NOTES FROM THE NAT: Vancouver Canadians news

With three seasons under his belt at the University of British Columbia, playing for the T-Birds baseball program, Mark Hardy has quickly become one of Canada’s top baseball prospects, heading into next month’s MLB Draft.  The draft has been the day to best describe someone’s baseball career to that point.  It can make you, or break you.

Hardy is a Junior, and still has another year of eligibility at UBC, and in the MLB Draft should he not sign or get drafted in June.  Seniors usually get less money, and go later on in the draft, but can still prove worthwhile, as is the case of ex-Canadian Shawn Haviland, of Harvard notoriety.  

Mark Hardy may have the best chances of being drafted for a UBC Thunderbird, even if he doesn’t go in the top round, as did ex-Bird Jeff Francis.  Hardy was 10-1 this year and remains a good choice for a top round draft pick, come June.

Hardy spoke to us this week, in advance of UBC’s final game of the season.  He has been out since April with an arm injury.

Jeremy Knight: Could you have asked for a better draft season than this one (besides the latest injury troubles)? 

Mark Hardy: Well I would’ve prefered to be 11-0 at to be healthy enough to throw for the scouts down in LA (for the NAIA tournament) but yeah I thought I did fairly well.  Hopefully next year will be even better.

JK: Will there be a next year as a UBC Thunderbird? 

MH: Well I’m saying this injury sure isn’t helping my chances of signing.  UBC is a great school, and I’ve learned so much already.  I believe that one extra year will help me get even better, and I hope I get drafted even higher than I may or may not go this year.

JK: Do you remember your first start for UBC in 2007? 

MH: Haha, oh man, it must’ve been late in the year.  No, I don’t remember, but if I had to guess, I’d say Albertson and it didn’t last long?

JK: Lewis-Clark State, 3 innings, No-hit ball.

MH: Haha that was the first one?

JK: Yep.  You held a current AA First Baseman (for Cleveland) Beau Mills hitless in 5 at-bats, do you remember having to face him?

MH: Ah he was pretty intimidating at the plate.  We had all heard about him and how well he was doing, so when he first stepped up I was pretty nervous.  But I was just a young guy at the time, and I think I went right after him.  He hit a really hard line drive to the second baseman so I was out of the inning.

JK: How much did your experience in the Czech Republic boost your confidence (where he posted a 0.00 ERA at the World University Games last summer, earning the ERA trophy)?

MH: Quite a bit, I had a lot of fun playing there.  The guys were great players, and it was just a blast.  When I got my start against the Czechs, I just left everything out on the field, and winning the award was just an extra bonus. (Bottom right)

JK: We’ve all heard a lot about it, but how much has this new practice field meant to UBC?

MH: I’d say quite a lot, just because getting onto an actual field and playing intrasquad games and practicing bunt defence gets everyone focused up.  The past few years, our first games had been kind of sloppy, and we had lost a few key ballgames we could’ve easily won.  This year, however, we came out ready to play and our California trip was much better.

JK: Will you miss the Nat Bailey fences when you guys permanently move to UBC?

MH: Ha, yeah that’s true.  It went both ways, because when we were at our turf field, our hitters were hitting a lot of homeruns and doubles, but when the Nat came along, it was mostly singles.

JK: I read the Brewers are looking at you, are you their next CC Sabathia?

MH: I wouldn’t take it that far, but yeah they’re one of the teams that’s been in contact with me.  They’re a great organization and like to sign a lot of Canadians.

JK: Is Oakland a team that’s contacted you (*cough get on it cough*?  Would it be nice to maybe pitch at Nat Bailey this summer?

MH: That would be really nice to stay in Vancouver, but no I haven’t talked to anyone from the Athletics. 

JK: How great would it be for UBC to win tomorrow, to advance to the final, so you can maybe pitch, and advance to Lewiston as a team (this question was before UBC was eliminated)?

