Following two series at home to begin NAIA conference play, the UBC Thunderbirds (5-3, 10-11) hit the road for their first trip of the season as they visit the Oregon Tech Hustlin' Owls (2-6, 6-17) for a pair of doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday, March 16 and 17 at Kiger Stadium in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Even with injury troubles and a large crop of rookies, the T-Birds made hay at home as they sit tied with the Corban Warriors for top spot in the NAIA West through the first two weeks of the season.
The Owls have struggled so far this year with just two wins in their last 14 games overall, all of which were played on the road. Now at home for the first time in 2019, Oregon Tech will be looking to make noise at their own stadium where the Owls took two out of three games against the T-Birds last year.
First pitch for Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. PT with Sunday's pair beginning at 11:00 a.m. PT.
Last Action
UBC split last weekend's four-game series with the Corban Warriors. The 'Birds dropped the first games both Saturday and Sunday before rebounding for the second half wins, including a gutsy come-from-behind victory to close out the series.
The Owls suffered a sweep on the road while visiting the Westmont Warriors last weekend in non-conference action. A week prior saw OIT drop three of four against Corban, earning a 15-7 win in the series finale.
Players to Watch
Austen Butler (#28, OF) – The junior outfielder went 6-for-13 in the final three games of last weekend's series against Corban with three RBI and three runs. Butler is batting .308 on the year with a .834 OPS.
Niall Windeler (#49, LHP) – Windeler leads the conference with 56 total strikeouts, averaging an incredible 13 per game. In two conference starts, the Toronto native has 29 Ks, allowing just four hits through 14 innings of work.
Coach's Take
The T-Birds were expecting some big performances from their veterans this year, but a pleasant surprise has been the strong play of several freshmen who have in some cases been forced into more prominent roles.
"They're all getting better, we've always been excited at the possibility of them being good, it's just a matter of time before they start to build some consistency and we're still seeing that take place," said UBC head coach
Chris Pritchett. "We've had a few injuries and a couple of them got forced into positions right away that maybe we didn't plan on happening until the end of this year or even next year, but every one of them has responded really well to their new roles."
The T-Birds rose to the challenge of two tough matchups to start conference play at home, but now a new one presents itself, and that's playing in hostile territory.
"Now it's a challenge to get off the bus after 11 or 12 hours and perform in an environment they're not used to," added Pritchett who notes Kiger Stadium is always a difficult place to play. "I've always found (the Owls) to be one of the more dangerous groups and this will be their first home series so I'm sure they'll be excited for that. We're just going to try to play our best baseball and that's all we really can do."
