March 17, 2024

Official UBC Athletics News Release

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The UBC Thunderbirds were edged in dramatic fashion in back-to-back contests as the Oregon Tech Hustlin Owls delivered consecutive walk-off winners to sweep Sunday's doubleheader and secure the series victory at Steen Sports Park.

The Hustlin' Owls (17-11, 3-1 CCC) rallied from a 7-3 deficit to win today's opener, 9-8, while Tech rode stellar pitching and a timely ninth-inning single for a 1-0 shutout victory in the series finale.

Cody Dubray and three relievers combined on the three-hit shutout in Game 2 – stranding a runner at third base in the first, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Dubray tossed six innings, allowing just two hits and a walk, striking out nine. Tim Williams threw a scoreless seventh, Brian McClelland worked the eighth, with Riley Cronin throwing a 1-2-3 ninth.

OIT stranded 12 runners through the first eight innings, as the T-Birds (16-12, 1-3) Ryan Beitel (Surrey, B.C.) worked seven-plus innings of scoreless ball. However, in the ninth, singles from Matthew Ortiz and Ryan Horner and a walk to Julien Jones loaded the bases. With two outs, Alonzo Vergara lined a base hit to plate Ortiz – setting off the second celebration of the day.

Horner was 3-for-5, with Ortiz and Ka'ala Tam each recording two-hit games.

UBC had control of the opener, getting an Aaron Marsh (Nanaimo, B.C.) two-run double in the fourth and a Kenny Scott (Delta, B.C.) RBI double in the fifth to give the Canadian squad a 7-3 lead.

Tech battled back, scoring three runs in the fifth – including a Jones RBI single and a Tam sacrifice fly to pull within a run – tying the game in the sixth on a Kyle Norton RBI ground out.

The T-Birds manufactured an eighth inning run off a David Draayers (Abbotsford, B.C.) ground out, but OIT rallied against UBC closer Vic Domingo (Vancouver, B.C.). Cronin led off with a single and scored on a game-tying triple from Tam. Logan Macy followed with a fly ball to right – deep enough to plate Tam with the winning run.

Landon Cheney threw four innings of one-run relief to earn the win, with Patrick Barry going 3-for-3 and both Ortiz and Horner recording two hits. Trent Lenihan (White Rock, B.C.) was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Scott had two doubles in the loss for UBC.

The T-Birds return home next weekend when they'll welcome Corban University for a four-game series beginning Saturday March, 23 at 1:00 p.m. P.T. at Tourmaline Stadium.