The Matchup
Riding a six-game conference win streak, the UBC Thunderbirds (14-13, 17-31) are set to open up the Cascade Collegiate Conference championship Friday, May 4 in Ashland, Oregon.
The T-Birds' face a familiar foe in their first game of the tournament in the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers (15-12, 23-20). The 'Birds are looking for their first win in a conference championship since 2014.
UBC won their three-game series over Eastern Oregon last month in La Grande going 2-1 including an 11-5 nine inning victory that saw the 'Birds score six runs in the final frame while pitcher
Zoe Gillis went the distance with 141 total pitches.
The winner of the opening game will advance to play the host Southern Oregon Raiders later on Friday.
First pitch between the T-Birds and Mountaineers is set for 9:00 a.m. PT at Ashland's University Field.
Last Action
UBC swept the Northwest Christian University Beacons to close out the regular season in a tripleheader last Friday. After 8-5 and 6-5 victories the 'Birds rallied to put up five runs in the bottom of the seventh in the series finale for a thrilling 13-12 win.
Eastern Oregon dropped all three conference games against the first place Raiders last weekend. The Mountaineers were outscored by a combined 12-2 before earning a 3-2 win in the non-conference season finale.
By the Numbers
.279 – After a whopping 48 hits through three games last weekend, the T-Birds bumped up their team batting average to .279.
3.98 – The 'Birds enter the conference tournament with a respectable team ERA of 3.98.
Players to Watch
Mackenzie Siddall (#14, OF) – The senior outfielder fittingly had a career game to close out her final NAIA regular season going 4/5 at the plate with an RBI while scoring three times including the game winning run.
Sydney Brown (#3, SS) – Brown earned conference Player of the Week honours after going a combined 8/15 with four RBI and two runs. The Langley native leads UBC with a .371 batting average.
Coach's Take
Having won six conference games in a row and 10 of their last 13 overall, the Thunderbirds are a confident group heading into the tournament.
"I think there's that confidence there and that trust in each other that they've developed the last little while," said UBC head coach
Gord Collings who has seen his team come together to produce some come from behind victories the likes of which he admits he hasn't seen before in his many years of coaching. "I think they're starting to believe that they can be successful and the outcome then starts taking care of itself if you stick to the plan."
UBC has had some solid pitching performances down the stretch, something Collings says will need to continue if the 'Birds want to extend their season.
"Pitching is the key but it comes down to putting the package together. If all three facets of the game are there and our pitchers come through then I think we'll be able to be successful. Zoe (Gillis), Emma (Tuson) and Chantelle (Twynstra) have done an excellent job in the last month to get us where we are so I am very confident in their ability to help us carry through this first game and see where we go from there."
