The Nanaimo Pirates are good enough that they can win games even when they don’t play anywhere near their best baseball.
The Hub City Paving Pirates (10-2) reclaimed first place in the B.C. Premier Baseball League after sweeping doubleheaders against the White Rock Tritons and North Shore Twins on Saturday and Sunday at Serauxmen Stadium.
The home team showed a flair for the dramatic most of the weekend, as both wins over the Tritons came in extra innings. The Pirates won the first one 6-5 and won the second one 8-7. Sunday’s first game saw Nanaimo claw back from a 4-1 deficit to eventually win 5-4. In the weekend finale, the Pirates shut out the Twins 3-0.
“We weren’t really playing our best baseball but we never gave up,” said Brendan McCarthy, who had the game-winning sacrifice fly in the first contest of the weekend. “We always had the fight in us to come back and try and put together a win.”
Justin Clarkson, Pirates pitcher, said the team always has belief.
“Whenever we go down we always think we’re still going to come back and usually we do,” he said.
Pirates manager Doug Rogers said the team’s resilience is an encouraging trait.
“Whenever they get down, guys have that grit about them that they want to bounce back,” he said.
In the first game of the weekend Nate Odgers was the winning pitcher, giving up three hits and three runs over six innings. Ryan Smith let the offence with a single and a double, Ben Dunbar was 2-for-3 with two walks and Chris Faber also went 2-3. Griffin Andreychuk had a hit, two walks and two runs scored.
In the second game Bryan Odgers hit the game-winning RBI single, helping himself earn the pitching win after throwing an inning of scoreless relief. Andreychuk went 4-for-4 and was intentionally walked. Justin Clarkson and McCarthy each hit a single and a double and Crosby Rushton also doubled.
Sunday’s first game saw Alex Rogers throw the complete-game win. Offence came from Andreychuk, who had two hits and two RBIs, and Faber hit a double. Andreychuk’s RBI single in the bottom of the sixth held up as the game-winning hit.
“You’ve got to just keep grinding away and eventually runs will come,” he said. “For our team, especially, because our team is a pretty skilled team.”
In the weekend finale Clarkson threw a complete-game shutout and McCarthy was 2-for-2 with a two-RBI triple. Doug Rogers said Clarkson gave his team the best pitching outing of the weekend.
“I didn’t have my best stuff today. My fastball was working fine but my off-speed wasn’t there,” said the right-hander. “But they boys helped me behind me.”
GAME ON … The Pirates play doubleheaders on the road Saturday (May 5) and Sunday against the Vancouver Cannons and Coquitlam Reds, respectively.
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