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The Warriors got all the runs they needed in the first inning, but this was still a well-played and entertaining ball game, with another record crowd at Thunderbird Park.

Birds' starter Brandon Kaye didn't get through the first inning. He was charged with five hits and six runs, and he walked two. He was replaced by David Otterman, a true freshman who had pitched 9 2/3 innings prior to today. Otterman went five innings, He hit the second batter he faced, sending in a run that was charged to Kaye. He proceeded to keep the Warriors scoreless until the sixth inning, when he gave up an RBI single by 3B Brian Burke.

While Otterman was shutting down the Warrirors, the Birds were, once again, unable to solve Warriors starter Colby Hawk. (This is Hawk's last year of eligibility.) Hawk allowed four hits over the first five innings, although SS Sammie Starr did manage to get as far as third base in the fourth.

Hawk started to tire in the sixth, however, and Starr hit an RBI double to end the shutout. Hawk was replaced by Stephen Foster, who pitched on Friday. The Birds got another run in the sixth on an RBI double by 2B Alex White, but they left the bases loaded. Starr was left in scoring position at the end of the seventh.

In the eighth inning, the Birds loaded the bases with one out on reliever Zach Clanton. C Greg Densem hit a ball that should have been a double play, but a wild throw to first base allowed two runs to score, cutting the Warrior lead to 8-4. 3B Keaton Briscoe hit a single. The Birds had runners at first and third with two outs, and Starr coming to bat. The Warriors had to send out their star reliever, Henry Buenrostro, who pitched three innings on Saturday. Buenrostro proceeded to strike out Starr to end the comeback. (Buenrostro got a big two-outs-in-the-eighth strikeout on Saturday.)  The Birds started the ninth inning with a single by DH Nic Lendvoy, but Buenrostro got two more strikeouts and a ground out to end it.

The Birds got two big defensive plays in the late going to stay in the game. In the seventh, C Kawika Emsley-Pai hit a line drive into center field, but White backed up and made a leaping catch to rob Emsley-Pai of a hit. In the ninth, Christian Jolley, who had just entered the game in right field, made a diving catch of a ball to rob 2B Trent Bridges of a hit. On the next play, Starr ran a long way to catch a fly ball in foul territory, ending the inning.

Andrew Ledger took over from Otterman in the sixth. He allowed only one hit, but it was a home run by CF Gino Casini. Jordan Herbison pitched the last two innings, and retired all six batters he faced, struck out one. Both Ledger and Herbison had pitched only five innings prior to this game.

Starr was 3-5 for the game, and Lendvoy was 2-4. LF Bryson Jajiri was 3-4 for the Warriors.

The game was delayed for a while on the fifth inning when a foul ball by LF Mike Elias shattered on of the ballpark lights, and the broken glass had to be swept off the carpet.

Box score and play-by-play

Stories by Lyndon Little in the Vancouver Sun: Lewis-Clark wins both Sat and Sun to take NAIA baseball series 2-1 (includes pictures)
Warriors bring Birds back to earth via weekend wins

Story from UBC Athletics site: T-Birds can't dig out of first inning hole
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The Warriors won it on an RBI double by SS Josh Ashenbrenner in the top of the eighth.

The Warriors led this one most of the way, and led 5-0 after 3 1/2 innings and a three-run home run by 3B Brian Burke off starter Mark Hardy. It was Burke's 15th home run of the season. However, the Thunderbirds started a comback in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by RF Nick Senior and an RBI single by SS Sammie Starr. They added a run in the fifth when CF Blake Carruthers scored when C Greg Densem hit into a double play. They added two more in the sixth to tie the game 5-5 when 2B Alex White scored on a ground out by Starr and LF Mike Elias scored on a ground out by DH Nic Lendvoy.

After the sixth, however, Warrior reliever Henry Buenrostro mostly shut down the Thunderbirds the rest of the way. They manged to get the tying run to second and the go-ahead run to first in the bottom of the eighth when White got a hit and 3B Keaton Briscoe drew a walk. However, Starr hit a long fly out, and Buenrostro got a big strikeout of Lendvoy to end the threat. The Birds went three up, three down in the ninth, and Buenrostro got fourth win of the season (all in relief).

The Birds' comeback was made possible by a good relief effort by Danny Britton-Foster, who replaced Hardy in the fifth inning and held the Warriors scoreless for three innings. He allowed three hits, and didn't walk a batter. Taylor King, who pitched the eighth and ninth innings, got the loss.

White and 1B Andrew Firth both went 3-4. Elias was 1-1; he got a bunt down, and drew two walks. Senior robbed 1B Pat Murray of a hit with a diving catch in the top of the ninth. Burke was 3-5 for the game.