MH: It would be awesome.  I’m really hoping we make it because I felt bad for the guys when I couldn’t pitch in Regionals, so I’d like to make it up to them and pitch a gem here in LA and take them to the World Series.  It would especially be nice for the seniors just to let them go with a nice memory.

Thanks to Mark for the interview, and best of luck to him in the draft, come on Oakland you know you want him. 

Canadiansbaseball.com

If you’ve regularly followed the Canadians official homepage this off-season, you’ll have noticed a few changes yesterday, when they switched to the (I would guess) mandatory MILB.com format which will soon house the sites of all MILB teams.  I think it looks great, and am still loving the header at the top of the page.

It’s a cleaner format, and features more on your Canadians.

Also up are the 2009 promotions, which have been one of the most anticipated releases of the ‘09 off-season.

What can you expect?  Well head over to see for yourself but here are the highlights, in our opinion:

 Opening Day Fireworks, Magnet Schedule Giveaway (Season Opener, June 20, Everett)

 A&W Family Fun Sunday & Kids Jersey Giveaway (Sunday June 28, Salem)

 Canada Day ‘Nooner, Workout Towel (Canada Day, Salem)
 Nooner and Nathan’s Food Fest (July 3, Salem)

 12 pack Cooler Bag (July 25, Spokane)
 The Spitball Gang Entertainment (August 5, Yakima)
 Back to School Night (August 14, Tri-City)
 Team Photo Night (September 4, Everett)

 Bobblehead Giveaway (September 6, Everett, Season Finale, Nooner) 
 4 Superstar Series Nights (July 27, August 4th, 12th, 31st)

 

Obviously these are just some of the great nights at The Nat this summer, and according to C’s management, there should be a couple of releases next week regarding who the four Superstars are.  My guesses? The San Diego Chicken and Larry Walker will be two, but my guess is as good as yours. 

C’s single-game tickets will also go on sale next Saturday, May 23rd, at 9:00 AM.  There are three easy ways to secure your tickets to any C’s home game, whether it be in person at the Nat Bailey Stadium Box Office, via phone at 604-872-5232 or online at Canadiansbaseball.com. 

UBC Thunderbirds Baseball

While one season approaches in the C’s, another is complete as the UBC T-Birds fell to the hands of host Azusa Pacific today in the NAIA Opening Round of their 5-team Baseball Championships.  

After leading 8-1 after two short innings, they let in 11 unanswered to trail three innings later.  After taking a lead in the 7th, Azusa came back, tying the game.  Now down by the 3, in the bottom of the ninth, Jordan Pandoff had the bases loaded and two out, but lined out to end the game, and more importantly the season.

Considering their ace hasn’t played in weeks (come back this weekend for an interview with him), and their team had completed a few improbable comebacks in the playoffs, this team played amazing and deserve a lot of credit.  There IS always next year boys.

Well done Coach McKaig, hopefully he’ll be back next season as the Birds try for Lewiston.

There are a few draft prospects including ‘Ace’ Mark Hardy, Jon Syrnyk (who I have given the nickname Triple), Ryan Pilgrim and Ben Torrie.

Alumni Report

Starting off with the AAA Sacramento Rivercats, Oakland’s system is playing a lot better lately, and the ‘Cats have a few players who stand out.  

Yung Chi Chen was batting .563, but is now on the DL, while Danny Putnam is 3-7 since his callup from AA Midland.  Aaron Cunningham is swinging .375 since coming back from injury, and Catcher Joel Galarraga is 12-32 since Anthony Recker was demoted due to performance, or lack thereof.  Eric Patterson (.286) and Eric Munson (.293) also have hot sticks.

On the hill, Vin Mazzaro continues to be the ace with an ERA of 3.41 and Jay Marshall has been great in relief, posting a 2.25 ERA in 16 relief appearances.  Sean Gallagher in 2 starts has yet to allow a hit or run, and was promptly promoted due to that.

Brad ‘Killer’ Kilby has allowed two runs in 5.2, and Jeff Gray was called up this week to Oakland after being 1-1 with a pair of saves in 9 games.

