Vinny Martin鈥檚 clutch two-out, walk-off single with the bases loaded scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning Sunday as the Eagles defeated the Nanaimo Pirates 3-2 in the all-Island final.
Martin鈥檚 timely hit allowed Zane Takhar and Ben Goertzen to cross the plate as the Eagles fought back from a 2-0 deficit at Delair Park in Abbotsford.
鈥淚t was a storybook finish to an amazing run. The guys never gave up,鈥� Eagles general manager Gautam Srivastava said of the final-inning heroics. 鈥淭he whole inning seemed like a movie. A strikeout, single, fielder鈥檚 choice, bloop single, infield hit and then Vinny hits it through the six hole to score two runs and that鈥檚 the ball game.鈥�
Down 2-0, the Eagles finally chased starting Nanaimo pitcher Devon Geary in the sixth inning as Takhar scored on Martin鈥檚 sacrifice fly. Relief pitcher Luke Skingle replaced Geary and managed to get through the rest of the sixth as Victoria left the bases loaded.
But the Eagles clawed out the win in the seventh as Mitch Hawkins, Goertzen and Kyle Murai all singled. Takhar had reached base on a fielder鈥檚 choice, then scored the tying run before Goertzen crossed home plate to end the game and start the celebrations as Martin fought off a two-strike count.
鈥淔or me, I think back to four years ago when we started, when we went 11-37. So it鈥檚 not just about this year. It was building the program and slowly getting better,鈥� said Srivastava, who will go down and work with the bantams next season with Anthony Pluta already in place as the Premier team鈥檚 manager.
鈥淚 started my pro career with a championship. I ended my pro career with a championship. Now I鈥檝e started my Eagles career with a championship. This one is the sweetest so far,鈥� said Pluta, who was a third-round draft pick of the Houston Astros and won pro titles with Lexington and in Japan. Pluta also formerly played with the Victoria Seals.
In the championship win on Sunday, Martin had all three runs batted in for the victorious Eagles and was named the game鈥檚 most valuable player.
Skingle surrendered four hits and two runs after Geary had allowed the one run on one hit over 52脷3 innings.
Grade 10 rookie Ethan Skuija made the start for the Eagles, who had advanced straight through to the Sunday final with a 1-0 victory over the Abbotsford Cardinals on Saturday night to top the round-robin tournament. Nanaimo defeated the Cardinals 4-1 in the semifinal Sunday at noon.
Skuija allowed two unearned runs on three hits over six innings before giving way to Brandon Feldman in the seventh. Feldman gave up a hit and a walk in the top half, but kept the Eagles within striking distance.
Feldman was also named the tournament鈥檚 best hitter while teammate Riley Edmonds was the top pitcher in the championship Final 4.
The BCPBL also honoured its award winners for the season with Feldman named most valuable player, top offensive player and top batter as he hit .439 on the season.
Feldman was also named to the first all-conference team as an infielder along with teammate Martin. Colton Wood of the Victoria Mariners was the first-team pitcher. Mariners teammates Jesse Mycock and Chris Fougner were second-teamers in the outfield and utility positions, respectively.