Box score and play-by-play

Story from UBC Athletics site: Warriors go ahead late to spoil T-Bird comeback
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Eric Brown and Sheldon McDonald brought their best stuff to Thunderbird Park, and the result was the #1-ranked Warriors' first loss since March 15.

Brown started and went four innings. He allowed only one hit, which was canceled out by a heads-up defensive play. CF Jason Hague got an infield hit with two outs, but when SS Sammie Starr fielded it, he threw it to 3B Keaton Briscoe, and Briscoe caught the lead baserunner off the bag, ending the inning.

Brown hit a couple of batters and walked another one. He struck out three. When he turned the ball over to McDonald in the bottom of the fifth, the Thunderbirds had a 3-0 lead. Briscoe opened the scoring with an RBI on an infield hit (the ball bounced off Warrior starter Tyrell Poggemeyer) in the second inning. What eventually became the winning run came from a two-RBI double by LF Mike Elias in the fourth inning.

McDonald gave up a hit in the fifth inning, and a double in the sixth. In the seventh, he was charged with a hit on a dubious call at first; Starr made a good play on a ground ball, then made a brilliant throw to first. The call at first ultimately didn't matter; the next batter hit a grounder to Starr, and he turned it into a double play.

The Birds picked up an insurance run by Starr in the bottom of the seventh when Kevin Nickel, pinch-hitting for RF Sean Pisarski, reached on an error. McDonald got a three-up, three-down eighth inning, and took a shutout into the ninth inning.

The shutout ended with one swing of the bat by pinch-hitter Bryson Tajiri, who sent one over the fence with one out. The next Warrior batter got a hit, and Coach Terry McKaig was looking in the direction of the bullpen. However, McDonald got two fly balls to center field to close the deal. McDonald finished with five hits, five strikeouts, and no bases on balls. Brown was awarded the win, and McDonald got a save. Poggemeyer got the loss.

The seven Thunderbird hits came from seven different players; the other hits came from Starr, CF Blake Carruthers, 1B Andrew Firth, C Greg Densem, and 2B Alex White. Hague finished 2-3 for the Warriors. After an unusually large number of errors last weekend, the Birds were not charged with an error in this one.

This game drew the largest-ever crowd at Thunderbird Park.

Box score and play-by-play

Story by Lyndon Little in the Vancouver Sun: UBC upsets No. 1 ranked Lewis-Clark 4-1

Story from UBC Athletics site: T-Birds take game one from top-ranked Warriors

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First game (nine innings): Brandon Kaye pitched a complete-game shutout, held the Cavaliers to three hits. He struck out five, and walked three.

This game was close all the way, although the Thunderbirds out-hit the Cavaliers 10-3. The Thunderbirds left the bases loaded in the third inning, although they scored the first run of the game on an RBI single by CF Blake Carruthers. SS Sammie Starr was left at third base after hitting a double in the fifth inning, and RF Sean Pisarski was left at third after a single in the sixth inning. In the seventh inning, pinch-hitter Andrew Firth was robbed of a base hit by 2B Curt Cosby, who turned it into an inning-ending double play instead.

The Birds finally picked up a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, after helping out Kaye with an Starr-White-Foerster double play in the top of the inning. Mike Elias, pinch-hitting for 1B Bob Foerster, hit a single with one out, and was followed with another single by C Greg Densem.  Elias went to third on a fielder's choice by Kevin Nickel, pinch-hitting for LF Nick Senior. Senior immediately re-entered at first base, and Elias and Senior scored on a triple by 3B Keaton Briscoe.

Kaye was also helped by a big defensive play by Starr in the fourth inning. With runners at first and second due to two walks, C Tommy Whalen hit a line drive that was knocked down by Starr. The runner at second held because he thought the ball might be caught, and Starr picked the ball from the ground and threw to third to get the force out.

DH Nic Lendvoy was 2-3 for the game, Starr was 2-4, and Briscoe was 2-5. Starter Tyson Kisselburg got the loss for the Cavaliers, and 1B Andrew Reid got two of the three Cavalier hits.

Box score and play-by-play

Second game (seven innings): Mark Hardy faced only three batters beyond the minimum 21, and there weren't even very many close calls. He struck out six.

Hardy's achievement was the fourth no-hitter for the Thunderbirds, and the first since 2005.

The Thunderbirds' runs came on an RBI single by CF Blake Carruthers in the first inning, and an RBI single by 3B Keaton Briscoe in the fifth. Briscoe opened the game with a base on balls and scored on the hit by Carruthers. The second run was scored by Christian Jolley, the courtesy runner for C Bob Foerster, who reached on a single.

