VANCOUVER, Canada – The College of Idaho took two games from the University of British Columbia in thrilling fashion. The Yotes toppled the conference leaders in game one with an epic comeback that needed all five ninth inning runs to fuel the 9-8 victory. Not satisfied with tying the series at one a piece, the Yotes battled bravely to win the night cap 6-3 to put the Yotes on top 2-1 in the conference series.
Game 1 College of Idaho 9, British Columbia 8
Down three runs in the top of the ninth, with first-place British Columbia already scribbling a W in the win column, the College of Idaho Yotes pulled off a comeback that defied logic, statistics, and maybe even gravity—erupting for five unanswered runs to shock the Cascade Collegiate Conference leaders 9–8 in Game 2 of the weekend series.
The game had every ingredient of a classic: a furious late-inning rally, defensive miscues, clutch hitting, and redemption written in bold ink.
After squandering a 2–0 lead by surrendering seven runs in a disastrous fifth inning, the Yotes found themselves in a 7–4 hole entering the bottom of the eighth. British Columbia added what appeared to be the final dagger in the eighth—scoring on an error after McGill swiped third base, his third stolen bag of the game.
Down 8–4 in the top of the ninth, the Yotes lit a fire.
Trevor Watkins ignited the rally with a double that plated Chandler Stocking, followed by Jack Ingraham's RBI single. After Darren Smith RBI ground out to make it 8–7, Jace Mahlke off the bench, ice in his veins, roped a single to right, tying the game. Securing a tie was not sufficient for the Yotes. Cannon Morgan stepped up and delivered the death blow, a laser to right-center that brought home Mahlke and sealed the miraculous 9–8 comeback.
Nine different Yotes recorded hits, and every RBI Came from a different bat reflecting a full-team effort in the truest sense.
Game 2 College of Idaho 6, British Columbia 3
Under gray skies at Tourmaline West, the College of Idaho Baseball team delivered a thunderous display of grit, power, and poise to sweep the day, and take the conference series lead in the night cap.
After falling behind 1–0 in the second, the Yotes ignited a fireworks show in the fifth. Mahlke stepped up and launched a solo shot to the left, tying the game and silencing the home crowd. Moments later, Stocking followed suit with a towering two-run shot that brought home Brandon Faire and gave C of I a 3–1 lead—momentum had officially shifted.
Though UBC's Bourne answered with a solo homer in the bottom half, College of Idaho was just getting started.
In the seventh, Caden Casagrande crushed a solo homer to deep left-center, pushing the lead to 4–2. Then came the eighth, a chaotic, scrappy inning that saw the Yotes manufacture two more runs—not with hits, but with bravery. Back-to-back hit-by-pitches with bases loaded, drawn by Casagrande and Smith, pushed the score to 6–2. Casagrande not only went yard but showed off his toughness at the plate, earning 3 RBIs in a gutsy performance.
On the hill, Dawson Cummins (W,2-4) was electric. The righty spun 8.2 innings, scattering just five hits and two earned runs, while fanning five and keeping a dangerous UBC lineup guessing.
The Yotes will have a crucial game four against the Thunderbirds in British Columbia, Canada with first pitch scheduled for 11:30 MT, half an hour earlier than originally scheduled to try to avoid rain.
