OIT, C of I Eye NAIA West Tournament Crown
VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds may be the top-ranked team from the NAIA West heading into this year’s National Qualifying Tournament but there is no shortage of talent on the four squads making the trip north to Nat Bailey Stadium for the competition that runs Monday, May 4th to Wednesday, May 6th.
Here is a quick rundown of the UBC Thunderbirds, College of Idaho Coyotes, Cal State San Marcos Cougars, and Oregon Tech Hustlin’ Owls who will all be vying for victory next week and an automatic berth in the opening round of the NAIA World Series from May 12-15.
A LOOK AT THE THUNDERBIRDS
The T-Birds, champion of the NAIA West North Division, managed to bounce back from a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Lewis-Clark State to explode for 11 runs in the first inning of the third and final game of the series, cruising to an 11-2 victory over the Warriors to close out the regular season.
The ‘Birds finished with a record of 33-10 (26-6) on the season, thanks in large part to their outstanding pitching staff, which had a combined ERA of 3.14. Mark Hardy saw his bid for a perfect record snapped in his final start of the year against LC State, but still had a very impressive year, with 10 wins and just one loss in 69.2 innings of work and a 2.97 ERA. Taylor King ended up with a 7-1 record and a 2.91 ERA as the number two starter for the ‘Birds. Jeff Hall was solid out of the bullpen all year, with a 0.89 ERA in 20.1 innings, and closer Shawn Hetherington picked up eight saves with an ERA of 2.39.
Ryan Pilgrim led all T-Bird hitters with a .368 average and chipped in 34 RBIs this season, second best on the team. Leadoff man Sammie Starr hit .335 and had a sparkling .472 on-base percentage to compliment his impressive fielding effort at the shortstop position. Jon Syrnyk led the team with seven homeruns and 37 RBIs while hitting for a solid .316 average, and Scott Webster, Ben Torrie, Nic Lendvoy and Alex White all hit above .314 as well. The T-Birds hit .292 as a team this year, proving that they didn’t have to rely solely on their stellar pitching staff to win the conference and earn the top seed in this weekend’s qualifying tournament.
A LOOK AT THE COYOTES
After surrendering 46 runs in a four game set against Lewis-Clark State from April 16-17, the ‘Yotes managed to take three of four from Corban College in their final regular season series to regain some momentum heading into the playoffs. Although they were just 4-8 in their final 12 games, their 28-18 overall record was good enough to earn them the number two seed in the tournament.
Cody Brubaker, who hit .345 with nine homeruns, 42 RBIs and a .687 slugging percentage, led the Coyotes offensively this season. Brad Carlsen topped the ‘Yotes with a .368 average while putting up solid power numbers as well, with 38 RBIs and seven homers. The Coyotes lineup is dangerous from top to bottom, with nine regulars batting above .300 on the year, and four players with at least five homeruns.
On the mound, Ben Rosen and Andrew Brock were the top starters for the Coyotes this year. Rosen led all ‘Yotes pitchers with a 2.55 ERA, which earned him a 4-3 record, and Brock was second with an ERA of 2.91, and was tied with Chad Yeggy for the team lead in the wins department with five.
A LOOK AT THE COUGARS
The Cougars took the third seed in the tournament with a 25-14 record this season, which they achieved thanks to a big effort on the sticks. Their team batting average of .341 is by far the highest of any school in the tournament, but their team ERA of 5.28 is also significantly higher than any of their opposition, so don’t expect too many pitchers’ duels when the Cougars are on the field at The Nat next week.
James Scott led an offence that hit double-digits in runs 11 times this season, as he hit for an incredible .434 average with 17 homeruns and 44 RBIs. Austin Coleman hit .404 while leading the team with 48 RBIs, and Scott Clement picked up 12 homers and 43 RBIs while hitting .336.
Things weren’t so rock-solid on the mound, however, for the Cougars. Johnny Holtman was the only regular starter with an ERA below 5.00, as he clocked in at 4.79 to earn himself a 6-2 record. McClinton Heil was the most consistent arm on the Cougars’ staff with an ERA of 2.18, but he had only five starts this season, with five additional appearances out of the bullpen, and had just 33 innings of work to his credit.
A LOOK AT THE HUSTLIN’ OWLS
Although their 32-23 record earned them the fourth seed in the four-team qualifying tournament, the Owls were the only team in the NAIA West's South Division with a winning record on the road this season (20-15), so they should have plenty of confidence when they stroll into Nat Bailey Stadium next week.
The Owls had seven players with at least 27 RBIs this year, and that depth will be important as they prepare to face the top pitchers in the conference. This season, however, one of their hitters was head and shoulders above the rest of his teammates. Ryson Mauricio led the Owls in average (.365), homeruns (14), RBIs (65), and slugging percentage (.664). His RBI total was 23 higher than any other player on the roster, and with the exclusion of Zach Earle and his nine homers, Mauricio’s 14 homeruns were two better than the rest of his teammates combined.
Neil Emerson and Josh Strom provided a solid one-two punch for the Owls in the starting rotation. Emerson leads the team with a 2.77 ERA and a 6-3 record, while Strom went 8-4 with an ERA of 3.32 in 81.1 innings of work. When it comes to relievers however, only closer Cory Stratton has an ERA under 4.15, so the Owls could run into trouble if teams can get to their bullpen early.
2009 NAIA West National Qualifying Tournament Schedule
Nat Bailey Stadium
Monday, May 4th
1: 2 p.m. - College of Idaho vs. Cal State San Marcos
2: 6 p.m. - UBC vs. Oregon Tech
Tuesday, May 5th
3: 10 a.m. - Loser 1 vs. Loser 2
4: 2 p.m. - Winner 1 vs. Winner 2
5: 6 p.m. - Loser 3 vs. Loser 4
Wednesday, May 6th
6: 12 p.m. - Winner 4 vs. Winner 5
7: 3 p.m. - If necessary (if Winner 5 wins 6)