VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds have the second seed heading into this week's NAIA West Regional Tournament, setting up a first round tilt against the Menlo College Oaks, who they took three of four games from in the regular season.
The 'Birds and Oaks play at 3 p.m. on Wednesday in Portland, with the winner going on to play in the semifinal round of this double knockout tournament on Thursday. The loser will play the College of Idaho later on Wednesday, needing a win to stay alive in the tourney.
The winner of the tournament gets a spot in the NAIA World Series, while the rest of the field will have to wait and hope for an at-large berth.
UBC's first meeting with Menlo this year was in the conference opener back in early March, when they dropped game one before storming back with three straight convincing wins. A lot has changed for the 'Birds since then, but they finished the year strong with nine wins in their last 12 conference games, and that plus the addition of
Blake Carruthers, who has played well since returning to the lineup after a leg injury, should put momentum on the T-Birds' side.
The Oaks are not a strong hitting team, finishing second-last in the conference in team batting average, so the 'Birds should have a favourable match up for whoever gets the start.
David Otterman and
Danny Britton-Foster are both throwing extremely well lately and getting deep into games. Otterman's ERA is spot on 3.00 for the year, while Britton-Foster is sporting a cool 2.62.
The key for Otterman will be to limit his walks, which tend to be the catalyst when he's gotten into trouble this year. Otherwise he has the stuff to be overpowering, evidenced by his strikeout rate of nearly a K per inning and his sub-.200 opponent batting average.
Britton-Foster pitches more to contact, but that's not a bad strategy with gold glovers like Carruthers and
Andrew Firth behind you, and it's been highly effective for him lately as he has been UBC's most reliable starter in the last half of the regular season.
But you have to win at least three games to get that automatic bid to the NAIA World Series, and fortunately for the 'Birds, they have great options.
Tavis Bruce had a great start to the year but his action was somewhat limited over the last couple series with the wear and tear of the season slowing him down. If he can bounce back well-rested this week and throw like he did earler this year, the 'Birds are in great shape.
They also have rookie
Alex Graham, who has put together a few very impressive starts down the stretch, giving coach
Terry McKaig good reason to be optimistic not only about his future as a T-Bird, but about his potential to have a big impact on the present. And it was only four years ago that McKaig got a brilliant shutout performance from a freshman Britton-Foster in the NAIA West Regionals, so Graham should be ready for his number to be called.Â
The position-player ranks have really felt the effects of the injury bug in a big way, thanks especially to middle infield anchor and leadoff man
Matt Spillman's season-ending injury. But other guys have stepped up in the past few weeks to put some punch back in the offence after it hit a major rough patch mid-season.Â
While Andrew remains the most feared Firth in the eyes of opposing pitchers, hitting .353 with 47 RBI this season, his catcher brother Cam has really broken onto the scene lately too. He brought his average all the way up to .291 to finish the regular season and he is getting on base at an even .400.
Add sluggers
Nick Senior and Carruthers to the mix, as well as consistent contributors like
Sebastian Wong,
Ryan Taylor and
Jerod Bartnik, and the 'Birds definitely have the makings of a team to be reckoned with in this tournament.
Game one is a big step, as the loser's bracket makes for a grueling road to the finals, so look for UBC to pull no punches in their opener on Wednesday.
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