MESA, Ariz. --- The Park University Gilbert softball team (3-3) lost the final two games of the home-opening series against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (7-5), Thursday afternoon at Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, Ariz.
The Buccaneers drop to .500 after riding a three-game winning streak into the afternoon. This non-conference series against British Columbia finished with a split, as the Bucs won two games on Wednesday. After today's results, Park-Gilbert drops to fourth place in the Great Southwest Athletic Conference standings.
Game 1: UBC 7 PARK 0
The Buccaneers were held without a run in the opening game of this doubleheader.
UBC got on the board in the top of the first with a pair of runs that were driven in from a single and a sac fly.
After three scoreless innings, the Thunderbirds got back on the board in the fifth inning with an RBI single. In the sixth inning, a solo home run from Mattea Burill put the T-Birds up 4-0.
The final three runs from Game 1 came in the top of the seventh, courtesy of a Jessica Heutink triple and a Jillian Matsubara two-run homer.
Yazmine Bernal (1-1) got the start in the circle for the opening game of this series-closing doubleheader. Bernal threw 80 total pitches in 5.1 innings, allowing seven hits and throwing one strikeout. Grace Jump came in relief for the final 1.2 innings, facing the final nine batters and throwing for 34 total pitches.
UBC totaled 10 hits and no errors to Park's four hits and two errors.
Game 2: UBC 7 PARK 3
After UBC hit an RBI single in the top of the first, Buccaneers first baseman Noelle Gumm responded with a solo home run; her first homer of the 2026 season.
In the bottom of the fourth, center fielder Ari Fjeldsted hit a single to center field with the bases loaded as third baseman Lizzy Aguilar reached home. In the bottom of the fifth, Aguilar hit her first homer of the season which gave the Bucs a 3-1 lead.
The top of the seventh saw the Thunderbirds load the bases with no outs, a tough situation for Park-Gilbert to get out of. British Columbia took the lead and added six runs to the board.
Daysy Juarez (1-2) was the starting pitcher for Game 2, giving up just one hit against nine batters. Juarez pitched 2.2 innings before Bernal returned to pitch 3.2 innings. She threw 79 pitches before Jump came in to close out the final inning.
UBC recorded seven hits and no errors to Park's six hits and two errors.
Up Next
The Buccaneers return to the field this Saturday, Feb. 14 at 11 a.m. MST, when they host the College of Idaho Yotes (1-1) in a non-conference doubleheader at Mesa Community College in Mesa, Ariz. The Yotes, who received votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll, had their season opener Thursday afternoon on the road against the Nelson University Arizona Warriors. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m., with Game 2 commencing 25 minutes after Game 1.