Cavaliers starter Dylan Smith went the distance, and allowed only five hits. Carruthers went 2-2. The other Thunderbird hit came from Nic Lendvoy.

Box score and play-by-play

Kaye is now 5-0, 2.24 ERA for the season, and leads the team with 52 1/3 innings pitched. Hardy is 4-2, 3.59 ERA. Briscoe leads the team in hitting with a .395 average.

Story from UBC Athletics site: Hardy's no-hitter, Kaye's shutout power T-Birds to sweep

2010 Photo Gallery
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First game (nine innings): The Thunderbirds trailed 7-1 going into the bottom of the eighth inning, and four of the seven Cavalier runs were unearned. However, the Cavaliers simply left starter Steven Taft in the game too long. Taft scattered seven hits over the first seven innings, and the only Thunderbird run came on a home run by CF Blake Carruthers in the second inning. The Birds left the bases loaded in the fifth inning.

The eight-run eighth inning started with a single by SS Sammie Starr. DH Nic Lenvoy and Carruthers both flied out, and the Birds were down to four out. RF Sean Pisarski kept the inning alive with a single, then 2B Alex White hit a single to score Starr. 1B Bob Foerster and C Greg Densem hit RBI singles, and Taft was replaced with Brett Ferguson. Andrew Firth was sent out to pinch-hit for LF Christian Jolley, and drew a walk. 3B Keaton Briscoe hit a double to bat in two more runs.

So, Starr came to the plate for the second time in the inning, with the Birds trailing 7-6, and two runners on base. He hit a home run over the left field fence.

Taylor King was brought in to close it. The top of the ninth started with a walk and a single, but King proceeded to get two strikeouts and a ground out for his fifth save of the season. Andrew Ledger, who pitched the eighth inning and retired three of the four batters he faced, got his first career win.

Eric Brown started, and shut out the first two batters he faced. However, the inning was extended by an error, and the result was an RBI single by LF Brady Miletich, and a two-run home run by C Tommy Whalen. The Cavailers added two runs in the fifth when 2B Curt Cosby singled, 1B Andrew Reid reached on an error, CF Ryan Kolstad got an RBI on a fluke single, and Whalen hit a sacrifice fly.

Briscoe was 3-5 with two RBI, and Starr was 2-5 with three RBI. Miletich was 2-3 with an RBI. Both sides committed three errors.

Box score and play-by-play

Second game (seven innings): The game started with an RBI single by 1B Sean Myrom, but another run was prevented by C Bob Foerster catching a baserunner stealing. The Birds answered with a leadoff triple by SS Sammie Starr, who came home on a single by 2B Alex White.

The Cavaliers were kept off the board for the next two innings, helped by an excellent play on a ground ball by Starr in the second inning, and starter Sheldon McDonald striking out three batters in the third. The Birds then got all the runs they needed in the bottom of the third, on a single by White, an RBI triple by DH Nic Lendvoy, an RBI single by CF Blake Carruthers, a single by Kevin Nickel (an early substitution at first base), and a two-RBI triple by 3B Keaton Briscoe.

The Birds completed the scoring with an RBI single by RF Jordan Pandoff in the fifth.

McDonald went six innings, allowed only one earned run on seven hits, struck out four, walked none, and hit one batter. The Cavaliers' second run came on a wild pitch by McDonald. Danny Britton-Foster pitched the seventh inning, gave up one hit, and struck out one. McDonald leads the team with six wins.

Briscoe finished the game 3-3 with two RBI. White went  3-4, and Nickel went 2-3. Andrew Reid went the distance for the Cavaliers, and got the loss.

Box score and play-by-play

Story from UBC Athletics site: Starr leads huge comeback as T-Birds sweep doubleheader

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The first-ever game between the Thunderbirds and Redhawks was a good one. The Redhawks outhit the Birds 8-5, but two of the five hits came in the fourth inning. DH Nic Lendvoy got a single, and CF Blake Carruthers was hit by a pitch. Lendvoy and Carruthers moved up on a wild pitch, and Lendvoy scored on a single by RF Sean Pisarski. Carruthers came home on a ground out by 2B Alex White, and the Birds had a 2-0 lead.

The Redhawks made it 2-1 in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly by Josh Kalalau off Miles Verweel. The Birds left the bases loaded in the eighth, and sent out Shawn Hetherington in the ninth inning to preserve that one-run lead.

