McGill leads UBC to doubleheader sweep over Bushnell

Langley Blaze grad Jonny McGill (Richmond, B.C.) went 7-for-9 with two home runs and six RBIs to help UBC to a doubleheader sweep over Bushnell on Saturday. Photo: UBC Communications

April 12, 2025

By Ian French

UBC Communications

VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds earned a critically important Saturday doubleheader sweep over the Bushnell University Beacons Saturday afternoon at Tourmaline West Stadium, kicking off a four-game weekend series.

A walk-off 10-9 win in game one was followed by a 9-7 victory in game two, both comeback victories by the T-Birds.

Highlighting the day was UBC's Jonny McGill (Richmond, B.C.) who went 7-for-9 at the plate, smashing two home runs while collecting a whopping 18 total bases and six RBIs.

"The day he had is probably why we won these two games, to be honest," said UBC head coach, Chris Pritchett. "He has been everything we had hoped he would be at this time of the year."

Game 1

The wind was fierce at Tourmaline West Stadium as Bushnell pitcher, Austin Wolfe took to the mound to start game one. The second-year hurler appeared quite comfortable in the opening innings, limiting the T-Birds to just one walk through the first three frames.

On offence, the Beacons opened scoring in the second inning after stringing together hits for a pair of baserunners. Bushnell's Reece Carganilla then made enough contact to send a dribbler past the pitcher and into centre field for a two-RBI single.

McGill stepped into the box to lead off the fourth and needed little time to blast one to the wall in deep right centre, over a leaping outfielder, for a triple. The following batter was Trent Lenihan (White Rock, B.C.) who followed suit by smashing an RBI single into left field, handing the T-Birds their first score of the game. With two outs in the frame and Lenihan still on first, Mitchell Middlemiss (Chilliwack, B.C.) stepped into the box and demolished the first pitch he saw over the left field fence for the lead-changing, two-run home run. That made the score 3-2 in favour of UBC.

After a quick top of the fifth, UBC looked to pile on in the bottom half. With one out already gone, Kaden Zarowny (Strathmore, Alta.) took his turn at the plate and swiftly shot one to deep left centre for a solo homer. Shortly after, with a runner on, McGill stepped up and was looking to do damage once more. This time, McGill put the barrel to the ball and demolished the T-Birds' third home run in two frames, expanding their lead to 6-2.

Things remained scoreless for both sides in the sixth inning, but that script flipped in the seventh. With two outs in the top half, and with the bases loaded, the Beacons managed to tack on four runs via two singles and a passed ball, tying the game back up at six apiece.

In the following half-inning, UBC was quick to respond. With two runners in scoring position, McGill returned to the plate and proceeded to drill a double on a line to the gap in the left, scoring both runs and reestablishing UBC's lead at 8-6.

The Beacons fired back in the eighth where, after a trio of hits, Bushnell notched another run to make it a one-run game. Now, with runners on second and third with two outs, Will Hudler doubled to the gap in left to score both runners, see-sawing the lead back in the visitors' favour. In the bottom half, Bushnell's Jacob Courtney headed to the hump in relief and swiftly struck out the side.

Following a quick top of the ninth, the T-Birds were down to their final three outs. After Zarowny led off with a double, an out later, the hot bat of McGill stepped up. To this point, McGill was only a single shy of the cycle, but instead, went above and beyond and delivered a clutch, game-tying double. Next up was Lenihan, who squared up and shot the ball into centre, giving McGill time to round third and make it home for the dramatic, comeback win in walk-off fashion.

Game 2

McGill picked up where he left off in game one as, in the bottom of the first, he demolished yet another double to centre field — his third on the day. Two batters later, Lenihan stepped up and delivered a double of his own, this one staying just fair down the left-field line, sending McGill home to open the game's scoring.

After a quick second inning, the Beacons responded in the third. Following a leadoff single, Kolby Amaral made solid contact, sending the ball over the wall in left centre for the two-run home run. The narrow advantage was short-lived however, as the T-Bird bats caught fire in the bottom half. With one on and one out, Lenihan stepped to the plate and made contact once again. This time, sending the ball deep over the wall in left centre for the two-run home run to retake the lead. The following batter, Aaron Marsh (Nanaimo, B.C.), saw a pitch he liked and turned on it, sending a solo shot to the same spot as Lenihan's bomb, extending the lead to 4-2.

The two heavy-hitting sides continued with a tug-of-war on the scoreboard as, in the top of the fourth, Bushnell garnered baserunners and followed with a couple of singles to even the game back up at four apiece.

After Bushnell added a run with a bloop single in the top of the fifth to take the lead, the Thunderbirds found their rhythm in the bottom half. Lenihan led off with a double to centre field, then Marsh followed with an RBI single to even the score once more. UBC managed to load the bases, still with zero outs, until a sacrifice fly and a subsequent fielder's choice allowed the T-Birds to pull ahead 7-5.

UBC added another run in the bottom half of the sixth, while in the top of the seventh, the Beacons looked to throw a few punches of their own. Bushnell's Ethan Stacy was at the plate and executed a textbook hit-and-run, shooting the ball past the moving shortstop and into centre field. A bobble on the pickup led to the baserunner making his way home from first for the score. Later, with runners on the corners, Jacob Richardson swatted a single through the left side to score another, cutting the UBC advantage down to 8-7.

In the bottom half of the seventh, McGill picked up the bat for UBC and added an insurance run via the long ball — his second homer on the day — to fortify the T-Bird advantage. Neither side was able to muster much more offence in the latter frames, leading to UBC walking away with a 9-7 win.

"We put some good swings on the ball, we had players out there who were able to come up with some good hits," said Pritchett. "But that was a battle all day. Their hitters can really handle the bat. They hit-and-ran successfully . . . both of those games could have gone either way. It's going to be a tough day tomorrow."

The Thunderbirds and Beacons will return to Tourmaline West Stadium on Sunday to close out the four-game weekend series with more doubleheader action. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.