via Oregon Tech Athletic Communications
VANCOUVER, B.C. – Oregon Tech will have to wait to see if they earn an at-large bid to the NAIA Baseball National Championships, as David Krahn hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the eighth, leading British Columbia to a 9-6 victory over the Hustlin’ Owls at the Cascade Conference Championships.
UBC (36-17) claimed the CCC’s automatic bid to Nationals with the victory – hitting four home runs on their own diamond – while surviving a late-inning rally by the Owls.
Tech (38-14) will learn their postseason fate on Tuesday at 2 p.m. – hoping to receive one of 15 at-large bids to the tournament.
Trailing 5-2 in the seventh, the Owls battled back to tie the game – loading the bases with one out. Tyler Horner singled home a pair of runs and Logan Macy drew a bases-loaded walk, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the threat.
The T-Birds countered in the eighth, as Krahn lined a solo homer, with UBC adding three insurance runs thanks to two OIT hit-by-pitches, two wild pitches and an error.
Julien Jones hit his team-leading 14th homer in the ninth, but the Owls could not get closer.
UBC hit three early solo homers – a first inning blast from Trent Lenihan and third inning bombs from Kaden Zarowny and Jonny McGill – to take a 3-0 lead. Horner got the Owls a run back with a third inning RBI double, with Keanu Mizuta hitting a fourth inning solo homer, cutting the margin to 3-2.
Horner finished the day 2-for-5 – becoming the first Cascade Conference player to surpass 300 hits in a career, while tying his own school record with 21 doubles. Both Jones and Patrick Barry had two hits in the loss.
Later in the day, Lewis-Clark State claimed the CCC crown, topping UBC, 7-6.