The 18-15 Rivercats are playing tonight against Albuquerque.

The quote "Everything’s Bigger in Texas" is applying to the Rockhounds of Midland, as they are 19-14, good enough to lead the Texas League.  

Their offence is lead by Corey Brown, swinging .359 overall and .371 in May.  That is after only three hits in his last five games.  Ahead of that, dating back to May 4th, and ending May 7th, Brown was 9-13 with 3 HR and 5 RBI.  Yikes, no wonder he won Player of the Week.

I bet he makes Sacramento by July.  It’s not just Brown leading the way however, Corey Wimberly is dynamite, hitting .348.  Tommy Everidge and Josh Horton are both around .310 and Everidge has 4 HR.  Archie Gilbert is the best plate discipline guy, striking out only 9 times in 100 at-bats.  Chris Cater has 3 HR and 28 RBI, and Matt Sulentic and Anthony Recker are bouncing around the .270 mark.

Pitching wise, Travis Banwart is 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA through 7 starts, and Mike Benacka is 1-0 with a 1.83 ERA in relief.  James Heuser has struggled lately, but maintains a 4.30 ERA, and Sam Demel has allowed only one earned run in 12 innings.

Stockton is still struggling at 11-23, and their two players hitting above .300 have batted just 36 times combined (Yusuf Carter, Christian Vitters).  Todd Johnson is next at .271, Raul Padron .261, and after that no one is above .238.  Matt Smith, Jermaine Mitchell, Mike Richard, David Thomas, Shane Keough, Larry Cobb and Alex Valdez are between .237 and .228.  Dante Love was swinging .205 before retiring last week.  Greg Dowling was just 5-45 before getting released.

Looking at the club I see only five or six good pitchers, who have been consistent.  Jon Hunton is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA as a reliever, while Justin Friend has two losses and has given up five earned runs in 20.2 on the mound.  Matt Leblanc Poirier has been great since being called up from Extended, with an ERA of 2.16 after a start and bullpen appearance.  Lance Sewell has yet to give up a run in 3 appearances.  Derrick Gordon has also been solid, and Leo Espinal has been perfect after being called up from Kane County.

Out in the midwest, Kane County has the best pitching staff in the farm, arguably, and their hitting is right in that range as well.

Jeremy Barfield (see last post), hit three home-runs in one game Tuesday, after one on Monday, and is now hitting .333 after 13 games including today’s double-header.

Dusty Coleman is still batting above .300 with 5 HR and 26 RBI (tied for team-lead), and Steve Kleen has struggled lately, but still ranks fourth on the team.  Jason Christian also has 26 RBI and an average of .279 and both Carlos Arrieche and Dusty Napoleon are hitting around .270.  Napoleon was 0-15 to start the year, but now has a five-game hitting streak, and 7-game on-base streak, and in his last five games is batting 8-15.

Like I said, their pitching has been unbelievable, with all five starters being excellent.  Shawn Haviland is 3-1 with a 2.31 ERA after 6 starts, while Ben Hornbeck is a remarkable 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA, in 3 starts, and 3 relief appearances, including a perfect game botched by one-hit given up by Scott Deal who threw in relief.  Hornbeck has struck out 37 in 29 innings and holds a WHIP of 0.85.

Pedro Figueroa and Matt Fitts are both improving, and Brett Hunter who never came to Vancouver, is struggling.

Kenny Smalley is 4-1, Scott Deal has an ERA of 2.04 and Mike Hart is 0-1 with a 1.50 ERA.  Kane County is my pick for the team to watch this year.  They can definitely do some damage. 

It’ll be a historical week for the UBC Thunderbirds who are hoping for their 2nd appearance to the NAIA World Series.  This week marks the opening round of (I believe) the inaugural NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round.  

