VANCOUVER – With five series done in Cascade Collegiate Conference play, the Thunderbirds (20-8, 14-3) have reached the halfway point of the CCC regular season. Currently tied for first in the conference standings with Lewis-Clark State, the 'Birds know they have to keep their momentum going if they are to repeat as regular season champs and earn the right to host the CCC playoffs.
 
Next on the docket are the Warner Pacific Knights (10-18, 5-12), who the T-Birds played on the road in Portland three weeks ago. The two teams will square off in a pair of doubleheaders beginning at 1:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday, March 28, and at 11:00 a.m. (PT) on Sunday, March 29.
 
"I'm really feeling like we're starting to round out and becoming a complete team," said UBC head coach Chris Pritchett. "I think early on our pitching really carried us and kept us in games. When you have that you always have a chance. So, I think seeing our offence starting to pick it up a little bit just gives us a more well-rounded look to our group, which is really important."
 
While the Thunderbirds have won each of the five conference series that they've played to this point, they'll be looking to start off this upcoming series on a strong note. In both of the last two weeks they've lost the first game of the weekend (on the road against Corban and then Eastern Oregon), only to then bounce back with three straight dominant wins.


 
As alluded to by Pritchett, the offence has certainly been flying high as of late, with the 'Birds scoring 10+ runs in eight of their last 15 games, and putting up scores of 23, 15 and 14 in their wins over the Mountaineers last weekend.

Three Thunderbirds – Braeden Scott, David Krahn and Kansai Sugimoto – boast batting averages over .400 on the season, putting all of them in the top five for the entire CCC. Kyle Yip (32) and Krahn (30) rank second and third in the conference for total RBIs, with the two of them as well as Scott, Kellen Bourne and Josh Cote all averaging better than one RBI per game played.
 
"I think our hitters are really improving their at-bat quality, sticking to an approach rather than just going up there swinging, and I think that's starting to show," added Pritchett. "Execution on bunts, hit and runs, and other set plays are starting to improve to the point where there's no real holes in the lineup, everyone's contributing lately."
 
The Thunderbirds swept the Knights in the four games they played at the beginning of March, with the first one being a tight 2-1 affair before the 'Birds had three relatively more comfortable wins. Warner Pacific is coming off a series split against College of Idaho last weekend, and are 4-4 over the last two weeks after starting 1-8 in CCC play.


 
This is only the third series all-time between the Thunderbirds and the Knights, following the latter's debut in the CCC last year. UBC to this point is 8-0 against Warner Pacific, but Pritchett knows the 'Birds can't just count on that to be the case once again this weekend.
 
"It's a new program, and they've improved a lot in their second year," he said. "They have a couple of really good starting pitchers and guys who can swing the bat. A couple of our games down there were really close, so we'll have to play well. We like to be at home so we're looking forward to it, but it's always a challenge in our conference."
 
You can take in the action at Tourmaline West Stadium this weekend, with no tickets required for entry. The games are also available to watch live and on-demand for free on the Urban Edge Network.