VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (20-6, 26-12) put together one of their most complete games of the season Friday night to snap a four-game losing skid by way of an 11-4 win over the College of Idaho Yotes (14-12, 23-14) at Tourmaline West Stadium.
Every position player managed at least one hit while freshman second baseman Matt Vrlak went 2-for-4 with three RBI.
Defensively, it was a terrific outing for the blue and gold, highlighted by some athletic putouts at short stop courtesy of Lou Fujiwara while starting pitcher Will Anderson collected his fourth win of the season allowing just one run while striking out five.
"I thought all week we've been really trying to tighten up defensively and I thought that looked really good from pitch one," said UBC head coach, Chris Pritchett. "It was pretty much the difference in the game. Will gave us a solid start again, I didn't think he was quite as sharp as last week but he was able to make pitches when he had to which is awesome. We had some clutch hits too, so I thought the guys were having some pretty good at bats, and good two strike at bats – we were putting balls in play and putting pressure on them, so all around I thought it was pretty good."
The Yotes did manage to out-hit the 'Birds 13-12 on the night, but UBC limited damage effectively throughout the game.
After a James Hull RBI single opened scoring for the visitors in the top of the third, the T-Birds answered back with a three run bottom half including a Josh Cote two-run homer to centre, his team-leading 11th long ball of the season.
Kellen Bourne hit a leadoff homer in the fourth followed by a Vrlak base hit. The freshman got himself to second on a passed ball, got to third on another and managed to score on a wild pitch, expanding UBC's lead to 5-1 in a bit of a frightful inning for College of Idaho starter Jackson Cummings.
Another fielding adventure by the Yotes in the fifth allowed Braeden Scott to score when Bourne stole second, the throw from home sailing into shallow centre.
With the comfortable 6-1 lead, Owen McConnell entered in relief for the 'Birds and pitched two complete innings allowing just one hit.
Vrlak's three-RBI double in the seventh added some extra insurance before the Yotes put together a late rally attempt that saw the visitors score three of their own in the top of the eighth.
"That's a team that if you give them anything they can score points and surprise you so I thought it was really important to stay on top of them," Pritchett added. "I was really happy we could add on because I know what those guys can do over there."
A double steal put runners on second and third for College of Idaho. Connor Olsen pinch hit for Jack Ryan and promptly doubled to left, scoring a pair. Olsen later scored on a fielder's choice before Marcus Janovsky – spelling off Oliver Duthie who opened the inning on the mound – got Cody Guy to fly out.
Scott drove in two more T-Bird runs in the bottom of the eighth for good measure while Janovsky kept the Yotes off the board in the ninth to preserve the win, UBC's eighth straight on home turf.
The fact the 'Birds were able to get back on the winning track was hugely important for the blue and gold, but perhaps even more key was how composed and seamless the squad was on defence.
"I think in the beginning we knew our pitching was going to be strong and we needed to support it. When you make errors and give these teams more outs, it just adds to their pitch count and we have to get into the bullpen earlier – pitching and defence is kind of cornerstone of what we're doing. Four game weekends are a grind physically and it means everyone is going to have to pitch and throw well. We had that mid-week game as well and a lot of guys threw twice last week and so starts are huge. The further we can get in the game before we call on those guys the better off we'll be in the next couple days."
The T-Birds' penultimate home series continues Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m. The final battle with the Yotes this regular season goes down Sunday at 11:00 a.m. at Tourmaline West Stadium. Admission is free and all games are available live on the Urban Edge Network.
