UBC BASEBALL 2009: DILIGENT PREPARATION JUSTIFIES HIGH EXPECTATIONS

As the T-Birds kick off the 2009 season, they do it with a new field, a new conference structure, and a new confidence.

When asked to describe his first impressions of the UBC Baseball program, Shawn Hetherington, a RHP transfer from the University of Calgary, immediately said, “Professional. That’s what this program  is all about: being as professional as we can both on and off the field.”

Last month, construction was completed on a new on-campus field, a facility that can be called nothing short of professional. In addition to being conveniently located, the field is surfaced entirely with field turf, erasing all concerns about practices being rained-out. “The new field is huge because we’re able to get out on the field in the preseason,” said LHP Ashton Florko. “Last year we were just in the [Student Recreation Center] in the early mornings. This year, right now, we’re having intrasquad games.” Junior RHP Taylor King echoed Florko’s sentiments and even went as far as to say that the new facility will make “the biggest difference” for this team—and this program.

As of this season, the NAIA has implemented a new format for the structure of conferences and postseason play. The T-Birds now compete in the North Division of the NAIA West, along with Concordia University, Corban College, and College of Idaho. The teams that make up the South Division are Patten University, Bethany University, Simpson University, and Oregon Tech. The team with the best record in each division receives a bid to the postseason tournament, and the two teams with the next-best records receive bids as well. “The new sectional tournament places a lot more emphasis on conference record and overall win-loss record, because now national ranking is that much more important,” explained Assistant Coach Cav Whitely. “There are no more exhibition games that don’t mean anything.  Everything goes toward your win-loss record and is judged toward your national ranking by the NAIA raters.  It makes really work hard at the little things that will win ball games.”

Even though every game means something, some games mean more than others. According to Whitely, the team has developed a deep seeded rivalry with the College of Idaho Coyotes – the alma mater of Head Coach Terry McKaig. Whitely also acknowledged the benefit of having the opportunity to face Lewis-Clark State, the defending World Series champions for three years running. “LC State is a good measure of where we are as a team, to find out where we are on a developmental scale.” The players expressed similar sentiments: “I’d love to beat on LC State this year,” said shortstop Sammie Starr. “If we can beat a team like that, it shows us that we can hang with any of best teams in the country. It would give us more confidence.”

Last year, the T-Birds did not fare well against LC State. But among the team, there is a consensus: this year is different. “This year,” said Starr, “we definitely have a good chance at beating them a couple of times.”

“We’ve really been building for this since 2006. We want to get back to the World Series” said Whitely. “We’ve been executing a specific recruiting plan for the team’s success this year and beyond .”

The team seems to believe that that success will indeed become a reality this year. “This year is strongest team we’ve had in a while,” said Starr. “We have a lot of returners, and the core guys are coming back. Guys are comfortable with each other, playing together, and the pitching staff is stronger, with more depth.”

“I think we can win the conference, and we have a really good chance of winning a sectional to get back to the World Series. From there, anything can happen.”

IF Ryan Pilgrim echoed those opinions: “We have a little more depth pitching-wise – we didn’t lose that many pitchers –, and they are much more confident on the mound. The same goes for hitting: the core of the lineup is going to be returning guys who’ve played two or three years of college already. Overall, we will have a good team that will compete day in and day out. If we play our game, we should be tough to beat.”

Although this may seem like merely the preseason optimism present with every team, it should be noted that the T-Birds already have had to overcome challenges. Whitely deems waiting for the completion of the construction of the field to be the biggest challenge: “Not being able to hit every day was something that was a lot different for our program.” Then, with the release of marks from first term classes, the coaching staff was struck with the reality that a number of incoming players were academically ineligible to compete. These ineligibilities necessitated lots of lineup shuffling; the coaching staff needed all of their creativity in order to come up with solutions to fill spots left by ineligible players – and then to fill the spots left by the players replacing the ineligible ones, and so on.

Pilgrim is one of the players who have directly felt that impact. After catching last year, he was slated to play first base this year, but when the projected starting third baseman failed to meet the academic requirements, the coaches called upon Pilgrim to fill a spot on the hot corner depth chart.

“I’m comfortable over there,” said Pilgrim. “I’ve played third my whole life so its not a huge change. In my first year, I played third, and second year I played half the season there. I’ll be ready after getting daily practice and game time over there”

Whitely confirmed, “With most of the shuffles, the players have at least some experience there. The players have been positive and very flexible, willing to do extra work and extra reps at those positions.”

Pilgrim called the ineligibilities “a letdown,” but maintains a positive outlook on the situation: “A lot of outfielders have moved into the infield to add depth, but I think the guys who have come in will be able to the job just as well. It won’t affect how far we go this year.”

Whitely also was able to find the silver lining: “[Having players playing new positions] gives us more options to be able to keep hottest hitting players in the lineup rather than having to stick it out with a guy who’s struggling, and I think it’s important to have that option in a sport with so many ups and downs.”

