Need to Know
The UBC Thunderbirds baseball team (27-12, 14-6 NAIA West) will once again head stateside this weekend, travelling down to Salem, Ore., to take on the Corban Warriors (13-19, 9-10).
The 'Birds and Warriors will clash in a pair of doubleheaders, with the first starting at 1 p.m. (PT) on Friday, April 8. The second two-game series will be played on Saturday, April 9, with the first pitch scheduled to be thrown out at 11 a.m. (PT).
Last Week
The T-Birds swept the woeful Simpson Red Hawks in convincing fashion, winning 6-0, 10-2, 5-3, and 9-0 over the course of their four-game set last weekend.
By the Numbers
12 –
Alex Webb (Surrey, B.C.) continues to anchor the Thunderbirds rotation, as the ace delivered one of his most complete performances of the season the 6-0 win over Simpson. The 6-foot-3 Webb (8-1) went all nine innings for the second time this season, throwing 12 strikeouts while surrendering just three hits.
4 –
Griff Goyer (Burnaby, B.C.) put up a career-best offensive performance in the 10-2 win, as the second-year right fielder converted two hits into four RBIs, three more than he had put up in any single game this or last season.
The Matchup
Back in March, the Warriors made their way to Thunderbird Park as the two sides fought a four-game split. The 'Birds took the first two contests, 2-0 and 2-1, before Corban came back with 1-0 and 9-3 wins of their own in the back half of the series. UBC also beat Corban twice at the LCSC Guardian Heating, Plumbing, and A/C tournament in Lewiston, Idaho.
The Warriors are being led offensively by third-year outfielder Benjamin Liogon, as the Mexican import is posting a 0.403/0.472/0.503 in-conference slash line, pacing the Warriors in all three categories (min. 10 at-bats). In March, Liogon put up mixed numbers – he put up three hits on three plate appearances in the first game, though nothing more, then was blanked twice. In the final game of the series, Liogon notched a single hit, and two RBIs, also scoring a run.
Overall, the Warriors have been inconsistent of late, going just 4-6 in their last 10 contests.