It is a 5-team double-knockout tournament that goes from today through Friday.  There are 9 of these Opening Rounds all across the US, and all 9 champions plus Lewis-Clark State will advance to Idaho to play in the NAIA World Series in Lewiston.

In UBC’s bracket there are teams from Point Loma Nazarene, Biola, Azusa Pacific, Purdue North Central and the 2nd ranked UBC Thunderbirds.  Point Loma leads the way at number one, while Biola sits at 3, the host-Azusa Pacific are ranked 4th and Purdue North Central last.

Azusa Pacific defeated Purdue North-Central earlier today, and now the Panthers await the loser of UBC-Biola in tomorrow’s elimination game.  The winner of today’s UBC game between the Birds and Biola plays the winner of Azusa and Point Loma.  Their game is later tonight, following UBC’s.

As of right now, in the bottom of the 3rd, UBC is leading 5-4 over Biola, with Eric Brown on the hill for UBC.  The top of their lineup is due in the 4th, and UBC’s bats have got it going early, something they haven’t done  as of late.  Alex White has two doubles and two RBI already, while Nic Lendvoy, Mike Elias, Jon Syrnyk, Scott Webster and Sammie Starr all have hits.

Brown has gone 2.2 now, giving up 5 hits and 4 earned runs.  He has a strikeout, but has already given up more doubles than he has innings pitched.  He’s thrown 59 pitches. 

There are live stats here. 

Congrats to UBC who won four in a row last week at Nat Bailey, starting with a ninth-inning comeback in an elimination game, to win the Championship.

NOTE: Ace Mark Hardy (top) is still out of the lineup with an arm injury.  He may be available for the NAIA World Series, but UBC doesn’t want to hurt his chances of being drafted.  In the coming weeks, Hardy has agreed to talk to me about his draft chances and UBC.  Stay tuned for that.

Go Birds. 

One day after falling a run short to Oregon Tech at Nat Bailey Stadium, the UBC Thunderbirds completed a 9th inning comeback against College of Idaho in the first elimination game of the tournament on Tuesday, defeating the Coyotes 4-3.

Down 3-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth, with the top of the order due against College of Idaho’s Ben Rosen, three outs were the difference between a 6 PM game tonight, and a lot of golf time for the T-Birds.  With UBC’s top pitcher Mark Hardy out for the tournament with bicep trouble, UBC had to rely on Eric Brown to lead them to victory and he did well in his 8 innings of work, giving up only a pair of earned runs, and a run scored due to an error.

Sammie Starr lead off the 9th, with a single, putting Alex White at the dish.  White has been a solid hitter all year and after a 3-2 count, was called out for the third strike, which according to the UBC webcast was a ball.  Coach Terry McKaig "put his Lou Pinella on" in the words of the UBC broadcaster, and argued, got tossed, before arguing some more before securing his spot in the locker room.  

With one gone and Starr on first, UBC’s chances seemed even slimmer, and when Yotes pitcher Jake Bottari came into pitch, their fate was all but sealed.  Bottari, however, may not have been ready for action, as he gave up a single to kick off his time on the mound, this time to Jon Syrnyk.  With runners at first and second, a double play could’ve sent the Birds back to campus, but Scott Webster delivered with an RBI double to put his club within a pair.

Nick Lindsay replaced the ex-two-way player, and after Ryan ‘Mayflower’ Pilgrim walked to load the bags with one out, Nic Lendvoy came up with a walk-off double down the Right Field line to win the game, with the bases-clearing hit.

Listening to the 9th on the webcast (and only the 9th, man was I lucky), my headphones were shaking after Lendvoy’s hit.  According to C’s broadcaster Rob Fai, College of Idaho’s right fielder touched the ball in foul ground but tipped it fair, allowing the hit to be ruled fair.  What a way to end a season.

UBC awaits the loser of the Cal State San Marcos - Oregon Tech game which is going on right now.  The loser will be the Birds around 6:00 tonight at Nat Bailey, with the winner of the 6:00 PM game meeting the winner of the game right now, in tomorrow’s championship.  The Championship will be at 12:00, and maybe another game later.  

