VANCOUVER - With eight conference games remaining and the NAIA West Tournament's top seed in their sights, the UBC Thunderbirds head to Klamath Falls this weekend for a four-game series with the Oregon Tech Hustlin' Owls.
LIVE STATS /
LIVE AUDIO (Sunday games only)
GAME TIMES
Saturday, April 20
12 p.m. - UBC at Oregon Tech
Sunday, April 21
11 a.m. - UBC at Oregon Tech
UBC Thunderbirds (20-13 overall, 14-6 conference)
Last Week: W 5-1, L 2-1, L 1-0, W 9-0 vs Corban University
The 'Birds got excellent pitching all series long against Corban last week, but the bats were stymied by a pair of impressive outings from the Warriors' staff, forcing UBC to settle for the 2-2 split.
But with conference-leading Lewis-Clark State bypassing the NAIA West Tournament straight to the World Series, that leaves Menlo College as the only real threat to UBC's bid for the tourney's top seed, and they also split their series last week to move to 16-8 on the year with four games left on their schedule. That leaves UBC in control of their own destiny with that first seed heading into the final two series of the regular season.
Despite the relative inexperience of the staff, things on the mound are shaping up very well for the playoff run. Second-year righty
Alex Graham (North Vancouver, BC) started the weekend off with a complete game to get his first win of the season – something that his 1.97 ERA suggests he deserved to get long ago. Freshman
Bryan Pawlina (Courtenay, BC) also turned in a great performance to bring his ERA down to 1.85, with opposing batters hitting a measly .172 against him.
Jeremy Newton, another rookie starter, also had a great outing, allowing no earned runs in what turned out to be a 1-0 loss.
Andrew Firth (London, ON),
Tyson Popoff (Richmond, BC) and
Greg Densem (Toronto, ON) all continued their consistent productivity at the plate, and they continue to lead the team in batting average in that order. Firth has started all 33 games for UBC this season, hitting .407 with a .459 on base percentage and 31 RBIs, while playing multiple infield positions.
Oregon Tech Hustlin' Owls (16-30 overall, 7-13 conference)
Last Week: L 6-1, L 9-8, L 7-3, W 6-2 at Central Washington (non-conference)
The Owls' last conference action was a key series against the College of Idaho in which they took three of four games to stay very much alive in the race for the final playoff spot with two series to go. They are now just two games back of Idaho, who also have eight games remaining, and they're within range of 10-14 Corban University as well (four games left).
But to fight their way into the playoffs, the pitching needs to be better for the Owls. The 5.98 team ERA is second only to Simpson University (3-34 on the season), and unlike most teams in the conference, the Owls don't have even one go-to guy that can reliably put up zeros. Chase Meister is the ace of the staff, with a 4.65 ERA and .308 opponent batting average in almost 70 innings of work.
That puts a lot of pressure on the likes of Dylan Rogers and Aaron Bocchi to put up big numbers with the bat to keep the team competitive. Rogers has had a great season, hitting .374 with 39 RBIs and a pair of homers. Bocchi has been solid as well at .333 with a .420 on base percentage, but the offence takes a significant dip after that. To make up those last couple games in the standings, the Owls will need some breakout performances from the rest of the lineup to close out the regular season.
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