VANCOUVER – For the seventh season in a row, the UBC Thunderbirds have clinched a playoff berth and are headed to the Cascade Collegiate Conference Softball Championship Tournament hosted by Oregon Tech in Klamath Falls, OR this weekend. Entering the postseason as the fifth seed, the T-Birds (25-20, 16-11) kick off the double-elimination tournament with a matchup against fourth-ranked and defending NAIA World Series Champion Southern Oregon University Raiders (34-15, 20-7) bright and early on Friday, May 3 at 9:00 am PT.
Jennifer McKellar‘s squad closed out the regular season on a hot streak, securing victory in seven of their last eight games, with dominating series sweeps over Providence and Corban.
“I am so proud of this team and all we have accomplished this year,” said McKellar. “They truly play for each other and love competing together. Our team has really found our own identity as a calm confident group on both sides of the ball. I think it has really shown in how they handled stiff competition, especially in the middle of our season playing four ranked teams in five weeks back-to-back, adversity (many injuries) as well as team and personal success. We set some big goals this year and worked really hard for them (25 wins ties the most ever wins in a UBC softball season) but we are eager for more and can’t wait for the CCC tournament. Two players (Keona and Gabby) reached 100 career hits. Shae now holds the most career wins in our program (24). Carleen is tied for most wins as a pitcher in a single season (11)”
Offensively the trio of Kaitlyn Kim, Gabrielle Dorvaland Keona Nordquist did a large part in pacing the ‘Birds in 2023. Kim earned the highest batting average for the blue and gold at .357, leading in homeruns (4), RBI (34) and hits (50). Dorval and Nordquist finished the regular season with 46 hits each, while managing to hit .341 and .324, respectively.
Shae Sever (8-5) and Carleen Murray (10-5) have combined for 198 innings pitched as the two have been relied on for the majority of the work this season. Sever leads the team with 91 strikeouts while Kempel has thrown four shutouts.
“We knew our job for the last two conference series and it was super exciting to be a part of the flawless execution by the team,” added McKellar. “Everyone played a part in finishing on such a high note both at home and on the road. Adjustments were made and players stepped up when called upon which is exactly what you want to see going into the first round of playoffs, especially in our conference .”
The T-Birds will face a tough challenge heading into their opening contest with Southern Oregon. In four regular season meetings against SOU, all on the road during a weekend series in mid-April, UBC managed to secure one win. The SOU offense features three players with six homeruns: Hannah Clavelle, Jordan Henderson, and Kennedy Kila. Pitcher Katie Machado has won 19 games with 122 strikeouts.
“Southern Oregon may be the fourth seed, but they are also the defending NAIA World Series Champs,” concluded McKellar. “They play very well under pressure and as a program know how to win in the post season. We played them three weeks ago at their home field and competing in all games, managing to earn a 1-0 off a great performance from Shae. In the two other conference games we were right in them so I know that gives us confidence. While we know we are a bit of an underdog this group is so driven in our goal of trying to have a playoff run, I know we will just take it one pitch at a time, slow the game down and control what we can. I expect a really exciting game.”
First pitch is scheduled for 9:00 am (PT) on Friday, May 3. If UBC wins the opener, their next game will be later that same afternoon. The schedule for the entire championship tournament can be found below.
2024 CCC Softball Tournament Schedule (All times Pacific)
Friday, May 3
Game 1 – 9 am | #5 British Columbia vs. #4 Southern Oregon
Game 2 – 11:30 am | #6 Carroll vs. #3 College of Idaho
Game 3 – 2 pm | Winner Game 1 vs. #1 Oregon Tech
Game 4 – 4:30 pm | Winner Game 2 vs. #2 Eastern Oregon
Saturday, May 4
Game 5 – 9 am | Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 3 (loser eliminated)
Game 6 – 11:30 am | Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 4 (loser eliminated)
Game 7 – 2 pm | Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Game 8 – 4:30 pm | Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 (loser eliminated)
Sunday, May 5
Game 9 – 11 am | Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (loser eliminated)
Game 10 – 1:30 pm | Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9
Game 11 – If necessary, 30 min after conclusion of Game 10
Tags: TBirds open CCC Championship Tournament battle Southern Oregon
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