The Nanaimo Pirates were able end off a tough baseball season with a win.
The Hub City Paving Pirates shut out the Parksville Royals 2-0 on Friday night at Serauxmen Stadium in the final game of the B.C. Premier Baseball League season.
“It was good. We were able to come together in the last game and end it on a positive note,” said pitcher Will Drewry, who earned the save.
Doug Rogers, Pirates manager, called the victory “a nice way to finish.” He made sure all his graduating players got playing time Friday, and tried to get everyone else into the game, too.
Garrett Goodall was the winning pitcher, throwing five innings and allowing just one hit while striking out seven. The offence was led by Shane Rogers, who went 3-for-3 with two singles and a double, and Wyatt Strachan, who hit a single and a double.
The Pirates finished with a 12-32 record, missing the post-season.
“It stings,” Doug Rogers said. “We knew what we had, we knew it was going to be a struggle, but you still want to win and you still expect the guys to win. And with some of the players we had, some of the graduates, there was some opportunities there.”
With no junior team from which to draw, the Pirates didn’t have any depth beyond their 15-man roster and it took commitment from all the guys.
“I commend them for that,” Rogers said. “They played with a lot of bumps and bruises and some tired arms.”
Still, the Pirates weren’t satisfied with just competing, and played to win.
“It wasn’t the best season for us, especially compared to last year, but I felt like at the end of the year and in this game, when we put our best effort on the field, that we could play well as a team and win baseball games…” said Sam Baker, Pirates pitcher. “There was ups and downs, but we absolutely came out to the ballpark every day with the intent to win and put our effort on the field.”
Goodall led the Pirates in wins (six), innings (69) and strikeouts (58), and also as a batter in hits (36). He and Matt Skingle led the Pirates in RBIs (19), while Skingle had the best batting average (.319) on the team and was second in the premier league in home runs (three). Drewry led the pitching staff in ERA (2.85) and Shane Rogers led the team in stolen bases (seven).
Graduating Pirates players include Goodall, Skingle, Chris Vlaj, Strachan, Baker, Drewry and Ryan Stich.
Look for more Pirates news next week in the News Bulletin.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
Overheard coach jokingly ask catcher why he didn’t start a fight after this play. “He’s my friend.” #baseball pic.twitter.com/daJMP2yf52
— Greg Sakaki (@BulletinSports) July 23, 2016
