UBC Baseball's 2015-2016 season witnessed a coaching change, but it did not prevent the Thunderbirds from making another appearance at the NAIA Championship Opening Round.
At the Championship Opening Round, UBC won 12-2 against Olivet Nazarene University — a school in Illinois — before dropping 3-0 and 8-4 decisions to the top-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College Grizzlies from Georgia and Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders from Kentucky.
UBC head coach Chris Pritchett described the outcome of the Championship Opening Round as being “bittersweet” for the team, which had come out of the regular season with an 18-10 conference record.
“We had to work hard to even give ourselves an opportunity to go to that regional. We won a game and put ourselves in position to win two more and couldn’t get it done,” said Pritchett, who is in his first year of coaching the 'Birds.
Still, he was thoroughly impressed with the players’ efforts during the championship opening series and throughout the season.
“I thought [the players] represented themselves and the university and Canadian baseball at a high level and no one should be ashamed of the way we played,” said Pritchett.
Bruce Yari, T-Bird first baseman, believes that Pritchett had been an effective coach and that the team had adjusted fairly well to the new leadership.
“With Chris [Pritchett] being a first-time head coach, there’s definitely some unexpected obstacle that he had to overcome, but I thought the coaching staff did a great job preparing us for the season and preparing us for playoffs,” said Yari, who averaged .400 for most of the season.
Yari said that on top of the coaching staff’s efforts, the addition of the indoor baseball training facility also played an important part in the team’s success by allowing him and his teammates to practice more extensively.
Next season, the T-Birds will be seeing the departure of key players like Tyler Enns and Alex Webb, who are now at the end of their four-year eligibilities. Curtis Taylor may also be parting ways with UBC if he receives a professional draft. Webb and Taylor had earned run averages (ERAs) of 1.38 and 1.96 respectively to combine for a strong force on the pitching mound.
Even with the departure of players like Webb, the ‘Birds will be seeing the arrival of new recruits next year along with the return of second baseman Justin Orton. Orton was a Gold Glove Award recipient in 2015 and redshirted during the season due to injury.
“[Orton] is definitely an asset on defence … I know he’s going to be coming back with something improved, so we’re excited to get him back,” said Yari.
Still, only time will tell how the team will fare next year.