VANCOUVER – Connor Noble (Vancouver) allowed only three hits over seven shutout innings while Bruce Yari (Waterloo, Ont.) continued his torrid hitting pace of 2016, as the UBC Thunderbirds baseball team (23-12, 9-6 NAIA West) completed the Easter weekend sweep of the Oregon Tech Hustlin' Owls (10-23, 2-13) Saturday afternoon at Thunderbird Park.
 
Noble got some great help from his defence early, then got stronger as the game progressed cruising to his sixth win of the season. The T-Birds offence did most of their damage in a five-run seventh inning. Yari was the offensive catalyst with a two-run single, his second hit of the afternoon.
 
"Connor came out firing from the get-go," said UBC head coach Chris Pritchett. "It looked like he had three pitches going and at this level you'll have a lot of success if you can do that."
 
Thunderbirds left fielder Lucas Soper (Vancouver) set the defensive tone in the first inning when he laid out and made a spectacular diving catch in the alley, robbing Oregon Tech's Michael Kilpatrick of extra bases.
 
The UBC offence took until the fourth inning to come alive. Yari smashed a triple over the centre fielder's head only to be thrown out on a fielder's choice at home the very next play, but the rally had started. Brendan Rose (Calgary) and Anthony Cusati (Burnaby, B.C.) both singled off Hustlin' Owls starter Tyler Bennett, to drive in Soper. Rose scored on a throwing error by Bennett, as the pitcher double clutched on a pick off attempt and spiked the baseball into the turf.
 
UBC broke the game open in the seventh, bringing five runs across the plate against Oregon Tech relievers John Schulz and Darian Benanua. Yari, who is now hitting an eye-popping .386 on the season, did the most damage with a two-run single.
 
"I've been seeing the ball well today and for most of the season," commented the red-hot Yari. "But that's attributed to the work we are doing in practice translating to in-game situations."
 
Tyler Gillies (London, Ont.) mopped up the final two innings for UBC, as the 'Birds took three wins from Oregon Tech including a sweep of a Good Friday doubleheader.
 
"They're must wins," added Pritchett. "If we want to get to the post season we know this is what we have to do."
 
Pritchett will now get his team ready for next week's four-game series against the conference rival Simpson Red Hawks. The teams will play double headers April 2-3 at UBC. Oregon Tech will host a pair of twin bills against league-leading Lewis-Clark State (Idaho).