For example, if Cal State beats Oregon Tech, and then UBC proceeds to beat Oregon Tech tonight, it sets up a Cal State - UBC Championship.  If UBC would win it tomorrow at 12:00, they’d play another winner-take-all game at 3:00, but if Cal State would win Game 1, it’d be over.  More after the Cal State game is over… 

The 32-8 (26-6) UBC Thunderbirds have just clinched their 5th Conference title since 2002, and will now host the Conference Tournament at Nat Bailey in early May.  The national 7th ranked T-Birds have a new field, a new attitude and will now look to make it to the NAIA World Series for the second time in school history.

Remaining on the schedule is the final road game, on Wednesday at the University of Puget Sound, and then a three-game non-conference set with LC State on Sunday and Monday at Nat Bailey, unless there is poor weather, which is when I assume it’d be moved to Thunderbird Park.  UBC has not yet played at Nat Bailey this season to this point.

Heading into Saturday, UBC needed to take one of two from Corban College, after sweeping both games on Friday.  In Game 1, Eric Brown got the nod and led UBC to a 12-4 victory, thanks in part to Nic Lendvoy and Bob Foerster who were a combined 6-9 with 3 RBI.

Lendvoy was the Game 2 hero, although it meant nothing for the standings, scoring the first of 9 UBC runs, as they shutout the Warriors in Corban’s home finale.

In the May 4-6 tournament, at Nat Bailey, it’s looking like College of Idaho will be in thanks to their 2nd place finish in the North Division, Oregon Tech winning the South Division, and Cal State San Marcos will likely take second spot in that Division.

Congrats to Coach McKaig and his team.

Whatever it is I did to piss off the Word Press staff, please tell me.  4 drafts, all with no writing in them anymore.  Two were from Arizona, the other two on UBC and the A’s Minor Leagues respectively.  I don’t know what is up, so I’ll dish out some time now to get it all out there.  Sorry for the major delay, with just over two months until Opening Day, all the news can be found here.

First the minor leagues.

AAA Sacramento:

The Sacramento River Cats have such ex-C’s stars as Jeff Baisley, Sean ‘Doc’ Doolittle (left), Jeff Gray, Brad Kilby, Gregorio Petit and my personal favourite, Anthony ‘Bobble Butt’ Recker.  Add those guys with the likes of James Simmons, Cliff Pennington, Vince Mazzaro, Gio Gonzalez and Daric Barton, and you have yourself a ballclub.

The 3-4 Cats are lead offensively by the C from ‘07 Doolittle, hitting .357 in all 7 games.  Doolittle has one of two triples on the team, and leads in TB.  Eric Patterson is hitting .391 while Jeff Baisley, who was recently designated for assignment, is 5-15.  Jack Hannahan is struggling, per usual, hitting .048 in 6 games.  He has just one hit, and I can’t wait to see him on Baseball America’s relased list (although he has a home-run which is his lone hit).

On the hill, Vin Mazzaro who almost made the A’s has a 2.25 ERA after a pair of starts, and recently acquired Dan Giese has given up a run in four innings.  Jeff Gray, ‘05 Vancouverite, is 0-1.

Midland is 4-2 in the Texas League, lead by Corey Brown, a consensus future MLBer (also from 2007, and my first interview), who is hitting .389 in 5 games.  Adrian Cardenas, Archie Gilbert and Yung Chi Chen are also having good starts to the season.

Josh Horton (’07) is hitting .269, Tommy Everidge .226 and Javier Herrera is 0-2 and on the DL.  Danny Putnam is struggling with two hits in 24 AB’s, and Chris Carter who never played for Vancouver but was 2nd in HR for the entire Minor Leagues last year, has 6 hits, none of which have gone yard.

Jason Fernandez and Travis Banwart lead the staff, while James Heuser (right) has given up a run in 4 innings.  The side-arm fan favourite is three years removed from Vancouver.  Arnold Leon is perfect through 6 relief innings.

