SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – A dominant performance from Lalo Barraza and Braeden Bellum helped Oregon Tech get one game away from a Cascade Conference title, but British Columbia hit four home runs to rally for a victory in the championship game of the CCC Baseball Tournament at Drifters Stadium.
 
The Hustlin' Owls (33-19) staved off elimination with a 5-4 victory over perennial power, Lewis-Clark State, but UBC rallied from an early 3-0 lead to win the title in a 11-7 decision. The 33 wins by the club ties an all-time school record first established by the 2009 squad.
 
In the semifinals, a 5-run second inning was all the offense Tech would receive. The Owls loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch, with Sean Tobin dropping down a single on a safety squeeze, giving OIT a 1-0 lead. An out later, Korrey Siracusa lined a grand slam homer over the left field wall – his first home run of 2023.
 
Barraza held a potent LC (30-16) attack to four hits in six innings – working around a 3-run fourth inning, keyed by a 2-run Charlie Updegrave homer. Enter Bellum, who earned his second save of the year by getting the final nine outs, including a strikeout of Dominic Signorelli to close the game.
 
Barraza struck out six in picking up his ninth win of the season – a new single-season school record – with Bellum adding six strikeouts.
 
The title game with UBC (34-19) featured eight home runs on a day with a strong wind was blowing out to left field.
 
Tech hit home runs in each of the first four innings – as Alonzo Vergara started the scoring with a 2-run shot in the first, Julien Jones hit a solo homer in the third, while Ian Peters ripped solo long balls in both the second and fourth innings – the latter giving the Owls a 5-4 lead.
 
The T-Birds offense proved to be too much, as a three-run homer from Trent Lenihan was followed by a solo blast from Jonny McGill in a 4-run sixth, broke the game open.
 
Trailing 11-5, OIT loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth – getting bases loaded walks from Tobin and Adam Jacques – cutting the margin to four. Vic Domingo slammed the door, striking out a pair and getting Jones to ground out to end the threat.
 
Jones and Peters each had 3-for-4 games for OIT, while McGill was 4-for-5 with two doubles and the home run.
 
OIT now awaits the NAIA selection committee to see if they will receive an at-large big to the national tournament, which will be released on Thursday morning.