UBC Sweeps Cavs in Doubleheader Saturday
BOX SCORES : Game 1 - Game 2
PORTLAND, Ore.—Luck was not on the Cavaliers’ side on Saturday as British Columbia swept Concordia in an NAIA West doubleheader.
A tough call cost the Cavs the first game of the doubleheader, while six unearned runs led to a 9-3 loss in the second game.
With the results, Concordia dropped to 19-23 overall this season and 11-16 in the NAIA West, while UBC moved to 21-13 overall and 14-9 in the NAIA West.
The teams will conclude the series with a final game tomorrow, April 15, at 11 a.m.
GAME 1—BRITISH COLUMBIA 2, CONCORDIA 0
Nine flawless innings proved inconsequential for the Cavs in the first game, thanks to an unlucky play in the top of the 10th that cost them the only runs of the game.
British Columbia had runners on first and second with two outs in the 10th when Mike Hole sent a well-hit ball to left. Concordia’s Jimmy Sanchez got a good jump on the ball though, and got the ball in his mitt on a dive. However, Sanchez’s dive led him into a tumble and the ball floated up out of his glove as he came up. Consequently, the field umpire ruled that Sanchez had not controlled the catch completely, giving Hole a triple and UBC the only two runs of the game. If the umpires had ruled Sanchez’s play was a catch, then the Cavs would have gotten out of the 10th unscathed.
The 10th also cruelly saddled CU starter Larsen Kohler with the loss, even though he had thrown a shutout through 9.2 innings.
Concordia attempted their own rally in the 10th, as Mike Dickman and Blake Drake singled and walked, respectively, to give the Cavs’ runners on first and second with two outs. UBC got the next CU batter to foul out though, ending the threat for the Cavs.
The Cavs had an even better chance to score in the seventh when they loaded the bases with one out in the inning. Unfortunately for CU, UBC got a strikeout and fly out after that to get out of trouble.
UBC, meanwhile, had not had a runner reach third until they scored in the 10th.
Overall, UBC outhit the Cavs 9-3 in the game, with Hole’s controversial triple the only extra-base hit in the game.
Inividually, Jordan Keeker recorded two of the three Cavalier hits and finished 2-for-3. Besides him, Drake and C.J. Watson each drew two walks in the game.
On the flip side, Andrew Firth went 2-for-4 for UBC, while Hole finished 2-for-5 with the two runs batted in.
On the mound, Kohler finished with 9.2 innings pitched, giving up two runs (one earned) on nine hits and two walks. David Otterman and Conor Lillis-White, meanwhile, combined for the shutout for UBC, with Lillis-White picking up the win after throwing the last two innings for UBC.
GAME 2—BRITISH COLUMBIA 9, CONCORDIA 3
The second game Saturday followed a similar script to two teams’ game on Friday in that unearned runs came back to haunt the Cavs.
The game could have been tied 3-3 without six unearned runs for UBC, but will go down as a 9-3 loss for the Cavs regardless.
UBC went up for good with a five-run top of the fifth that put them up 6-3. Cam Firth and Ryan Taylor led off the inning with back-to-back singles for UBC, but then four CU errors took over from there.
Concordia had taken a 3-1 lead before the fifth behind three-straight unanswered runs.
Sean Myrom opened the scoring for the Cavs, launching a ball deep to left-center field for a triple before coming home on an infield single from Mike Dickman.
Carl Beckert and Jordan Keeker then teamed up for a run in the third, with Beckert leading the inning off with a single through the right side. Two outs followed Beckert’s single, but the third baseman stole second after that, which allowed him to score on Keeker’s subsequent single.
Finally, Sheldon Austria produced the Cavs’ final run of the game, first setting it up with a one-out triple down the left-field line. Cavin Nagy came up to next for the Cavs, and brought Austria home on an RBI fielder’s choice as UBC failed to get Austria out on a play at the plate.
UBC, meanwhile, tacked on three runs in the ninth to give the game its final score of 9-3.
Overall, UBC barely outhit the Cavs 11-10, while the Cavs drew three more walks than their opponents.
Individually, Beckert led all hitters with four hits in the game, finishing 4-for-5 with a run scored. Besides him, Austria went 2-for-3 for the Cavs with a run scored and a walk, while Myrom went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk.
On the flip side, Andrew Firth led UBC with three runs scored in the game, while he finished 2-for-5 with a run batted in.
On the mound, CU starter Jason Snodgrass received the loss after pitching 6.1 innings, giving up six runs (zero earned) on six hits and a walk. Nathan Kirby, meanwhile, pitched 6.1 innings of relief for UBC to pick up the win.