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Island baseball is on a tsunami-like roll this summer with the SaunderCats.
Not only is Victoria-product Michael Saunders of the Blue Jays headed to the major-league all-star game Tuesday as sort of a cultural folk hero voted in by the fans, but the Victoria HarbourCats have emerged as one of the best summer-collegiate ball teams in North America.
The HarbourCats have begun a new winning streak of five games after their recent West Coast League record-setting run of 19 consecutive victories. The latest came Saturday night with a 3-1 win over the Bend Elks before 1,903 fans at Royal Athletic Park.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a hockey-driven country that continues to produce special and remarkable baseball stories like Michael Saunders, Brett Lawrie [White Sox] and Dustin Molleken [Tigers],鈥� said Canadian and HarbourCats coach Graig Merritt.
Not to mention major-league MVPs such as Joey Votto, Justin Morneau and Larry Walker.
鈥淐anadians play baseball with a lot of heart and passion,鈥� said Merritt. 鈥淲e simply get down in the dirt and outwork other countries in events like the Pan Am Games and World Baseball Classic.鈥�
Griffin Andreychuk of Nanaimo, hitting .344 for the HarbourCats, had three hits Saturday.
鈥淏aseball players fly under the radar in sa国际传媒, but when you seen someone like Saunders, it acts as inspiration for kids across the country,鈥� he said.
The high-flying HarbourCats, who defeated Cowlitz 2-0 in a late-finishing second game of a doubleheader on Friday night, are 24-4 as they set their sights on becoming the first team in league history to reach 40 victories.
鈥淚t鈥檚 easily attainable with the pitching and defence we have,鈥� said Andreychuk.
Case in point is the 5-0 and 2-0 doubleheader sweep of the Black Bears on Friday in Cowlitz in which the Victoria pitching and defence allowed just five hits over 14 combined innings. On Saturday, it was reliever Blake Hannah from UC-Davis who took the win with one hit allowed in five innings with no walks and two strikeouts.
Then there is the crackling offensive attack. Andreychuk is among 11 HarbourCats batting above .300. A two-run homer by Joe Prior of Fresno State was Saturday鈥檚 key hit.
The HarbourCats conclude against Bend with a matin茅e today and a game Monday evening.
