The Midget AAA Mid-Island Mustangs coach Mike Rochon says his team needs to stay strong and maintain the same discipline of their last 10 games.
The team is in the home stretch and looking to earn a spot in the provincial playoffs July 28 to August 1.
“We’re fighting for our playoff lives right now,” he said.
“They gotta stay focused. They’re doing all the right things right now; swinging at good pitches, having a plan when they get up to bat and just playing strong defensively.”
The Mustangs currently sit in seventh place in the league, out of a total of 12 teams.
To make the provincials in Kamloops, the team must stay in the top eight.
The Mustangs played their final home games at Dogwood Field last weekend, with doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.
On Saturday, July 9, the team took on the Vancouver Mounties, who currently sit in the league’s top spot.
The final scores for Saturday were a 7-4 loss in game one and a 7-5 loss in game two.
The team tasted victory on Sunday in their first doubleheader game against the Richmond Chuckers.
During the play, Jace Brown got a base hit and stole second base, and Cole McGinn hit a single to drive in the winning run.
Cory Dewar pitched seven strong innings and was pulled when his pitch count reached the maximum.
“He pitched really well, only allowing one run for seven innings,” Rochon said.
The Mustangs won 2-1 in the ninth inning on Sunday’s game one, and fought a close loss in the second with a final score of 7-6.
“In the third inning, Trevor Read hit a two run home run out of the park, and Dylan Quist hit four-for-four during the day which was pretty amazing,” Rochon said.
The Mustangs will play their final eight games on the road, starting in Kamloops and then to Penticton.
Rochon is optimistic about the journey to come.
“We’re starting to play good ball,” he said.
“We have to play at least .500 baseball right now to give ourselves a chance and we’ve got eight more league games to play.”
