VANCOUVER, B.C. — The College of Idaho closed out its four-game series at the RV University of British Columbia with a 7-3 loss Sunday afternoon at Tourmaline Stadium.
C of I finishes the series 0-4, moving to 23-17 overall and 14-15 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play.
In a tightly contested game early, the Yotes and Thunderbirds were locked in a scoreless battle through three innings before UBC broke through in the fourth on a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead.
C of I answered in the sixth with its most productive inning of the day. After Keitaro Adachi sparked the rally with a double, Connor Olsen came around to score on a James Hull sacrifice fly to even the game. Moments later, Cody Guy and Austin Moon kept the inning alive, setting up Caden Casagrande for an RBI single that gave the Yotes a 2-1 advantage.
The lead was short-lived, however, as the Thunderbirds responded with a decisive four-run bottom of the sixth. UBC capitalized on walks and timely hitting, highlighted by a two-run single from Kansai Sugimoto that flipped the game in favor of the T-Birds at 5-2.
C of I continued to battle, trimming the deficit to 5-3 in the eighth inning on another sacrifice fly from Guy, but British Columbia added two insurance runs in the bottom half to secure the win.
Despite being limited to just four hits, the Yotes found ways to generate offense with situational hitting, accounting for all three runs via sacrifice flies and a run-scoring single. Adachi led the way with a 2-for-3 performance, while Casagrande and Guy each drove in a run.
On the mound, Jack Ryan turned in a solid start, allowing just three runs over 5.1 innings while striking out four. The T-Birds offense took advantage of eight walks issued by C of I pitching, which proved to be a key factor in the game.
British Columbia was held to just four hits as well, but made the most of its opportunities, with Sugimoto driving in three runs to lead the way.
The Yotes will return home for their final regular-season home series on Friday, April 18, hosting a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. MT.
