UCC Baseball: UCC splits a nonleague twin bill with Mt. Hood

The Umpqua Riverhawks finished out the nonleague portion of the 2026 schedule by splitting a doubleheader against the Mt. Hood Saints Saturday at Bill Gray Stadium at Champion Car Wash Field.

The Saints scored four runs in the first inning of Game 1 and held off UCC for a 6-3 victory. The Riverhawks bounced-back to finish the day with an 11-3 win in Game 2.

“A little bit of lack of effort and passion in Game 1, obviously early. Once again, with a young group they didn’t live up to the standards of our program in Game 1,” Umpqua coach Jake Whisler said. “But to be able to bounce back and really extend the lead in Game 2 and once again have some guys that have never pitched before in college baseball and do a good job, I was really impressed with that stuff.”

Bayden Morris made his college debut for Umpqua (4-2) in the second game and earned his first win after throwing four innings and allowing just one run on two hits. The Grants Pass native struck out two and didn’t allow a walk.

“It definitely felt good for the first outing. Felt good to be throwing strikes,” Morris said. “I had a home run hit off of me and I had a chance to come back after that and show that I’m able to stay strong after things like that. I think that was a good opportunity.”

“That kid just works. He’s a great teammate,” Whisler said about Morris. “Landing a breaking ball in the strike zone, in our league that’s going to play. We were really proud of him.”

The Riverhawks’ bats provided plenty of support. UCC finished with 11 hits and took the lead in the first on a two-out single by Jackson Thomsen.

Umpqua never trailed in the game. Thomsen added two more RBIs in the sixth when the Riverhawks scored six times to pull away for the comfortable victory. Aidan Birchard had a pair of runs batted in and was 2-for-3 for UCC.

@Umpqua_Baseball highlights vs Mt. Hood@TristonWallace makes a diving grab on a foul ball@TrevorRatliff28 had a running grab over the shoulder to steal a hit@JacksonThomsen5 drives in two with a bases loaded single@a8birchard3 drives in a pair to put UCC up big@PNW_CBR pic.twitter.com/ocukxmJtUT

— Joey Keeran (@joeykeeran) February 22, 2026

The loss was the first off the season for Mt. Hood (5-1).

The Saints jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning of Game 1 against UCC starter Brett Lamb. Mt. Hood scored all four runs on a two-out rally. Diego Richards plated the first run on a single up the middle and Jonathan Wright tacked on three more runs with a base-loaded double.

Shiloh Wilson got the Riverhawks on the board in the third inning with a sacrifice fly that scored Aiden Metzker, but the Saints added two more runs in the seventh on a bloop single by Adam Elliott.

Umpqua nearly mounted a rally in the ninth inning. Taylor Davis and Lorenzo Bradley drove in runs to cut the deficit to three, but Reagan Soper grounded into a double-play to end the comeback and the game.

Richards, the reigning NWAC Hitter of the Week, had three hits for Mt. Hood in Game 1 and finished the day 4-for-8 with a double and two RIBs.

“To have a test run against a competitive offense like they have, it’s a great advantage for our club. They’re a very competitive team,” Whisler said.

Now the Riverhawks will turn their attention to the start of league play. Umpqua visits Coos Bay for a South Region doubleheader against Southwestern Oregon at noon on Friday.

First Game

Mt. Hood;400;000;200;—;6;9;0

Umpqua;001;000;002;—;3;7;0

Leo, Kingsbury (5), Hess (8), McLaughlin (9) and Allen; Lamb, Mulder (5) and Robbins. W — Kingsbury (1-0). L — Lamb (0-2). SV — McLuaghlin (2). 2B — Wright (MHCC), Strother (UCC), Richards (MHCC).

Second Game

Mt. Hood;011;100;0;—;3;3;2

Umpqua;130;106;X;—;11;11;0

Green, Scott (3), Hayden (6) and Kumagami; Gomez, Morris (3), Jackson (7) and Allen. W — Morris (1-0). L — Green (1-1). 2B — Wallace (UCC), Ratliff (UCC). HR — Kumagami (MHCC).