Need to Know

The UBC Thunderbirds baseball team (20-12, 6-6) will look to snap a five-game losing skid this weekend, as they prepare to take on the Oregon Tech Owls (10-20, 2-10) in NAIA West action at Thunderbird Park.
 
The two teams will clash three times in two days, with a doubleheader on Friday, March 25 – the first game is set to start at 12:00 p.m. (PT) – as well as a single game on Saturday, March 26, which will begin at 11:00 a.m. (PT).
 

Last Week

The 'Birds fell in three straight contests to the College of Idaho Yotes on the road last week by scores of 8-2, 4-3, and 9-3.
 

By The Numbers

44 – First baseman Bruce Yari (Waterloo, Ont.) leads the 'Birds with 44 hits on the season, 12 more than rookie Lucas Soper (Vancouver), who is second with 32.
 
114.3 – Alex Webb (Surrey, B.C.), at 59.1, and Connor Noble (Vancouver), at 55.2, sit first and second among NAIA West hurlers in innings pitched.
 

The Matchup

In a four-game series last season, the 'Birds swept Oregon Tech in convincing fashion, the most impressive of which was a 12-3 drubbing on March 29 that saw UBC go yard three times. Yari had a productive outing, picking up four hits, including a home run and a double, and three RBIs in six at-bats.
 
Oregon Tech's most recent four-game set, against the Corban Warriors, demonstrates the Owls' inconsistency. Opening the series with a 3-2 win, Oregon Tech proceeded to give up 12 and 13 runs in the next two losses before giving up just five hits and a single run in the 3-1 finale.
 
The Owls' offense is resting on the shoulders of senior outfielder Ryan Grant, who leads the club in batting average (0.346), hits (36), and RBIs (23), while sitting second in slugging percentage (0.413) and on-base percentage (0.410).
 

Coach's Take

"We haven't seen them yet this year, but we know they have beaten some very good competition, including Westmont, who are ranked sixth in the NAIA, so we know that we are going to have to play well to win, and we're preparing to do that," said UBC head coach Chris Pritchett. "We've kind of had to refocus and guys are doing what they have to do to get back to the level that we expect of them."