SURREY, British Columbia – The No. 17 Corban University softball team played a pair of games on Saturday north of the United States-Canada border, taking on the University of British Columbia. The Thunderbirds (4-9, 4-2 CCC) shocked the Warriors on the day, winning both games while earning their third and fourth wins of the 2016 campaign.
In game one, the Thunderbirds jumped in front in the top of the first with two runs, but the Warriors tied it up in the second when junior Paige Martin (Portland, Ore.) laced an RBI single to right field and then junior Danielle Ackerman (Dallas, Ore.) recorded an RBI groundout.
UBC stayed hot at the plate, however, scoring three more runs in the second and one in the third to take a commanding 6-2 lead.
Corban pulled one back in the fifth via an RBI single by junior Iris Rodriguez (Warden, Wash.), but UBC took advantage of Corban errors in the sixth, scoring three more runs to put the game away and win 9-3.
The Warriors actually outhit UBC, 12-11, in the loss, but Corban left seven runners on base. Rodriguez, junior Taylor Eilders (Cameron Park, Calif.), and freshman Grace Utto-Galarneau (Lacey, Wash.) all registered two hits in the defeat.
In the second game of the day, the Warriors once again gave up two runs early, but this time Corban bounced back and took a 3-2 lead when junior Allie Mendez (Stockton, Calif.) and freshman McKenzie Giancola (Clackamas, Ore.) both blasted home runs in the second frame. Mendez added an RBI single to right-center in the third to put Corban up one run.
UBC, however, tied the game on an unearned run in the fifth and then scored the game-winning run in the seventh to complete the doubleheader sweep over the Warriors via the 4-3 triumph.
Corban once again outhit UBC, 9-7, but it was not enough as the Warriors lost both games on the same day for the first time in 2016.
Mendez went 3-for-4 at the dish with two RBI, while sophomore Maddy Melton (Salem, Ore.) recorded two hits for Corban. Mendez picked up the loss, allowing seven hits and four runs in 6.2 innings. Only three of the runs were earned.
Corban (17-10, 3-3 CCC) returns to Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) action on Wednesday, March 23. The Warriors will play host to Southern Oregon University at Hood View Park, with first pitch of the doubleheader set for 10 a.m.
