Small-ball UBC jockeys for NAIA seeding
Thunderbirds host West Region Grouping Championships in pitcher-friendly park this weekend
The hope out on the Point Grey campus, is that by the start of the 2018 season, the UBC baseball team will be playing at a completely new Thunderbird Park facility, complete with permanent seating for a 1,000 fans with the potential to seat as many as 2,500.
One part of that plan calls for the flipping of the field, with home plate eventually occupying the real estate where centre field now resides and vice-versa.
And based on the way the winds most frequently blow in from right field, that flip has the potential to change Thunderbird Park from a pitcher’s haven to a batter’s paradise, depending on where the outfield fences are situated.
The new Thunderbird Park baseball stadium is a multi-million dollar project, and all part of UBC’s 20-Year Athletics and Rec Master Plan. Those around the baseball program are hopeful it will gain approval at a board of governors meeting in June.
Still, the shovels won’t break the ground until the final out of the 2017 campaign.
And so while UBC’s first-year field manager Chris Pritchett admits great excitement about the future, his present reality is to win games as the host and No. 2 seed at this weekend’s NAIA West Region Grouping Championships with a team that plays in perhaps the most pitcher-friendly park on the entire West Coast.
“As a first-year manager, sure I want to play a pro style but you’ve got to play to your strengths,” said Pritchett, the former major-leaguer, who served as both a player and hitting coach with the Vancouver Canadians in addition to his most recent posting as an international scout for the Boston Red Sox. “We’re adjusting and reacting to who we are and we’ve made strides and put together a good season.”
In the case of UBC, 17-5 at home this season as part of a 37-18 overall campaign, it’s meant playing an aggressive style of small ball, one that has succeeded for the most part through focused at-bats, disciplined base running and opportunistic play.
The ‘Birds head into Friday’s 1 p.m. opener against College of Idaho with just 15 home runs in 1,767 at-bats, yet their .352 on-base percentage is 74 percentage points higher than their opposition average, and they’ve basically doubled their opposition this season in walks and stolen bases while committing about half the number of errors.
“We’re learning as we go that this isn’t a hitter’s park and that we have to keep the line moving,” continued Pritchett. “The fact is, we thought we could come in here and slug, but it’s been tough to string hits together, so you better be able to adapt. Our players have really bought in and committed to a team-style of offence and it’s helped us turn the corner.”
UBC has hit .263 as a team this season, led by slugging senior first baseman Bruce Yari (. 385, 42 RBIs) who tops the team in home runs with five.
Left fielder Lucas Soper, a freshman from the Whalley Chiefs, has also impressed with a .320 average and 21 RBIs.
Yet it’s been the ‘Birds committee approach which has most affected their record.
UBC clinched the host berth for this weekend’s five-team, doubleknockout event, with a 5-4 win on the road against Oregon Tech when Mike Orosz and Kyle McComb each scored on a wild-pitch in the fourth inning.
“We have preached base running and we have always tried to stay aggressive and put pressure on the defence,” continued Pritchett. “We bunt, we extend at-bats, and our two-strike approach has been very good. But we don’t care how (the runs) come in.” Just as long as they do. The other half of the equation? “The pitching we have inherited has been unreal,” said Pritchett, whose starting rotation has centred around Alex Webb (9-1, 1.36 ERA), Curtis Taylor (9-3, 1.94), Connor Noble (9-4, 2.17), Jeremy Newton (4-6, 3.75) and Brad Smith (2-3, 3.23). “They came as advertised.”
Of the five teams taking part this weekend, the highest finisher other than UBC and Lewis-Clark State, will advance to the upcoming opening round of the NAIA World Series.
Lewis-Clark State is already qualified for the NAIA World Series as that tournament’s host. UBC, as the highest regular-season finisher aside from LC State, has already received an automatic berth to the World Series’ opening round, but will be using this weekend’s home finale to earn its best seeding possible.
That means the best finisher between College of Idaho, Oregon’s Corban College and California’s Marymount, will earn the West’s second-and-final berth to the World Series.