UBC sweeps doubleheader with massive comeback win

Abbotsford Cardinals grad Mitchell Middlemiss (Chilliwack, B.C.) went 4-for-4 to lead UBC to a 10-3 win over Corban in Game 1 of their doubleheader on Saturday. Photo: UBC Athletics (file photo)

March 22, 2025

By UBC Communications

KEIZER, Ore. – The first two of four matchups between the UBC Thunderbirds and Corban Warriors over a three-day span went the Thunderbirds' way on Saturday afternoon and evening at Volcanoes Stadium.

The T-Birds jumped out to an early lead in game one that finished 10-3 then completed an eight-run comeback in the second with a 10-9 final score to quash the Warriors' dreams of snapping their losing skid.

Game 1 – (RV) UBC 10, Corban 3

A three-run top of the first for the Thunderbirds set the tone early for UBC and despite a three-run offensive inning of their own for the Warriors in the third, British Columbia added runs in both the fifth and sixth and rode a quality start from southpaw Will Anderson (Delta, B.C.) to their 10-3 series opener victory.

Corban senior starting pitcher Chris Shaffer went five-plus innings and allowed seven earned runs off 12 hits and three walks while striking out three batters. Junior relief pitcher Casey Henderson tossed the final foiur frames and saw just a single run scored off two hits and a walk while inducing five ground outs and six fly outs.

Anderson picked up his second win of 2025 with a six-inning outing, allowing all three Corban runs to score on six hits, two walks, and three punchouts. Reliever Adam Khan (Aurora, Ont.) kept the Warriors in check the remainder of the contest with just two base runners permitted in three innings.

The Corban offence was led by junior shortstop Isaac Bateman and junior designated hitter Peyton Rickard in game one, as the duo tallied two hits apiece while each recording an RBI. Senior third baseman Ryan Clay, sophomore leftfielder Lucas Mertlich, and redshirt sophomore second baseman Ethan Ammerman each secured a base hit as well.

British Columbia rightfielder Mitchell Middlemiss (Chilliwack, B.C.) was unstoppable at the plate in game one for the T-Birds, as he was 4-for-4 with four RBIs and a pair of runs scored from the No. 5 spot in UBC’s lineup. First baseman Trent Lenihan (White Rock, B.C.) and catcher Kyle Yip (Calgary, Alta.) each tallied three hits apiece and at least one RBI.

Game 2 – (RV) UBC 10, Corban 9

Game two was all Navy and Gold early as the Warriors jumped on Thunderbirds' starting pitcher Ryan Beitel (Surrey, B.C.) over the first three innings, as three different Corban student-athletes launched home runs, beginning in the first when Clay blasted his fifth longball of the year to give his program a 2-0 lead.

After UBC earned a run back in the second, Rickard kickstarted a seven-run frame for Corban in the third with a bases-clearing double to deep centre field, followed by a three-run bomb by Mertlich two batters later. On the very next at-bat, junior centre fielder Chase Elliott pelted his second home run of the season to end the massive offensive showcase for the Navy and Gold with a 9-1 lead through three innings.

However, the offence was unable put any more runs on the board for the remainder of the contest and slowly but surely, the Thunderbirds chipped away at their eight-run deficit, putting at least one run on the scoreboard every inning from the fourth through the eighth frames to turn a 9-1 shortfall into a 10-9 lead entering the bottom of the ninth and representing Corban's final opportunity to reverse their shortcomings on the mound. Clay would single to right field with two outs in the inning, yet a fielder's choice on the next at-bat wrapped up the doubleheader sweep for UBC.

Warriors' redshirt junior starting pitcher Josephan Gonzalez fanned four T-Bird batters but allowed six runs on 10 hits in five-plus innings. A quartet of relief pitchers all tossed a single frame for the Warriors, surrendering various sums of runs, with Bateman eventually taking the loss in his first trip to the mound this season. Rickard was the only pitcher in game two with a scoreless outing as he pitched the top of the ninth and allowed just one runner to reach base.

UBC’s Beitel received the no-decision after allowing all nine runs in 2 2/3 innings. Relief pitcher Dylan Myttenar (Vancouver, B.C.) picked up the win after holding the Warriors to just two hits and no runs with six strikeouts and a pair of walks, while closer James Brock (Burnaby, B.C.) worked a two-inning save.

Redshirt junior designated hitter Joshua Miyazawa went 2-for-3 from the leadoff spot for Corban and scored two of his team's nine runs, while Clay matched his four-year teammate with two hits, two RBIs, and two runs. Rickard and Mertlich both tied for the game-high in RBI with three apiece on their bases-clearing double and three-run homer, respectively.

In his first start of the weekend, British Columbia shortstop David Draayers (Abbotsford, B.C.) was the catalyst for the UBC offence, as he finished 4-for-5 with three RBIs and a pair of runs. The second, third, and cleanup batters in the T-Birds' lineup, represented by leftfielder Jonny McGill (Richmond, B.C.), Lenihan, and third baseman Aaron Marsh (Nanaimo, B.C.), were a combined 6-for-12 with three RBIs and four runs scored.

The Warriors and Thunderbirds will play a pair of single morning contests over the next two days, with game three of the four-game slate scheduled for a 9 a.m. first pitch on Sunday back at Volcanoes Stadium.