VANCOUVER, B.C. – Oregon Tech (4-14, 0-2 NAIA-W) opened up in NAIA-West play on Saturday afternoon in Vancouver, dropping two games to the University of British Columbia (8-6, 4-2 NAIA-W) with a 10-3 loss in game one and a close 3-2 loss over 10 innings in the nightcap.
 
Game 1 University of British Columbia 10 Oregon Tech 3
 
The Thunderbirds took command of the game in the first inning, scoring five runs after stopping Tech short with strong defense. British Columbia capitalized on walks and singles to load the bases, with a few strong hits sending their players home.
 
UBC added three more runs in the second to expand their lead to eight, while the Hustlin' Owls still struggled against Thunderbird pitcher Garrett Hawkins, who struck out three in the second and third to keep the team scoreless.
 
The Owls notched a single run in the fourth inning and scored two more in the sixth, but University of British Columbia tallied two more of their own in the bottom of the sixth. Both teams were unable to break through the others defense for the rest of the game, and the Thunderbirds claimed the victory.
 
Micah Jio and McKinnon Bennett each scored two hits for the Owls, with Jio scoring two runs. Emmett Covello scored a single hit but batted in two runs.
 
Cameron Sanderson tallied three hits and two runs for UBC and Adam Maier and Ty Penner each batted in two runs, notched two hits, and scored two runs themselves.
 
Hawkins took the win for the Thunderbirds, striking out 10 over six innings.
 
Tech pitcher Trask Telesmanich struck out eight in the loss.
 
Game 2 University of British Columbia 3 Oregon Tech 2
 
The second game started out slow, with Tech adding a run in the first and British Columbia tying things up in the second. The next five innings went by with no score as the teams buckled down defensively.
 
Both teams added an additional run in the eighth, but neither was able to take the advantage in the ninth. The Thunderbirds took the game in the tenth, scoring a single run as the Owls remained scoreless.
 
Alex Malcolm, Jio, Josh Overstreet, and Covello each scored a hit for Tech in the game, with Overstreet and Covello each batting in a run and Malcolm and Jio each scoring a run.
 
The Hustlin' Owls will play their second doubleheader against University of British Columbia tomorrow, with games at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm. The team will travel to Lewsiton, Idaho next weekend to take on Lewis-Clark State College, with doubleheaders kicking off at 12:00 pm Saturday and 11:00 am on Sunday.
 
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