UBC Thunderbird Baseball Fan Page

Jeff Hall's second career start did not go anywhere near as well as his first one against Occidental. He was hammered for seven earned runs over 3 1/2 innings. They were the result of six hits, six walks, and two hit batters.

The seven runs were more than enough for the Saints, but they got another seven runs off Scott Webster (his first start of this season), three of of them on a bases-loaded double by Nathan Baker. The double was actually given up by Webster's replacement, Geoff Burke, but the runners on base were put there by Webster, with two hit batters and a walk.

Between Hall and Webster, Sean Carrick was also hit hard; three runs on five hits on only 1 2/3 innings.

As the final score indicates, the Birds again had trouble getting hits and scoring runs. The hit total was five (vs. 16 for Saint Martin's), two of them by C Ryan Pilgrim. The runs were batted in by Pilgrim, SS Sammie Starr, and RF Mike Elias, who came in halfway through the game as a substitute for Matt Chester.

The Saints also created yet another problem for the Thunderbirds; they stole five bases, three of them by 3B Shane Schoeneberg.

Saint starter Pat Capone got the win. He went six innings, allowed two runs on four hits.

Box score and play-by-play

Pre-game Interview with UBC Assistant Coach Connor Janes

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Montana State-Billings started their season with a win at the expense of the Thunderbirds. The Yellowjackets had only one day of outdoor practice prior to this game, and that was in January. However, it was the Thunderbirds who looked rusty. (That was a long bus ride from Fresno.) They started the game with three consecutive errors, loading the bases with no outs. Starter Eric Brown struck out the next batter, but he walked the one after that to give the Yellowjackets a 1-0 lead on no hits.

The Yellowjackets got another cheap run in the second, when Brown hit a batter and walked another. A run came on a fielder's choice (Matt Schnoonover got the RBI), and it was 2-0 after two innings, and the Yellowjackets were still hitless.

The Yellowjackets didn't get their first hit until the top of the fourth. The Thunderbirds got into the game with a run in the bottom of the fourth when Jon Syrnyk got on, went to third on a stolen base followed by a bad throw, and was batted in by Mike Styrna. They tied it in the fifth with a hit by Nic Lendvoy, a sacrifice bunt by Ben Torrie, and a sacrifice fly by Jordan Pandoff.

The Yellowjackets sent in reliever Cody Clark in the sixth, and he held the Birds hitless. The Yellowjackets got the winning run in the seventh, off Kurtis Schumacher. Schnoonover got on, and was batted in by Joe Via.

The three first-inning errors were nearly cancelled out by a highlight-reel double play in the top of the fifth. With one on, Via hit a ground ball that got a piece of the pitcher's mound. SS Sammie Starr made an excellent grab behind second base, stepped on the bag, then threw to first to complete the double play.

Other pitchers to see action besides Brown and Schumacher were Ashton Florko and Andrew LaFleur. Brown gave up only one hit in four innings of work, struck out four. Alex White had two of the Thunderbirds' five hits.

Box score and play-by-play

Story from Montana State-Billings site: Pitching Leads Yellowjackets to Season-Opening Victory

Interview with UBC Coach Terry McKaig

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Another well-played ball game, but Antone Ontiveros was able to hold the Thunderbirds to five hits, despite getting only two strikeouts.

The only run of the game came in the bottom of the sixth, off Kurtis Schumacher. C Josh Jackson hit a double with one out. He moved to third on a ground out, and came home on a double by pinch hitter Jeff Taylor. Note: Although the official scorer awarded hits to both Jackson and Taylor, on one of them, a fly ball was dropped by LF Nic Lendvoy. The run should have been scored as unearned.

The Thunderbirds' best chance to score came in the eighth inning. They had the bases loaded with one out, the result of a single by 3B Jordan Pandoff, a walk by SS Sammie Starr, and Jon Syrnyk being hit by a pitch. The Sunbirds brought in David Zizzo from the bullpen, and the result was an infield popup by C Ryan Pilgram, and pinch hitter Dave Dick striking out. Zizzo ended up retiring all five batters that he faced.

