UPDATE: Game locations have been moved to Thunderbird Park for Friday and Saturday. Sunday decision to follow.
VANCOUVER - This weekend, the no. 11 ranked UBC Thunderbirds welcome Corban College to Vancouver for a six-game series. It's an extended visit for the Warriors to make up for a pair of games that were cancelled due to poor weather when UBC traveled south earlier this season to battle Corban.
A trio of doubleheaders, one per day on Friday (12:00 p.m.), Saturday (12:00 p.m.), and Sunday (11:00 a.m.), are scheduled between the NAIA West north division leading T-Birds (16-6, 12-1) and last place Warriors (5-17, 0-7). UBC defeated Corban 17-1 and 4-1 in their two previous meetings this season.
Friday's games are currently scheduled to be played at Thunderbird Park on the UBC campus. The weekend games are set for Nat Bailey Stadium but could be moved to Thunderbird Park depending on weather conditions in the Lower Mainland. Check back on Friday for an announcement regarding the final decision on weekend game locations.
A look at the Thunderbirds
UBC will be well rested coming into this marathon series after having a bye last weekend from league play. To have success in a six-game series, UBC will have to get good innings out of each of their pitchers - something they have been getting so far this season.
Senior starting pitchers
Eric Brown and
Sheldon McDonald have been virtually lights outs for UBC. Brown ranks third in the NAIA West with a 1.56 ERA and is second with an opponent batting average of .191. McDonald isn't far behind with a 1.67 ERA and .215 opponent batting average. It's not surprise then that they are tied for the conference lead with five wins apiece. They've been supported by
Brandon Kaye and
Miles Verweel in the starting rotation.
Luke Webster, and his 0.93 ERA, and
Shawn Hetherington are UBC's most consistent relievers.
At the plate, sophomore
Keaton Briscoe leads UBC with a .342 batting average which is good enough to see him among the top 10 in the NAIA West. As a team, UBC sports five regulars batting .294 or better and has eight players with at least eight RBIs on the season.
Blake Carruthers paces UBC with 18 RBIs to go along with three home runs and five doubles.
Kevin Nickel tops the team with a .590 slugging percentage thanks in large part to his eight doubles and five home runs.
Bob Foerster and
Nick Senior have also each hit two home runs this year.
A look at the Warriors
Despite their woeful record, Corban is riding a winning streak coming into this weekend's series having defeated Lewis & Clark College (not to be confused with L-C State) 9-5 and 5-4 in back-to-back contests before tying a school record for runs scored in a 21-13 win over Willamette on Wednesday.
Offensively, Corban struggles mostly from a lack of depth as their talent at the top end has been solid. Steven Blum paces the Warriors and ranks among the NAIA West leaders with a .368 batting average and .561 slugging percentage. Nate Hiebert and Kyle Taylor provide a solid 2-3 punch, with both players hitting above .333 this year. Unfortunately for Corban, there is a significant drop off after that trio, with the majority of their players sporting batting averages below .250.
On the mound, the Warriors don't feature a single pitcher with an ERA below 3.00. The bulk of their innings have come from a group of six pitchers, all of whom have ERAs above 5.00. Their starting trio is a combined 3-11 on the season and opponents are batting over .300 versus the entire staff.
-30-
