Some end-of-season notes

Written by Administrator
Saturday, 03 June 2006 05:04
Connor Janes and Steve Bell-Irving were named to the all-tournament team. Johnny Yiu received a Champions of Character award earlier in the week, and Janes and Shawn Schaefer were named Second Team All-Americans.

There was a poll on this site with the question, “Who will lead the Thunderbirds in hitting this season?” There were 62 votes cast, and 26 of them were for Steve Bell-Irving. They got it right, but just barely. Bell-Irving edged out Johnny Yiu, .379 to .378. Mark Capone, who hit .329 this year, continues to hold the school record of .390.

Other individual statistical leaders:

Connor Janes finished with 11 home runs, one short of Adam Campbell’s record of 12.

Mark Capone tied his own record of four triples. (Spencer Barnard and Adam Campbell also had four.) Adam Campbell, however, now holds the school record for most triples in a career (15). Capone set the career record for doubles (53) and walks (111).

Tyler Hughes set school records with eight sacrifice flies, and 12 “sacrifice hits” (actually bunts). Hughes and Capone are tied for the career sacrifice fly record (16), and Hughes holds the career sacrifice hit record (20).

Adam Campbell holds the records for career home runs (30), RBI (165), and stolen bases (51).

Shawn Schaefer had the lowest ERA among starters (1.93) and the most wins (12). Andrew LaFleur has the lowest ERA for “regulars” with 1.45.

Joe Forest set a school record for lowest opponent batting average, .165. The previous record was .166, held by Jeff Francis.

Joey Benda tied Cory Stuart’s record for most saves (6).

Brad Ashman finished just short of Jeff Francis’ record for most career wins. Francis had 25, and Ashman had 24. Ashman now holds the record for most innings pitched (279).

This year’s team rewrote the record book on fielding percentage. The top five in this category are now Brendan Kornberger (.995), Connor Janes (also .995), Johnny Yiu (.994), Ian Prescott (.993), and Tyler Willson (.991). Willson had only one error, and it didn’t happen until late in the season. Yiu holds the career record (.989).

Davey Wallace had 201 assists, demolishing the previous record of 157, held by Mark Capone. Wallace also holds the career record (476).

Tyler Hughes holds the career record for most errors (51) and Wallace is second with 50. This shouldn’t be a surprise; the best fielders make more chances.

Some other noteworthy records: The attendance for the second game of the super-regional against Concordia-Irvine was listed in the box score as 450. I counted 430, but either way, it’s the biggest home crowd ever for a UBC game. The game against Lewis-Clark State at the national championship tournament drew 2,730, and that’s the biggest crowd the Thunderbirds have played in front of. The game the previous day against Cumberland was a close second, at 2,610. The total attendance for the tournament was 43,000, which is a record.

Now, for some Northwest chauvinism. Oregon State won the Pac-10 championship, and they hosted an NCAA regional for the second straight year. They won the regional this year, and will now host Stanford in the super-regional. Congratulations, Beavers. Now, how about adding UBC and Lewis-Clark State to your schedule?

The next on-the-field action for the Thunderbirds will be at the Grand Forks International tournament, August 30-September 4. Looking further down the road, the Thunderbirds will be returning to the Yamhill County Classic, in McMinnville and Newberg, OR, in late February. Watch this space for updates on the MLB draft, which starts June 6, and where UBC players are playing this summer.

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