Starter Mark Hardy was replaced by Josh Brink in the fourth inning after giving up five hits. Brink allowed one hit in 1 1/3 innings. Schumacher allowed two hits (actually one, but the box score says two), and Eric Brown and Ashton Florko pitched hitless innings.

2B Alex White got three of the Thunderbirds' five hits.

Box score and play-by-play

Story from Fresno Pacific site

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An excellent effort in a close game against a good team.

The star of this show was starter Taylor King. His numbers were three earned runs on five hits in seven innings, five strikeouts, and two bases on balls. This only tells a small part of the story. The Sea Lions didn't get their second hit of the game until the sixth inning (by Tyler Kuehl), and King promptly picked off the pinch runner who replaced Kuehl. King then gave up a single, and a home run by Kaohi Downing, which made the score 3-2 for the Birds. King responded by striking out the next two batters (the second and third in the batting order) to end the inning.

Taylor King - Photo by Robert Naegele

The Thunderbirds got the winning run in the top of the eighth. They loaded the bases on singles by Scott Webster, Nic Lendvoy, and Mike Styrna. Steve Bone then drew a walk to score Craig Leebosh, who came in to pinch-run for Webster.

Ashton Florko came on in relief in the eighth, and retired the Sea Lions in order. Andrew LaFleur pitched a perfect ninth inning to preserve the one-run win.

The Thunderbirds took the early lead in the second with a home run by Webster. Their second run came in the fifth when Styrna reached on a bunt single, went to second on a wild pitch, to third on a ground out, then scored on an error. Another run came in the sixth on singles by Webster and Lendvoy, followed by another error.

Webster was the offensive star, 3-4 and the home run. Kevin Craik got the loss for the Sea Lions. Downing finished 2-4.

Box score and play-by-play

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The Thunderbirds broke a four-game losing streak against the Bulldogs in convincing fashion.

DH Ryan Pilgrim and LF Nic Lendvoy led the attack against a Bulldog pitching staff that was depleted by three games over the weekend. They each had three RBI. Pilgrim was 4-5 with a double, and Lendvoy was 2-5 with a base-clearng triple in the seventh inning.

Scott Webster and Sammie Starr also had good days at the plate. Webster was 2-3 with a double and two RBI. Starr was 3-5 with a double.

Geoff Burke got his first start as a Thunderbird, and gave up all five of Redlands' runs in four innings. Only one of them was earned, however. The Bulldogs took the lead briefly in the bottom of the second with three runs on errors by Matt Chester in right field and Jordan Pandoff (a freshman from Toronto) at third base. The Thunderbirds countered with four runs in the top of the third when 2B Alex White scored on a passed ball, Pilgrim batted in two runs, and Webster batted in another. The Bulldogs got their remaining runs in the bottom of the third on two failed pickoff attempts by Burke.

Right-hander Sean Carrick, a freshman from Imperial, SK, put in an excellent relief appearance, allowing one hit in three innings. Greg Chong went the rest of the way, allowing four hits in two innings. Carrick got the win (although the box score incorrectly gave it to Burke), and Evan Dunn got the loss.

Box score and play-by-play

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"Best game of the year by far," according to Coach McKaig. "A complete effort by everyone but this one started on the mound."

Pitching highlights:

Josh Brink gets the win in his first start as a Thunderbird going 6 strong innings allowing 9 hits (many of them weak ground balls that found holes), 1 run, 2 strikeouts.

Freshman Eric Brown had a great outing for the second day in a row, retiring the side in order in the seventh on only 6 pitches.

Ashton Florko pitched a scoreless eighth with better control today and still hitting 90 mph on the radar gun.

Andrew LaFleur pitched a scoreless ninth.

Offensively:

SS Sammie Starr continues his red hot hitting by going 3-5 with 2 runs scored, and 2 stolen bases.

2B Alex White (just as red hot) goes 2-5 with a double and a stolen base.

C Ryan Pilgrim was 1-5 with 2 RBI.

RF Mike Styrna still swinging really well, was 2-5 with 2 doubles and an RBI.

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