UBC set to host College of Idaho in crucial four-game series

Catcher Kyle Yip (Calgary, Alta.) is batting .361 with seven home runs in 31 games for UBC this season. Photo: UBC Athletics

April 8, 2026

By Jeff Sargeant

UBC Communications

With only three series remaining in the Cascade Collegiate Conference schedule, the UBC Thunderbirds are entering crunch time as they look to reverse a brief losing skid, set to host the College of Idaho Yotes for a critical four-game series starting Friday, April 10 at Tourmaline West Stadium.

Having leapt out of the starting gate with a tremendous 18-3 conference record, the 'Birds have now lost four straight, including a 12-3 defeat Tuesday in a non-conference matchup with Seattle University.

"We're going through probably the most difficult part of our schedule in terms of the teams we're playing and now we're into final exams here and then also dealing with some health issues," said UBC head coach Chris Pritchett, who's looking at the positives to battling through some adversity. "We're calling on people to step up in these situations and there have been a lot of good things. This group is starting to believe they can play against any level of NAIA team, but at the same time we're seeing breakdowns in very fundamental things that are costing us."

Dropping last weekend's road series to Lewis-Clark State, the 'Birds are now two games back of the conference leading Warriors and five games ahead of the Yotes. By the time this weekend's series concludes Sunday, the T-Birds will either remain in striking distance of the conference lead or be in a fight for seeding going into the impending CCC championship tournament early next month.

But heading into UBC's penultimate home series of the conference schedule, the 'Birds remain focussed on the process.

"The goal has to be this team just worrying about taking care of business themselves and not so much about who we're playing," said Pritchett. "Yes the games are important, (the Yotes are) right behind us, we have similar records and we know they're going to be good. But we, as a coaching staff, are hyper-focussed on what we need to do to be successful not only this weekend but also the rest of the season."

Despite the recent skid, the underlying numbers for the T-Birds are good. Some untimely errors late in games have cost them, however. In their last five games, UBC has conceded a total of 30 runs in the seventh inning and beyond, all 12 of Seattle University's coming in the final two frames Tuesday.

"The score was not indicative of how the game was,” said Pritchett. “For six innings we saw how we can play and be successful, but then we also saw what happens when you make a mistake on a routine play, how quickly it can get away. It really highlights the need to play tight, especially defensively to come out on top in those games. We're learning we're capable of playing with anybody but also what it takes to beat good teams and we're not quite there yet, but we're working on it."

Any team, even championship winning squads, inevitably face a period such as this and there's every reason to believe the 'Birds will use their home cooking this weekend to pull themselves back onto the right side of the ledger.

If they need any positive reinforcement, the 'Birds continue to lead the Cascade Collegiate Conference with 402 hits while the team's pitching staff collectively boast a 4.28 ERA along with a conference leading 9.84 K/9.

As key as the weekend is for UBC, the Yotes enter the final three weeks of the regular season just one game ahead of Bushnell and two up on Oregon Tech, the Owls holding down the fifth and final conference championship tournament berth.

First pitch Friday for the series opener, and a chance to extend UBC's seven-game home win streak, is set for 6:00 p.m. at Tourmaline West Stadium. Saturday's doubleheader begins at 1:00 p.m. with Sunday's finale scheduled for an 11:00 a.m. start.