LAKELAND, Fla. - The University of Saint Francis baseball team opened the 2025 season with two games against No. 24 the University of British Columbia on Friday, February 7. The Cougars fell to the Thunderbirds 6-5 in game one before earning a 16-10 win in game two. 

#24 BRITISH COLUMBIA 6, SAINT FRANCIS 5 

• After four scoreless innings, British Columbia plated two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 2-0 lead. 
• The Cougars answered, scoring two runs in the sixth inning to tie the score at 2-2. 
• A sacrifice fly from Ayden Lichtensteiger scored Kasen Oribello to put USF on top 3-2.
• After the Thunderbirds tied the score up again in the bottom of the eighth, a single down the leftfield line from Callan Stauffer scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning, making the score 5-3 in favor of the Cougars. 
• UBC would bring in two more runs in the bottom of the ninth to take home the 6-5 win and improve to 2-5 in the season. 
• The Cougars scattered eight hits in game one of Friday night's season opener. Stauffer went 2-3 at the plate, finishing with a double, two RBI and two walks. The Cougars' second baseman also had a stolen base. Oribello finished game one with two hits, including a double to right center, two runs scored and a walk. 
• Lukas North got the start on the mound for Saint Francis, striking out five batters while giving up five hits and one earned run in five innings of work. 
• Perry Stow took the loss after coming in for relief in the ninth inning. The redshirt sophomore allowed two hits and two runs, with one being unearned. He struck out one batter and issued no walks.

SAINT FRANCIS 16, #24 BRITISH COLUMBIA 10 (7 INNINGS)

• The Cougars' offense started game two strong while taking advantage of UBC errors to bring 11 runs across the plate in the bottom of the first inning. Two home runs from Oribello and a double from Jayden Lepper highlighted the inning for USF. 
• An RBI single by Aaron Miranda in the second inning extended Saint Francis' lead to 12-0.
• British Columbia brought in three runs in the top of the third to bring the score to 12-3, but USF quickly answered with three more runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to make it a 13-run ballgame. 
• The Thunderbirds cut the Cougars' lead to 10-16 in the top of the seventh, but Saint Francis would hold off the Thunderbirds' rally to secure their first win to start off the new season. 
• The Saint Francis offense tallied 17 hits in game two against UBC. Oribello was 2-2 from the plate with two home runs, five RBI and three runs scored. Lepper was also 2-2 with three runs scored, two RBI and two walks. Eli Riley and Lichtensteiger both had doubles and scored a combined four times, while Miranda hit a triple to bring in a run in game two.
• Blaine McRae earned the win after facing 16 batters through three innings, scattering five hits while striking out three batters and giving up three runs.

Up next, USF baseball (1-1) will play two games against #11 Southeastern University on February 8 starting at 12:00 p.m.

Cougar fans can stay updated on all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com.