The Matchup
The UBC Thunderbirds (19-8, 9-5) are home for the second straight weekend, hosting the 12th ranked Lewis-Clark (Idaho) State Warriors (17-9, 8-4) for five games starting at 1:00 p.m. PT Friday, March 31st at Thunderbird Park.
The first game of Friday's double-header will conclude the conference rivals' previous series in Idaho which was postponed from February 26th due to weather. The T-Birds took two of the three games in Lewiston, both in remarkable fashion. UBC earned a 6-3 win in ten innings in the series opener and the following day erased a ten-run Lewis-Clark lead for a 20-14 victory.
The last time the two met in Vancouver was at the NAIA West Grouping Championships last season when the Warriors took a 3-0 decision.
The second half of Friday's double-header and the home series opener is set for 3:45 p.m. PT. Saturday features another pair of games at 1:00 p.m. PT and 3:45 p.m. PT with the finale scheduled for 11:00 a.m. PT Sunday, all at Thunderbird Park.
Last Action
The T-Birds took each of the first three games of last weekend's home series against the College of Idaho Yotes including a 6-5 win in 16 innings Saturday, the second-longest game in UBC baseball history. The series finale Sunday was suspended after four innings with the 'Birds up 4-3 and will be continued when UBC visits Caldwell, Idaho at the end of April.
The Warriors won the final two games of their home series against Corban (Ore.) last weekend, 6-0 and 8-1 respectively after dropping the three-game set opener 6-5. Lewis-Clark enters this weekend winners of five of their last six.
By the Numbers
.968 – The Thunderbirds have committed a conference low 31 errors through 27 games overall, tied with Oregon Tech for a second-best .968 fielding percentage.
3.01 – With an impressive conference leading 3.01 ERA overall, UBC's pitching continues to frustrate opposition bats. The 'Birds also lead the way in opposition batting average (.217) and hits allowed per game (6.56).
Players to Watch
Tyler Yorko (#6, OF) – The veteran outfielder scored a total of five runs in three games last weekend against the Yotes including the game winner in Saturday's 16-inning marathon. Yorko had six hits in the series including two doubles and a triple and bumped up his batting average to .333.
Connor Noble (#35, P) – Noble improved his overall record to 4-0 with the win in UBC's 7-0 victory last Friday in which he kept the Yotes off the scoreboard through seven innings of work with six strikeouts. The Vancouver native lowered his season ERA to 1.31.
Coach's Take
Last weekend's series against the Yotes was a good litmus test for the T-Birds and UBC head coach
Chris Pritchett is hoping to ride that momentum against an even tougher opponent in Lewis-Clark State.
"We have to be on top of our game on both sides of the ball, we know we'll have to create scoring opportunities and capitalize," said Pritchett.
"They're going to be consistently tough one through nine, they always are and we're going to have to match that. The guys are hopefully riding some momentum from last weekend into this one."
Five full games in three days against the two-time defending national champion Warriors makes for additional challenges especially when it comes to pitching staff.
"We need guys to have good starts," said Pritchett.
"They've been throwing the ball well, I like our chances. I think we match up pretty well, it should be a fun weekend."
