VANCOUVER - After a week away from conference action, the UBC Thunderbirds get back to NAIA West competition this weekend when they host the Concordia Cavaliers for a four-game series at
Thunderbird Park. This will be UBC's first conference series at home this season.
GAME TIMES (all games at Thunderbird Park)
Friday, March 15
2 p.m. - Concordia at UBC
Saturday, March 16
12 p.m. - Concordia at UBC (doubleheader)
Sunday, March 17
11 a.m. - Concordia at UBC
UBC Thunderbirds (8-8 overall, 2-2 conference)
The T-Birds went 2-2 at Menlo College two weeks ago to begin conference play, using last week's bye for some exhibition tune-up scrimmages with Douglas College and Thompson Rivers. The pitching staff looked good in those exhibitions, which is a good sign given that the group has posted a 5.11 ERA so far. It's too early to get worked up over numbers in such a small sample size, but the program has built its success in recent years around pitching, so getting some strong outings in their first conference series at home would be a good way to start the turnaround.
Rookie righthander
Jeremy Newton and second-year man
Alex Graham have been the most consistent performers on the mound for the 'Birds so far. Newton's 23 innings of work are the most of anyone on the staff by far, and his 3.52 ERA has his university career off to a good start. Graham's 2.08 ERA leads the team, and he and Newton both do a good job of limiting walks, which has been a big part of their success.
Offensively, the 'Birds are off to an inconsistent but encouraging start. They are hitting over .300 as a team and scoring plenty of runs overall, but breaking things down to a game-by-game basis reveals that it's been a bit of an up-and-down ride so far. They have scored 14 or more runs in three games, including a huge 21-7 win over Bethesda University, but have also been held to four or fewer runs in seven of their 16 games so far. But those numbers should naturally even themselves out as the season rolls along and the quality of opponents becomes more consistent during conference play.
Tyson Popoff,
Andrew Firth,
Greg Densem,
Mike Hole and
Kevin Biro are all hitting over .300, giving the 'Birds a strong offensive core. Popoff leads the team with a .382 average, and his .488 on-base percentage ties him with Firth for the team lead. Densem is the top RBI man with 17 on the year, and Hole's has three of the team's five home runs.
Concordia Cavaliers (10-11 overall, 3-1 conference)
The Cavs were off to a tough start overall before they got the best of Oregon Tech in a close, low-scoring series to begin conference play last week. No team scored more than four runs in any of the four games, and three of them were decided by one run.
That's about what the T-Birds will be expecting this week too, as the Cavs have shown themselves to be a tough team to score on this year, even if they don't generate much offence themselves. Concordia hits just .250 as a team, but their 3.45 team ERA is solid and probably even a little overinflated given their abysmal non-conference series with Lewis Clark State in which they gave up 43 runs in just three games.
Other than that, the Cavs have been a stingy pitching team, and they already have two shutouts to their credit.
Jon Yearout is the ace of the staff, toting a 0.79 ERA through 34.1 innings. Opponents are hitting under .200 against him, and he averages almost a strikeout per inning. Alex Bos' 2.13 ERA in 38 innings of work would look spectacular if it wasn't for Yearout's numbers, but instead he will have to settle for being a very impressive second-place for now. The Cavs have a deep bullpen as well, with four other pitchers available sporting ERAs under 3.30.
At the dish, all-name team captain Blake Drake looks to be making a bid for the all-star team too, hitting .370 with 12 steals in 14 attempts. The problem for the Cavs is that behind Drake, there's not a lot going on offensively. Jared Young is hitting .367 and leading the team with 10 RBIs, but no other starter is hitting over .300 and the team walk-to-strikeout ratio is very poor, limiting their opportunities with runners on base.
