VANCOUVER, B.C. – For the second-straight day, the College of Idaho and British Columbia split an NAIA West Grouping Doubleheader at Thunderbird Park, with each team claiming 5-4 victories.
The Yotes (20-11, 4-4) improved to 3-0 in extra-inning games with a win in Game 1, while No. 20 ranked UBC held off a ninth inning C of I rally to win Game 2. With their victory today, the Coyotes won the season series from the T-Birds, 3-2.
C of I jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening two innings of Game 1, as Matt Hamilton delivered an RBI ground out in the first to score Mitch Viydo from third, while an inning later, Jordan Grubbs doubled home a pair with a drive down the right field line.
UBC (23-8, 6-2) chipped away at the deficit, getting a Brody Hawkins sacrifice fly in the third and a Tyler Enns sacrifice fly in the fourth to cut the gap to 3-2. After C of I plated an unearned run in the sixth, the T-Birds would finally get even in the eighth on RBI triples from John Whaley and Enns – but Enns was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a wild pitch to end the frame.
After stranding two runners in the ninth, the Yotes regained the lead in the tenth, as Brady Mooney led off with a triple, scoring on a Viydo sacrifice fly – with Viydo setting down UBC in order in the bottom of the inning to notch the win.
Markus Lively got a no-decision, going seven-plus innings, allowing four runs on 13 hits with four strikeouts. Grubbs, Viydo, and Zach Fabricius each had two hits for the Yotes, with Whaley going 3-for-4 for the T-Birds.
Game 2 was dominated through eight innings by the T-Birds, as starter Alex Webb allowed just two hits and struck out 10 in seven strong innings.
UBC tallied single runs in five different frames – including unearned runs in the first and third; an Enns bases loaded walk in the fourth; a Hawkins squeeze bunt in the seventh; and a Bruce Yari RBI single in the eighth.
The Yotes, however, would not go down without a fight in the ninth. C of I loaded the bases on a Cole Mansanerez double and a pair of walks, with free passes to Troy Carr and Jake Hennessey forcing in runs to make it 5-2. An out later, Sam Grise doubled down the left field line to plate two, cutting the margin to 5-4. After a walk to Grubbs, Viydo could not rekindle his Game 1 magic, bouncing into a game-ending double play.
Mansanerez had two of the Yotes four hits in the loss, with Russell Sweet logging the best appearance of four C of I pitchers, tossing two-plus innings of shutout relief, fanning four.
Yari, Hawkins, and Brendan Rose each had two hits for UBC.
C of I returns home on Wednesday, hosting Northwest Nazarene in a single game at 4:30 p.m.