Stockton sucks.  There is no better way to put it.  The 0-7 Ports are right now losing to San Jose, who feature ex-First Rounder Buster Posey.  Stockton has no one hitting above .280, and those who are above .277 are Matt Smith, Shane Keough and Todd Johnson.  7 players have yet to hit the mendoza line, including Mike Affronti, Dante Love, Greg Dowling, Mike Richard and Larry Cobb.

From the mound, Scott Mitchinson is the only starter with an ERA below 2.00 at 1.80, and Carlos Hernandez (3.27), Pat Currin and Derrick Gordon (both perfect), and Daniel Thomas (as well perfect) lead the ‘ace’ pitchers.  With the likes of Scott Hodsdon, Craig Italiano (this may be his swan song), Tyson Ross and Chad Kerfoot all struggling, the Ports are in deep trouble.

Kane County is at a respectable 4-3, but have failed to find control on the mound for the most-part.  They have walked 28 batters, and given up 22 hits.  Yes, more walks than hits.  Steve ‘Squeaky’ Kleen, removed from a year off due to injury, leads the pack hitting .400 with a 7 game hitting streak heading into Thursday, while Juan Nunez and Dusty Coleman are both hitting the crap out of the ball.

David Thomas is at .250, Mitch Levier .10 back, and Matt Ray and Jason Christian both hover around .210.

Dusty Napoleon, new winner of Moniker Madness for best name in the minors, has yet to collect a hit.  The staff of Fitts-Haviland-Capra-Figueroa-Hunter/Hornbeck have been near perfect with the exception of a few.  Fitts is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA (the same as Figgy and Hunter), but has a low WHIP through 9 innings. 

Haviland has given up a pair in 5 innings, Capra threw 5 no-hit innings K-ing 7, while Hornbeck had a no-hitter through 5, before Scott Deal gave up the lone hit of the game in relief.  In relief, Mike Hart, Deal, Jamie Richmond, Jose Guzman and Leonardo Espinal have not yielded an earned run.

UBC:

Off to potentially the best start in club history at 28-8, UBC is 22-6 in Conference play, and need to take just three of four from Corban College this upcoming weekend to clinch the inagural Cascadia Conference North.  College of Idaho is riding on their doorstep, 1.5 back.

The only remaining home games will be the first three at Nat Bailey this year (weather permitting), on the 26th and 27th hosting NAIA Champion Lewis-Clark State.  This is not a Conference Series, but is a good test for the Region I Tournament on May 4th.  All prior home games have been at Thunderbird Park, due to inclement weather at the Nat, which is why I haven’t been keeping up as much.

It’s just too far of a drive to head out to UBC, personally, but the Boys are sure doing well.  Ryan Pilgrim is hitting .368 with 14 doubles, and just 8 strikeouts, while Scott Webster who is now a full-time hitter, is dishing out numbers like .346 with 2 triples and 2 dingers.

Jon Syrnyk, Sammie Starr and Ben Torrie are all hitting above .315, with Syrnyk leading the pack in HR’s with 7.  The Senior is my pick for one of the T-Birds draftees this year, while I believe Pilgrim and Starr will also get consideration from the offensive point of view.

On the hill, Mark Hardy is a perfect 9-0 with a 1.95 ERA as he is the ace of the staff, with 58 K’s in 60 innings.  He has yet to give up more than 10 extra base hits.  Jeff Hall is 1-0 in relief, with an ERA that leads the club (1.10), and Eric Brown is 3-1 with an ERA of 2.19.  Taylor King is 5-1 in 22 innings, while Ashton Florko may wished he had signed with the Cubs after getting drafted last year.  He is 0-1 with an ERA of 14.85 through just 6 innings.  He has given up 11 earned runs.

