VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds got their 2016 NAIA campaign off to a solid start on Friday, taking both decisions in a double-header against the Northwest Nazarene (Idaho) Crusaders and the Corban (Ore.) Warriors on the first day of the LCSC Guardian Heating, Plumbing, and A/C tournament in Lewiston, Idaho.
 
The morning game saw the 'Birds dominate Northwest Nazarene 8-3, before they turned around and delivered a solid performance against Corban, picking up the 4-2 result.
 
In their matinee against the Crusaders, the 'Birds were led by their veteran slugging duo of first baseman Bruce Yari (Waterloo, Ont.) and centre fielder Tyler Enns (East St. Paul, Man.). Yari racked up an impressive all-around stat line, notching two hits, three runs, an RBI, and a home run, while Enns made solid contact all afternoon, with four hits, a run, and an RBI.
 
The 'Birds got their bats going early, as a two-run second inning set the tone for the rest of the contest. Yari, at the top of the batting order, opened up the inning with a solo shot that found its way over the wall behind right field. Later in the frame, Enns singled to the left side before being driven in by Brendan Rose (Calgary).
 
Enns and Yari continued their strong showings in the fourth, with the 'Birds still up just 2-0. After Yari doubled with a solid shot down the middle of the park, Enns got the 6-foot-3 first baseman home with a single of his own.
 
The 'Birds kept taking advantage of a strong season debut from fourth-year ace Alex Webb (Surrey, B.C.), who threw 6.0 innings of shutout ball. In the fifth stanza, Griff Goyer (Burnaby, B.C.) stretched the 'Birds lead once more, driven in by a double from Lucas Soper (Vancouver). Yari, who advanced from first to second on that same shot, and Soper himself rounded the bases on the next hit, a one-base shot from sophomore catcher Braeden Allemann (Surrey, B.C.).
 
Up 5-0, the 'Birds switched over to reliever Ethan Skuija (Victoria, B.C.) in the seventh inning, before turning to Patrick van den Brink (Surrey, B.C.) in the final frame. The two pitchers closed out the contest, and a couple of runs from second-year third baseman Anthony Cusati (Burnaby, B.C.) sealed the win.
 
Two ninth-inning runs from Northwest Nazarene, one from pinch hitter Brady Baker, who made it home on a wild van den Brink pitch, and one from shortstop Tanner Vogt, who was driven in off a double from center fielder Josh Hatfield, proved too late for the Idaho side, as the T-Birds finished the contest having earned an 8-3 decision.
 
Squaring off against Corban in their second contest of the day, the Thunderbirds' pitching staff took centre stage, as juniors Curtis Taylor (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) and Tyler Gillies (London, Ont.), along with sophomore Brad Smith (Vancouver), combined to throw a three-hit performance, with a two-run fifth inning slightly marring an otherwise brilliant showing.
 
The 'Birds jumped out to the lead right off the bat (pun intended) and retained it for the entirety of the game. The first inning saw UBC go up 2-0 as Cusati and Yari kept their bats hot. Back-to-back in the batting order, both basemen grounded out, but succeeded in driving in runners in from scoring position.
 
With his first at-bat of the contest in the second inning, second-year center fielder Max Hollingworth (Coquitlam, B.C.) cracked a moonshot straight down the middle. With Hollingsworth's second homer of the season, the 'Birds went up 3-0, a lead they wouldn't relinquish once.
 
The Warriors did well to close the gap in the fifth inning, as right fielder Jalen Garcia and pinch hitter Landon Foster were each given the opportunity to pick up an unearned run, with Garcia capitalizing on a fielding error from Cusati. The next batter up was Ryan Rosas, and, with the bases loaded, the junior shortstop was walked by Taylor, leading to Foster's run.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, Cusati made up for his earlier transgression, as his shot drove in Anthony Olson (Edmonton) and restored a two-run lead at 4-2.
 
The pitchers on both sides tightened up in the latter portion of the contest, and neither the 'Birds nor the Warriors were able to earn anything else in terms of scoring offense.
 
 The 'Birds will need all the momentum they earned from these two contests tomorrow, as they prepare to face the Lewis-Clark State Warriors, the No. 1-ranked team in the NAIA heading into the season, in their third and final game of the competition. The first pitch is set to be thrown out at 4 p.m. (PT).