VANCOUVER - The newly-minted no. 6 ranked UBC Thunderbirds (26-6, 18-2) welcome the Concordia University Cavaliers (7-17, 4-8) to Thunderbird Park this weekend for a pair of NAIA West conference doubleheaders. First pitch is at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday and 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.
All four games will be broadcast live by CiTR 101.9 FM, with the first game of each doubleheader on the air and the second webcast at
CiTR.ca.
A look at the Thunderbirds
UBC finds themselves with their highest ranking in the NAIA since 2006 when they reached no. 4 in the Top 25 en route to a fourth-place finish in their only AVISTA-NAIA World Series appearance. The T-Birds were ranked no. 13 in the preseason poll and have steadily improved their standing thanks to a 26-6 overall record. All six of their losses have come against ranked team, with three (including a pair of one-run defeats) at the hands of no. 1 Lewis-Clark State, a pair to no. 23 College of Idaho, and one against then no. 9 (now, no. 21) Fresno Pacific.
Not surprisingly, UBC's strength this season has been pitching. Their top three starters this season currently rank 2-3-4 in the conference in ERA and have combined for a 14-2 record in 21 starts. Junior
Eric Brown leads that group with a 6-0 record and sports a 2.49 ERA in 41.1 innings of work. The 2009 regional all-star has allowed only 39 hits and has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3-to-1. Newcomers
Brandon Kaye (4-0, 2.70 ERA, .197 opponent batting average) and
Sheldon McDonald (5-2, 2.82 ERA, 32 K, 7 BB) have been major additions to an impressive staff.
Mark Hardy, UBC's ace in 2009, has not been as dominant as last season when he was 10-1 until an arm injury ended his year but he still leads the team with 36 strikeouts and gives UBC a top four that can rival almost any team in the NAIA.
Out of the pen, 2009 starter Dan Britton-Foster has been great in long relief situations with a 2.33 ERA over 27 innings of work that includes 16 strikeouts and only three walks. Lefty
Miles Verweel has been solid in situational appearances with team-low 2.16 ERA over eight innings while
David Otterman sports a 2.79 ERA in 9.2 innings. The closing duties have been split so far this season by
Shawn Hetherington (five saves) and
Taylor King (four).
Offensively, it continues to be a blend of seasoned veterans and talented freshman that have carried the load.
Nic Lendvoy leads a group of nine regulars who are batting .290 or better with a team best .386 average. He also tops the squads with 36 RBI, 49 hits, 13 doubles, and is tied for the lead with five home runs as the everyday DH. Fellow senior
Sammie Starr is hitting .349 with 10 doubles and also leads the team with 11 stolen bases. The rookie trio of
Andrew Firth (.377, 19 RBI),
Keaton Briscoe (.368, 3 HR, 23 RBI), and
Blake Carruthers (.352, 5 HR, 26 RBI) continues to produce at very high levels.
A look at the Cavaliers
Rain has played havoc with the Cavaliers schedule all season and has limited them to just 24 total games. Even this week, their Tuesday doubleheader against Corban College, which was a make-up date, had to be rescheduled to Wednesday due to rain.
The inconsistency in their schedule has led to inconsistent performances both at the plate and one the mound. Offensively, Sean Myrom is the key as he leads the Cavaliers in average (.373), runs (15), home runs (6), and RBIs (23). He doesn't have much support as just one other regular, Tyler Anderson, is batting .300 or better. Ryan Kolstand (.487, 1 HR, 7 RBI) and Chris Jaime (.300) have put up good numbers but have only played in nine and 11 games respectively. As a squad, Concordia has only scored 104 runs while giving up 175.
On the mound, they have started nine different pitchers in only 24 games. Josh O'Gorman has been their most used hurler, working 42.2 innings over seven starts. He is 1-4 on the season with a 4.01 ERA. Jarrod Castrejon has been their top starter, sporting a 3.46 ERA in three stars (five total appearances) and has struck out 16 while walking nine in 26 innings. Zac Manor has appeared in 10 games, working 17.1 innings and has a 2.08 ERA with a pair of saves and 3-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio. Every other Cavaliers pitcher with more than 10 innings of work has an ERA of 5.40 or higher.
Last meetings
The T-Birds swept the Cavaliers when they traveled to Oregon for a pair of doubleheaders on March 20 and 21. UBC took the four games by scores of 17-0, 5-0, 6-3, and 17-3.
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