VANCOUVER, B.C. – Eastern Oregon University Baseball was unable to overcome a slow start as the team dropped two games Saturday afternoon on the road to University of British Columbia. The Thunderbirds won the day one twin bill by final scores of 10-4 and 6-2 to grab the 2-0 series lead on the Mountaineers.

Game 1 – British Columbia 10, Eastern Oregon 4
How it Happened
• Powering the T-Birds (16-19, 4-6 CCC) to the win was a combination of hitting and strong defense. They tallied 19 hits and held EOU (9-28, 2-6 CCC) scoreless in six of the nine frames.
• Offensively, the Mounties tallied nine hits in the game and scored three of their final four runs in the last two innings. Both squads played a clean game with neither committing an error.
• Right out the gate both squads worked a 1-2-3 first inning to keep the game scoreless. UBC then scored at least a run over the next four frames and held EOU to one in that same span.
• A pair of RBI singles in the second inning gave the T-Bird their first lead of the game, 2-0. They led from thereon out to secure the win.
• A three-run third innings pushed UBC's lead to 5-0. The team tallied four hits in the inning and scored on an RBI base hit followed by back-to-back RBO groundouts to go up by five.
• In the fourth, the 'Birds worked a 1-2-3 frame to get back on offense quickly. The Mounties surrendered two hits in the frame as a deep RBI single to center plated home a run.
• Eastern snapped its scoring drought in the fifth, scoring one run to stay within five. Garret Kollar singled to leadoff and got to third on two groundouts. He ultimately scored on an RBI single by Tomo Horie.
• UBC quickly got the run back in the bottom of the fifth to stay in front by six, 7-1. Three straight base hits scored the run before EOU forced three fly outs.
• The Mounties were held scoreless in the sixth and seventh, but UBC once again struck in the seventh scoring its final three runs. The three-run outing gave the 'Birds a 10-1 edge.
• Helping the 'Birds score the three runs in was a three walks by the Mounties. The walks loaded the bases before a bases clearing three RBI double to right center scored all three.
• Eastern tacked on a run in the eighth to make it 10-2. Easton Watterson led off with a double and scored on a two-out RBI double to right field by Matt Garcia.
• In the top of the ninth, the Mounties looked to rally. They scored two runs on a trio of hits before the 'Birds closed out the game. EOU managed to load the bases with one out to gain some momentum.
• A bases loaded walk on Watterson scored Jamie Powell to make it a 10-3 game. Justin Frederick then singled to score Adrian Road making it 10-4 with just one out.
• With the bases loaded and just one out, EOU still had a chance to get back into the game. On the next at bat however, Brooks Dyers grounded into a double play as UBC held off the late rally.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• In his first career start for EOU, Tomo Horie hit 3-4 and had one RBI.
• Easton Watterson batted 2-3 and scored one run.
• Matt Garcia went 1-4 with an RBI.
• Justin Frederick had one hit in five at bats and tallied one RBI.
• Both Garret Kollar and Jamie Powell batted 1-4 and scored a run.
• Starter Davis Brown (2-5) pitched five complete frames and had one strikeout.
• Reliever Kolbe Bales closed out the final three innings and had a game best five strikeouts.

For the Thunderbirds
• Jonny McGill batted 4-5 to lead all players and scored one run. 
• Nolan Weger went 3-5 at the plate with one RBI and scored two runs.
• Ty Penner racked up three RBI and batted 2-5 with a run scored.
• Brandon Hupe and Mitchell Middlemiss both went 2-4 with two RBI and scored one run.
• Shane Laforest (4-3) pitched seven complete in the start and had three strikeouts en route to the win.

Game 2 – British Columbia 6, Eastern Oregon 3
How it Happened
• The 'Birds used another quick start in game two as they racked up five runs in the first three frames. Their defense was also key, holding Eastern scoreless through the first six innings.
• The Mounties tallied six hits in the second contest, but surrendered 10 to the opposition. UBC played another clean game, while EOU committed the lone error of the day.
• Defensively, the 'Birds were in sync in game two thanks to their pitching. They worked 1-2-3 frames against EOU in seven of the game's nine frames in the wire-to-wire win.
• In the first, UBC racked up four hits to score three runs. A two RBI double to left center scored two runs before another RBI double to the same location scored the third run to make it 3-0.
• The lead grew to 5-0 in the third as UBC tacked on two runs. A one-out walk got a runner on before a double advanced him to third. The 'Birds then hit a two RBI single to center field to go ahead by five.
• Eastern ended its hitting drought in the fourth with a double from Easton Watterson. UBC then got the next three batters out to leave Watterson stranded.
• From the fourth to the sixth inning, neither team scored as UBC held the 5-0 lead. In the seventh, EOU's bats came to life with five hits to score their only three runs of the game.
• The Mounties knocked four straight hits to start the seventh, allowing them to score a pair of runs. A Jamie Powell double to left center scored Matt Garcia and Brooks Dyer to make it 5-2.
• The fifth and final hit of the frame came on the swing of Ethan Snodgrass. He knocked an RBI double to left field, scoring Elliott Marks.
• The rally by the Mounties got them within two, 5-3, before UBC ended the inning. Despite their best efforts, EOU was unable to get a hit again the final two innings of play.
• UBC tacked on its final run in the bottom of the eighth. A leadoff walk and two singles loaded the bases before an RBI fielder's choice scored the run to bring the score to its final of 6-3.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Jamie Powell batted 1-4 and had two RBI.
• Brooks Dyers, Matt Garcia, and Elliott Marks all went 1-4 at the plate and scored one run.
• Starter Jaydon Yancey (1-3) pitched seven complete innings and struck out three batters.

For the Thunderbirds
• Nolan Weger led all batters, going 3-4 with one RBI and a run scored.
• Jonny McGill batted 2-4 in the win and had two RBI.
• Mike Fitzsimmons went 2-5 at the plate and scored one run.
• Brandon Hupe was 1-2 with two RBI, scored three runs, and drew a pair of walks.
• Branden Woods (2-0) earned the win in the start. He struck out eight batters in seven innings.
• Vicarte Domingo earned his second save of the year and had two strikeouts in one inning.

By the Numbers
7 - UBC worked a 1-2-3 frame in seven of the nine innings against EOU in game two.
4 - Eastern drew four walks in the series opener against UBC.
10 - The Mounties' pitching staff tallied 10 strikeouts on day one.
7 - With hits in the first two games, Matt Garcia has pushed his hitting streak to seven games.

Up Next
• The series wraps up Sunday, April 3 with another doubleheader. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. in game one, with game two scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.

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