SURREY, B.C. – The UBC Thunderbirds hit four triples as they won both games of a softball doubleheader Saturday in Surrey, B.C., against the visiting Providence (Mont.) Argonauts by scores of 12-4 and 6-5.
The wins allowed the Thunderbirds (12-12, 8-7 CCC) to claim three of four contests against the Argonauts (4-15, 4-11), including two of three Cascade Collegiate Conference matchups.
"We're playing the way we play now," remarked UBC head coach Gord Collings. "Some really positive things came out of today, especially that last game, being able to start and go through the whole game with six freshmen, and win was huge. The players starting to feel more comfortable with each other. We have some really challenging series coming up, so if we play that well, we'll do well, I think."
Game 1
The final conference game of the series saw the home side take control by scoring eight times in the first three innings.
Claire Eccles opened the home half of the first inning with a single to center field, and later come home on an RBI groundout by Mia Valcke. Cassa Courtney then doubled down the left-field line to score Taylore Jones.
A Shayla Cole RBI groundout got Providence on the scoreboard in the top of the second.
But Valcke replied soon after for the Thunderbirds, as she tripled to right center to score Jones and Eccles in the home half of the second to put UBC up 4-1.
The 'Birds posted four more runs in the third, thanks in part to two more triples. The first came from Nicole Salas, who hit a 1-0 pitch to right center to plate Jordan Britten-Yung. Salas touched home plate on the next play as Shaelyn Ogilvie singled to score Salas, and force an Argos pitching change. Eccles came to the plate after the switch in the circle and recorded UBC's third triple of the day – one off the school record – to score Ogilvie and increase the T-Birds' lead to 7-1. The next batter Jones knocked in the eighth run with a single to left.
UBC continued its offensive outburst in the fourth inning.
Courtney led off by fouling off eight pitches, before reaching base on an error on the ninth pitch. She scored on a wild pitch later in the inning. A couple of batters later, Michaela Moore drove in Britten-Yung with a single before the T-Birds posted a pair of unearned runs on a dropped ball to make it 12-1 going into the fifth.
Providence staged a mini-rally in the fifth to try and extend the game. Hanna Tarum hit a double to left field to allow Skyla Nuebauer to touch home plate. Tarum scored on a Southworth single, the third-straight hit for the Argos.
However, the comeback was ended by senior T-Birds outfielder Eccles, who made a diving catch on a McKenzie Staats fly ball in center field before throwing the ball back to first base to complete the double play, and finalize the UBC victory. Taylor Mathews did score before the final out.
Kaia Gyorfi (3-7) pitched a complete game to earn the victory. She threw five innings and 99 pitches, giving up four runs. Over the course of the series against Providence, Gyorfi went 2-0 and pitched 17.1 innings, giving up just five runs.
"I really relied on my teammates to help me with defence, I think that was instrumental to our success this weekend," she said.
Valcke drove in three runs while Eccles had three hits to lead UBC.
Mathews went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Argos, while Williams drew a couple of walks.
Game 2
Logan Bailey hit a walk-off single through the right side to score Valcke in the bottom of the seventh, and give UBC a 6-5 win.
Providence tied the game in the previous half inning when Tarum doubled down the left-field line to plate Hannah VanDomelen.
The Argos had trailed 5-3 going into the sixth, but KJ Schweikert cut the deficit in half with an RBI single to right.
Tarum gave Providence the lead in the opening inning with an RBI groundout.
UBC rallied for four runs in the home half of the first. Valcke and Salas recorded RBI singles, Salas then scored on a wild pitch, and Ogilvie put the T-Birds up 4-1 by taking advantage of a passed ball.
The back-and-forth matchup continued with a two-run Argos third inning, with the blows coming on a Nuebauer RBI double to left center, and Mathews RBI single to second base.
In the bottom of the third, the Thunderbirds made it 5-3 as Moore drove in Sierra Sherritt with a single up the middle.
Sherritt went 2-for-4 at the plate for UBC, while Bailey and Ogilvie had a couple of walks each.
Southworth had three hits in four at-bats, and Tarum recorded two RBIs.
Both Schweikert and Shelby Kempel pitched complete games for their respective teams. On 95 pitches, Kempel surrendered three earned runs as she improved to 6-4. Schweikert threw 138 pitches to finish a game in which she gave up just one earned run.
Providence will return home to host a four-game series against Northwest (Wash.) next weekend. UBC will travel to Ashland, Ore., for a pair of doubleheaders at league-leading Southern Oregon.