Hetherington was met with a double and a single, and he walked the next batter on four pitches to load the bases with no outs. The next batter, pinch-hitter Mike Malland, got ahead in the count 2-1, hit four foul balls, then hit a line drive that was snagged by Hetherington. Hetherington threw to third base for the double play. He struck out the next batter to get the save.

The Thunderbirds used six pitchers. Eric Brown pitched the first two innings, and struck out four of the seven batters he faced. Sheldon McDonald pitched a hitless third inning. Taylor King took over from Verweel in the sixth, and pitched the seventh and eighth innings, allowed one hit, struck out two. McDonald got the win.

Lendvoy finished 2-4. The other Thunderbird hits belonged to White and C Greg Densem.

This game was taken seriously by the Redhawks. Starter Arlo Evasick, who was expected to do great things for the Redhawks, went 7 1/3 innings, and he was replaced by their best reliever, Max Whieldon. Both of them were sharp; Whieldon didn't allow a hit, and Evasick struck out five, allowed only one earned run.

A humourous note: Seattle U.'s webcast guys noted that 3B Andrew Firth wears number 37, the same number that Redhawks Assistant Coach Fletcher Vynne wore when he was a UBC undergraduate.  "What? They didn't retire his number?"

The Thunderbirds defeated both Division I teams they played this season.

Box score and play-by-play

Story from Seattle U. site: Seattle University Baseball Held Off by UBC Thunderbirds, 2-1
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First game (nine innings): An excellent outing for Brandon Kaye, who went eight innings, allowed one run on two hits, didn't walk a batter (he hit one), and had a shutout until the eighth inning.

The Thunderbirds got all the runs they needed in the first inning, on an RBI single by CF Blake Carruthers, an RBI double by RF Sean Pisarski, and a sacrifice fly by C Greg Densem. The rest of the scoring was single runs in the third, fourth, and seventh innings, and two runs in the sixth.

DH Nic Lendvoy finished 2-5 with a triple, two RBI, and two runs scored. SS Sammie Starr was also 2-5. Pisarski and LF Mike Elias were both 2-4 with a double and an RBI.

Trevor Winsor got the loss for the Warriors.

Box score and play-by-play

Second game (seven innings): The difference in a close ball game (the Warriors out-hit the Birds 7-6) was C Bob Foerster, who threw out three baserunners attempting to steal. The first one came in the second inning, and helped starter Mark Hardy get out of a jam. The Warriors left the bases loaded. The third one came in the sixth inning, when the Warriors scored their only run, on a fluke infield single by SS Jonathan Ramirez that hit reliever Shawn Hetherington; Foerster's successful throw to third meant only one runner on base, and only one run scored, instead of two.

The Warriors had the tying run at the plate with one out in the seventh inning, but Taylor King got two key strikeouts to end the game. King struck out three of the four batters he faced.

The Birds again scored the winning run in the first inning. SS Sammie Starr got a quick RBI set up by leadoff hitter 3B Keaton Briscoe, who reached on a single and stole second. Starr scored the winning run on a ground out by DH Mitch Grossell.

The only other Thunderbird run came in the second inning on an RBI single by Foerster.

Hardy went five innings, allowed four hits, struck out four, and got the win. King got his fourth save of the season. Warriors starter Nate Hiebert, who went five innings, got the loss.

Box score and play-by-play

Despite the sweep, Ramirez had a good day for the Warriors. He got both of the Warriors' hits in the first game, and scored the only run. In the second game, he got two hits, and batted in the only run. He also made a jaw-dropping defensive play in the second game. DH Mitch Grossell hit a line drive over second base, and Ramirez made a leaping catch to rob Grossell of a hit and an RBI.

Story from UBC Athletics site: Kaye's brilliant outing helps T-Birds complete sweep

2010 Photo Gallery
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The Birds got a sweep under horrible weather conditions.

First game (nine innings): The Thunderbirds had 21 hits, and led 8-0 after three innings. DH Nic Lendvoy got it going with a base-clearing double in the second inning, and 3B Keaton Briscoe did the most overall damage; 3-5 with two RBI and four runs scored. Eric Brown got the win, went six innings, struck out five, allowed seven hits, and the only run. Matt Bannister pitched two innings, and the only baserunner he allowed was a walk. Jordan Herbison pitched one inning, retired all three batters he faced, struck out two of them.

Box score and play-by-play

Second game (seven innings): Sheldon McDonald and Danny Britton-Foster combined to hold the Warriors to four hits. SS Sammie Starr went 2-3, DH Nic Lendvoy and LF Sean Pisarski were both 2-4 with an RBI and a double.

Box score and play-by-play

Story from UBC Athletics site: Big bats push T-Birds past Warriors
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