Meanwhile, down south in Oakland, the A’s have some ex-C’s coming up in the clutch, specifically Kurt Suzuki and Travis Buck.  Buck is hitting .211 but looking better than last year, while Suzuki is batting .265 with just one strikeout (the least on the team).  Landon Powell, his backup, has 2 hits in 7 at-bats.

Surprise reliever Andrew Bailey continues to prove critics wrong of last year’s AA pitcher, who is perfect after 5 big league appearances with just one hit allowed, and 7 strikeouts.  Santiago Casilla is 0-1, with a 3.38 ERA.

‘Thunderball’

It has been the perfect start to 2009 for the UBC Thunderbirds Baseball team, who are in great shape for the Conference Season, as their record as of Monday is 8-1 (4-0).  Why the great start?  Well the UBC pitching staff has been excellent and the top half of the lineup, plus Mike Elias have been spectacular.  It also helps to have a new practice field, the first for UBC, as Coach Terry McKaig explained in a post-game email on Saturday.  

"A thank you again to everyone involved in making the new field at UBC possible.  This start is obviously our best ever and it is easy to see why.  We are more prepared than ever for this season. "

After opening 4-1 after a California exhibition series, that had 3 games cancelled, UBC headed to Oakland, to battle Patten College in the first NAIA West series.  

Thanks to a scheduling conflict at the field, the games were sent to Turlock, CA, which created a morning/night double-header, a rarity.  The first game at 10:00 AM was 9 innings, and was all UBC from the get-go.  Ace Mark Hardy lasted 7 innings giving up only three hits, and 0 runs.  He didn’t walk anybody and had 12 strikeouts. 

His relievers didn’t do too bad either, giving up a combined 3 hits, 2 walks and one run, K-ing a pair between Ashton Florko and Jeff Hall.

Jon Syrnyk kept up his remarkable season, going 2-4 at the dish with a pair of RBI, a HR and a double.

Sammie Starr and Ryan Pilgrim each had a pair of doubles, and Ben Torrie had a home-run in his two-hit game.  Jordan Pandoff had 3 RBI.

UBC won 9-1.

Game two was much of the same, with UBC leading 3-1 after two innings, before racking up 6 runs in the 7th and final inning.  Matt Bannister started for UBC, giving up that lone run, and striking out half-a-dozen, while for the second straight game, UBC’s starter failed to walk a batter.

Coach McKaig described the Patten pitcher as the best arm on the trip, and "the twin of Cory Stuart".  Mitch Grossell was the offensive star going 2-3, and he and Mike Elias each had 2 RBI.  Sammie Starr and Ryan Pilgrim had the other RBI.

UBC completed the weekend sweep on Saturday, winning 4-1 and 3-2 respectively over Patten.  In Game 2, UBC was the come-back kids, losing 2-1 in the 9th, with two outs, Ryan Pilgrim hit a two-run double to give UBC the lead.  

Game 1 was a defensive game, with Taylor King on the hill for UBC in the 7 inning game, going 4.2 innings, surrendering 5 hits and a run, striking out two.  Eric Brown failed to yield a hit in 2.1 on the hill in relief.

Nic Lendvoy had a 2-run home-run and finished 2-3 with 3 RBI, and Senior Jon Syrnyk (left) had a pair of SB’s (of the 5 the team had), and Ryan Pilgrim picked up an RBI.

Game 2 was the same as the first, defence winning the game.  For maybe the first time all season, the other team had the first run, as Patten was on the board in the first.  UBC came back in the 4th scoring once, before Patten crossed home in the 7th.  

Danny Britton-Foster went 6 innings, striking out four, and giving up four hits.  Relievers Josh Brink and Shawn Hetherington gave up a hit, struck out 5, let a run score (solo HR) and one HBP (to lead-off bottom of the 9th).

Ryan Pilgrim and Sammie Starr were once again amazing, going a collective 4-7, with 2 RBI, 2 SB and a double.  Jon Syrnyk had 3 SB.  UBC had 7 in total.

Next week is a series at Concordia-Portland, the second-conference series in UBC NAIA West history.