Written by Mario Ponce

EUGENE, Ore - The Bushnell Beacons baseball team (5-4) will host the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (8-3) over the weekend, with double headers on Friday and Saturday. This will be the first four game series and start of conference play for both teams in this season of the Cascade Collegiate Conference.

Bushnell Beacons:

The Beacons started their season with mixed fortunes, loosing their opening series against the Jessup Warriors and winning their series against the Simpson Red Hawks. These games will be their first home series of the season, their third campaign at the Hamlin Sports Complex in Springfield. Bushnell has been a high scoring team this season, scoring double digit runs on three of their games. They have a two game winning streak, beating the Saint Martin’s Saints five runs to one last Sunday in Tacoma, Washington. A major theme for the Beacons this season is late game scoring, with many of their wins featuring big scores in the last three innings of play, most notably with a nine run seventh inning to comeback against the Red Hawks on February 10. The lead offensive player for Bushnell is junior catcher Brandon Reed, with an average of .421 and 6 RBIs, and the Beacons will surely be counting on him to deliver against the visitors from the north.

University of British Columbia Thunderbirds:

The only Canadian team in the CCC has enjoyed a great start to the season. Though they've been the designated home team in two games this season, all of their contests so far have been south of the border, and they don’t play in Vancouver until March. The Thunderbirds won three of their four games in their series in Santa Clarita, California. They won one and lost one to the Master’s Mustangs and won both against the Providence Sea Beggars, including their last game, a 13-3 thumping of the Sea Beggars last Saturday. Like the Beacons, UBC has been very high scoring this season, but they’ve also allowed a lot of runs so far. Their lead offensive player so far is third year outfielder Mitchell Middlemiss, with a .455 average and 19 RBIs, and the Thunderbirds expect him to guide the squad in Springfield.

Prediction:

This will be an interesting series. On paper, the Thunderbirds look very superior to the Beacons based on the records, but the series looks to be quite even. Both teams have been offensive powerhouses so far and can score lots of runs, so this cross-border matchup looks to be a great start for baseball in Springfield. I predict that each team will win two games, with one team winning both on Friday and the other both on Saturday.