Last year, the UBC baseball team ended their season in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Championship opening round. Coming into this season — and despite key changes to its roster — it looks like the team is off to a strong start.
Currently, the ’Birds hold a 5-2 season record, having won three of four games in their latest series against the Corban Warriors. A week earlier, they came out 2-1 against Lewis Clarke State — the defending World Series champions.
“It’s been a good start so far. Won some big games against some ranked teams,” said second-year pitcher Patrick Van den Brink. “Had some tough losses, but we’re doing pretty well and it seems like we’re headed in the right direction.”
At the end of the last season, UBC lost three key players to professional drafts — Alex Webb, Curtis Taylor and Bruce Yari. Webb and Taylor averaged ERAs of 1.38 and 1.96 respectively on the pitching mound, placing in the top 25 of all NAIA pitchers.
“It’s really difficult to replace [Webb and Taylor], but we’ve got guys who are stepping up now,” said UBC head coach Chris Pritchett. “This season’s going to grow as the season goes along and we’re going to keep giving the ball to some of these new kids.”
Van den Brink is among those pitchers who will be stepping up this year. He believes that this year’s pitching staff will bring good overall depth rather than rely on specific individuals.
“[Webb and Taylor] definitely kept the offence and defence in the game,” said Van den Brink. “We have some great starters this year as well, so we’re making due. That’s for sure.”
At bat, the ’Birds lost Yari, who led the team in batting average with 0.368 last season. Still, Pritchett said that the team’s batting performance has remained strong. He credits assistant coach Shawn Bowman for the success.
“I can’t explain how good of a job [Bowman] has done with our hitters, so everyone who’s been with our program now continues to improve,” said Pritchett.
One key player who will be returning to the lineup this year is second baseman Justin Orton. Orton was a gold glove recipient during the 2015 season, and redshirted last year due to injury.
Pritchett has also been impressed with the level of effort from the freshmen players, and sees strong potential in them down the road.
“None of them are afraid. They’re going out and they’re getting after it,” said Pritchett. “They’re competitive kids and they’re just going to continue to do better.
“By the end of the year, I expect them to be more polished.”
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