The Nanaimo Pirates got the wind in their sails and chased the Victoria Mariners out of the B.C. Premier Baseball League season on Saturday at Henderson Park.
In a playoff doubleheader, the Pirates downed the Mariners 1-0 and 2-0 to take the best-of-three series in two games. The Pirates advance to the BCPBL Final Four in Abbotsford next weekend.
“I’m ecstatic,” Nanaimo catcher Braeden Mousseau said. “To get those wins like that over a very good ball club, that was huge.”
As is often the case in tight games, just a play or two made the difference, because the pitching was terrific all around. Starting pitchers Aidan Goodall for Nanaimo and Colton Wood for Victoria, in the first game, and Luke Skingle and Chris Fougner, respectively, in Game 2, went the distance in both games. They allowed a combined total of just eight hits through 14 innings — one each in the last game.
“They have three guys and we have three guys that can really do some damage,” Mariners coach Mike Chewpoy said. “It’s tough to win when you can’t score.”
In the opening game, the difference essentially came down to two fielding plays. In the fifth inning, the Mariners had a good thing going, with one out and runners at first and third. When Tanner Hess flied into the outfield, it seemed a given that Sean Wellington would score on the sacrifice. Victoria didn’t, however, count on a rocket of a throw from rightfielder TJ Mah, who fired the ball to catcher Mousseau in time for the tag at home plate.
Still 0-0 into the last inning, Nanaimo had two on, through walks, and two out, when Tristian Olsen came up. With two out, Olsen topped the ball about 15 feet into the dirt, on a “swinging bunt,” Chewpoy said. It was a tough play, and catcher Evan Willow’s throw pulled the first baseman off the bag, allowing Zack Diewert to score the game’s only run.
The third inning was the scoring story of the second game. Mah was hit by a pitch, Shawn Arabsky advanced him with a sacrifice bunt, Mousseau walked, and a long fly ball by Brady Rogers got caught in the wind and dropped in for a single. The stage was set for Diewert, and he deserved a bow, after lacing a hard grounder down the first-base line to bring home two runs.
“It only takes one pitch or one throw to change a ballgame,” Chewpow said. “We were a little unlucky today.”
Over in North Shore, the Victoria Eagles downed the North Shore Twins 12-7 in their playoff opener. The score for the second game had not been posted at press time. Games in other two series — Vancouver vs. Langley and Coquitlam vs. Abbotsford — ended the day with split results.