Another benefit of increasing players’ versatility is that it creates more options for replacements in the case of injury – something that the team had a lot of last season, and something that has the potential to have an even greater negative impact this season because, as Whitely noted, the team is not as deep after losing those players.

“A big key for this year is health,” said Whitely. “We’ve been trying to address it with our conditioning program, trying to approach it as not only a strength program but also a joint integrity/ dynamic movement program that will keep each guy healthy through the grind of a college season.”

And it seems that there is commitment from the team to follow through with that. “The work ethic with the team and the program jumped up,” compared to last year, said Florko. “Everyone’s working harder with strength and conditioning. Team focus is huge; everyone’s putting in long hours to be the best player possible for the team. We are much better in terms of readiness.”

And, in the words of Paul “Bear” Bryant, “It’s not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference.” This will to prepare may prove to be the T-Birds’ greatest asset as they strive to join the ranks of the elite.

So, the 2009 UBC Baseball team is professional, prepared… Anything else?

“Gentlemanly,” said King of his teammates.

We’ll leave it to the ladies of UBC to provide the final word on that, but, by all reports, the players indeed treat each other with gentlemanly respect and affection.

“Last year, the team was a bit segregated,” said Pilgrim. “This year, the team is together more, closer than ever.”

“We have a great mix of all kinds of individual personalities,” said Florko. “We have good team chemistry, and the new guys have contributed to that.”

“We have a lot of guys on the same page,” said Starr. “Everyone likes being around each other, hanging out with each other. The younger guys aren’t intimidated by the older guys as much as in the last years. We like to keep the younger guys involved, talk to them, not just have them on the side.”

“Overall, I think we’re starting to gel, and hopefully that will carry onto the field when we start playing games.”

The T-Birds are living up to expectations so far: they are currently 8-1 overall, 4-0 in conference, after returning from California, where they played their annual tour of preseason exhibition games and began regular season play against Patten University in Oakland, whom they swept in a four-game weekend series.

The T-Birds’ home opening weekend is March 13-14, when they take on Corban College. Game times are 12pm and 3pm on Friday, 11am and 2pm on Saturday. Other notable home series are April 11-12 vs. College of Idaho (games at 12pm, 3pm on Saturday and 11am, 2pm on Sunday) and April 26-27 vs. LC State (games at 12pm, 3pm on Sunday and 2pm on Monday).

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Position players:

• Sammie Starr, SS: Starr is recognized as one of the best defensive shortstops in the nation. Look for him to contribute offensively as well, at the top of the order and on the basepaths.
• Alex White, 2B: White is the other half of the T-Birds strong defensive middle infield. Like Starr, he will contribute offensively on the basepaths and either at the top of the order or turning it over in the nine hole. Whitely “[expects] big things from him this year.”
• Jon Syrnyk, OF: Syrnyk will be the third pillar in the T-Birds defense up the middle, providing a strong glove in center field. He is also expected to be one of the big run producers for the team. Look for his speed to be a major game changer.
• Ryan Pilgrim, IF: Pilgrim will be batting clean-up for the T-Birds this year. His goals for this season, in his words, are to “be more consistent: consistently have tough outs, hit the ball hard every time, and base my success on if I have a good at-bat rather than get a hit. And obviously to help the team win.”
• Jordan Pandoff, IF: According to Whitely, Pandoff “has shown a lot of maturity for being a sophomore,” and the team is “looking for him to also start stepping into [the offensive] mix.”

Pitchers:

• Danny Britton-Foster, RHP: Though only a freshman, the former junior national team member has earned himself a spot in the starting rotation. Whitely said, “His maturity on the mound and work ethic at practice are miles ahead of his school age. He competes every time we put him out there.”
• Mark Hardy, LHP: In the World University Games in the Czech Republic in July 2008, Hardy won the ERA Award after recording a 0.00 ERA over 10 innings, while striking out 17 and surrendering only four hits. Whitely described noticing “an air” about Hardy, and he said, “He is starting to show himself and really develop into his own.”
• Ashton Florko, LHP: After getting drafted by the Cubs in June, Florko is looking to develop his offspeed pitches and improve his command: “Last year I was looked at as one-dimensional, just having a plus fastball,” said Florko. “This year, I’m going to try to not rely on the fastball so much and get outs in a more efficient way, which I can accomplish by throwing offpseed pitches for a high percentage of strikes.”
• Taylor King, RHP: As one of the players sidelined by injuries last season, King is looking to make up for lost time. Whitely called King “a smart pitcher who locates his pitches” as well as “a competitor who will find a way to keep us in ballgames.” King’s comments confirmed that description: “I’m 100% ready to roll, ready to be the guy that the team counts on, to be the guy that, when I’m on the mound, everyone knows we’re going to win.”
• Matt Bannister, RHP: A transfer from Thompson Rivers University, Bannister will be making the adjustment to a starting role. The 6’9” righty throws a fastball in the upper 80’s to low 90’s as well as what Whitely described as a “pretty good split finger that will keep hitters guessing.”