VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds are geared up for their final home series of the season against the Oregon Tech Hustlin' Owls this weekend.
The games were originally scheduled for Nat Bailey Stadium, but have been moved to Thunderbird Park on the UBC campus.
Games: Saturday April 21, 12 p.m., Thunderbird Park (doubleheader)
Sunday, April 22, 11 a.m., Thunderbird Park (doubleheader)
UBC Thunderbirds
21-15 overall, 14-10 conference
Last week: W 9-4, W 2-0, W 9-3, L 9-3 at Concordia
The T-Birds have been bitten hard and repeatedly by the injury bug this season. Already without veteran catcher
Greg Densem, who has been out since the start of the season, and starting pitcher Miles Verwheel, who has been out nearly as long as Densem, the T-Birds also lost starting centre fielder
Blake Carruthers and second baseman
Kevin Biro a few weeks back.
To top it off, they announced last week that short stop
Matt Spillman will miss the remainder of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Despite all that, they rattled off three straight impressive road wins in Portland last weekend against Concordia to remain in the hunt for the conference lead and hosting rights for the regional playoff tournament.
Carruthers remains the team leader in batting average by a wide margin at .385, not to mention his gold glove-calibre play in centre field, so getting him back will be a big boost to the lineup. Spillman's .500+ on-base percentage and glove work in the middle of the infield will be sorely missed, but the 'Birds still have enough depth to make some noise come playoff time.
Ryan Taylor has done well taking over at second base in Biro's absence, and he will likely continue to factor into the starting lineup when he returns now that Spillman is out.
Mike Hole has been coming on strong lately and now has 20 RBI on the year after a two-run triple in the series finale last weekend.
Jerod Bartnik's average has taken a slight hit lately but the rookie right fielder is still hitting a respectable .269 with 28 RBI.
But it's the veterans that continue to carry the offence for the 'Birds.
Andrew Firth is hitting .329 with a team-leading 33 RBI this season, and
Nick Senior is hitting .305 with a .419 on-base percentage and 30 RBI.
Sebastian Wong has been getting extra starts in centre field since Carruthers went down and is making the most of the opportunity, hitting .309 for the season.
On the mound, the team has yet to see a dominant ace emerge from the rotation, but UBC does have the luxury of three quality starters to choose from.
Tavis Bruce leads the group with a 2.76 ERA and a 4-1 record, while
Danny Britton-Foster continues to get better as the season rolls along, now sporting a 3.02 ERA with a team-leading 62.2 innings pitched.
David Otterman has the best strikeout numbers of the group but also the highest walk numbers. His solid 3.14 ERA could get even better if he can be more consistent with his control.
In relief,
Conor Lillis-White is the main man, with four saves under his belt and an impressive .176 opponent batting average.
Oregon Tech Hustlin' Owls
16-27 overall, 9-15 conference
Last week: L 6-1, L11-6, W 7-6, L 17-11 vs Lewis-Clark State
The Hustlin' Owls were hit hard by the toughest stretch of their schedule, playing the top two teams (LC State and College of Idaho) in consecutive weeks, with a 1-7 record to show for running that gauntlet. That dropped them down to the edge of contention for a playoff spot, and things don't get much easier this week as they take on the 'Birds at home.
Dylan Rogers will be the main threat at the dish, as he leads the team in every significant statistical category offensively. He is a .340 hitter with six homers and 43 RBI. Zack Earle is the only othe regular starter hitting over .300, while doubling as a starting pitcher as well.
Ryan Hayden is hitting .288 with 34 RBI and four home runs. Kory Locken is at .282 but he does his damage once he gets on base, as he has 22 steals in 30 attempts this year.
Pitching is where it all falls apart for the Owls lately. They've given up double digit runs five times in their last nine games, and the staff has an ERA of 6.30 for the year.
Aaron Jorgensen leads the starting rotation with a 5.15 ERA. Earle is next at 5.28, and Brandon Allen is at 5.43. Craig Kathol and Hayden Wolfe have started a few games as well but both are giving up more than six runs per game.
Their bullpen situation isn't any better, so the T-Birds should have their opportunities to produce some offence this weekend.
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