VANCOUVER - For the second time in school history, the UBC Thunderbirds (30-6) have reached the no. 4 ranking in the NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
Winners of 10 straight heading into this weekend's three-game homestand against no. 1 Lewis-Clark State Warriors (31-2), the T-Birds improved two spots in the top 25 to match their best-ever ranking in the NAIA.
UBC has been ranked no. 4 once before, back in May 2006. That season they went on to make their only NAIA World Series appearance, finishing fourth.
Pitching has been the hallmark of this year's squad and last weekend's four-game sweep of the Concordia Cavaliers was a prime display of the talent of UBC's starting pitchers.
The quartet of
Eric Brown,
Brandon Kaye,
Sheldon McDonald, and
Mark Hardy threw 29 innings against the Cavaliers giving up only 14 hits, two earned runs, and eight walks while striking out 24. On the season, they have combined for a 21-4 record.
L-C State, off to their best start in school history, was again the top-ranked team in the third regular season edition of the coaches poll. The Warriors captured all 22 first-place votes and totaled 622 points.
Cumberland University (33-8) is second with 590 points while Oklahoma City University (32-7) sits third at 585. UBC's 557 points put them just ahead of no. 5 California Baptist (31-10) who earned 547 in this week's voting.
The T-Birds and Warriors meet this Friday at 4:00 p.m. to open their three-game series at Thunderbird Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday and 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.
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