.
The Cavaliers opened the scoring with a run in the top of the second inning. Mike Dickman earned a one-out walked and advanced to second on Curt Cosby’s single to right. Odie Hollingshed drove in CU’s only run in the contest with a single to left center to make it 1-0 CU.
The lead would not last, however, as British Columbia scored a pair in the bottom of the frame. Blake Carruthers and Kevin Nickel opened the inning with back-to-back walks, and both runners advanced 90 feet on a wild pitch. Matt Spillman brought home the first runner with a groundout to second base, and Greg Densem drove in run number two on a groundout to shortstop.
British Columbia’s final run came in the bottom of the third. Sebastian Wong led off with a walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and reached third on Keaton Briscoe’s single up the middle. Nickel drove a ball to right to score the runner on a sacrifice fly to make it the eventual final score of 3-1.
Andrew Firth and Carruthers each finished with two hits for the T-Birds, the only players to tally multiple hits in the contest.
Concordia 6, British Columbia 2
BOX SCORE
Concordia scored five runs in the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie and earn the Cavs’ first win over British Columbia this season. Mitch Ludtke picked up the win for CU, limiting the T-Birds to one run on three hits over five innings. Brett Ferguson earned the save after throwing the final two innings for the Cavs. Brandon Kaye took the loss for UBC, giving up four earned runs on eight hits in six innings pitched.
The Cavaliers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. Mike Dickman and Odie Hollingshed hit back-to-back singles, with Dickman reaching third on Hollingshed’s hit, to set up Danny Brown’s sacrifice fly to center field. British Columbia tied it up in the bottom of the fifth. Andrew Madsen singled up the middle and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Austin Fruson walked and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Andrew Firth walked to load the bases and Keaton Briscoe walked to force in a run and make it 1-1.
Concordia combined four hits with two UBC errors to score five runs in the top of the sixth. Riley Tubbs led off with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Brady Miletich brought him home with a single to right, and Tim Reavis reached on an error by the UBC shortstop. Jared Young singled to center to load the bases, and Tommy Whalen delivered a pinch-hit single to drive in two more runs for the Cavs. Dickman’s groundout scored CU’s fourth run, and the Cavs’ final run of the inning scored on an error by the second baseman.
British Columbia scored one more in the sixth, as Kevin Nickel doubled to right and scored on an error following Greg Densem’s single.
Hollingshed and Tubbs each finished with two hits for the Cavaliers, while Nickel tallied a pair of hits for British Columbia.
The teams will conclude their four-game series with a doubleheader tomorrow, beginning at 11 a.m.