VANCOUVER - The Thunderbirds got a little lucky to go 3-1 at Corban last weekend, needing a late comeback in game four to steal a win in extra innings, but they now sit at 6-2 in the conference and have a good chance to add to their win total this weekend when they host the 1-6 Simpson Red Hawks.
The games will feature
live statistics. They will take place at Thunderbird Park on the UBC campus instead of Nat Bailey Stadium as originally scheduled.
CAME TIMES
Saturday, March 17 (doubleheader) at 12 p.m. (at Thunderbird Park, Vancouver)
Sunday, March 18 (doubleheader) at 11 a.m. (at Thunderbird Park, Vancouver)
UBC Thunderbirds
2012 record: 13-6 overall, 6-2 conference
Last week: W 4-2, W 10-0, L 4-3, W 12-10 at Corban
The T-Birds were in danger of being swept in their second doubleheader at Corban last weekend before some late heroics by
Jerod Bartnik and
Conor Lillis-White pulled them out of the fire.
Bartnik had five RBI on the day, including a two-RBI single in the tenth inning to win it. He now leads the T-Birds and is third in the Cascade Conference with 25 RBI this season. He is one of four T-Birds hitting better than .300 as well, sitting at .319 for the year.
Nick Senior eclipsed the .300 plateau long ago and didn't look back. He continued to tear the cover off the ball at Corban and is now leading the entire conference at .466 on the year. His five homers put him just one off the conference lead in that category as well.
Super freshman closer Lillis-White emerged from the phone booth just in time to save the day once again in game four last week. After the pitching staff was shelled for 10 runs through the first eight innings, he shut the Warriors down in the ninth and tenth to earn the win. He also has four saves this year and has yet to allow a run in 13.2 innings of work.
Tavis Bruce has emerged from a talented group of young arms as the most reliable starter early on. He's 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA in 28.1 innings.
David Otterman has been solid as well, going 4-1 with a 2.73 ERA in a team-high 29.2 innings.
Simpson Red Hawks
2012 record: 10-13 overall, 1-6 conference
Last week: L 7-3, L 18-2, L 6-2 vs Lewis-Clark State
The Red Hawks have shown the ability to score runs against good teams, but their pitching hasn't been anywhere near where it needs to be to compete in the Cascade Conference. Simpson sports an ERA of 8.04 as a team - almost three whole runs worse than any other Cascade Conference squad.
In their defence, they have started off conference play against two of the toughest teams in the league in LC State and College of Idaho, but things probably won't be any easier against NAIA No. 20 UBC.
Scott McKeen dominates the workload on the mound, with 49 innings under his belt already this year. No other Red Hawk has more than 27 innings pitched.
He is 3-3 with a 4.78 ERA, which is tops among Red Hawks starters.
Garrett Barnett leads the offence with a .423 average. Matthew Alton is the main run-producer with 19 RBI and Daveron Ross is the only Red Hawk to go yard so far this year, with two homers to his name.
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