Fans could see a major pitching duel as Mariners manager Mike Chewpoy sends his ace, Colton Wood, to the mound for Game 1 as the M鈥檚 and Pirates begin their best-of-three with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. at Henderson Park. Game 2 will go at about 3:30 p.m.
Nanaimo is expected to counter with Alex Rogers, who was tied for the league lead in wins with 10 and was No. 1 in strikeouts with 104.
鈥淵ou鈥檒l probably have two No. 1 guys going at each other. That鈥檚 what I assume,鈥� said Chewpoy, who also expects to see Adain Goodall pitch the second game, although the Pirates could flop that order.
If it gets to a Game 3 on Sunday, the Pirates will toss out Luke Skingle.
Chewpoy will stick with Wood in Game 1 and go to Chris Fougner in Game 2.
鈥淲e like our chances. We鈥檙e not overly confident, but we like our chances,鈥� stressed Chewpoy, whose team recorded a 32-16 record for second place in the BCPBL.
The 32 victories ties an organizational record for most wins in a season that the Mariners established last season.
鈥淲e respect everyone, but we鈥檙e not going to give them any credit. You鈥檙e going to have to come in here and beat us,鈥� added Chewpoy, whose team is coming off a tournament win in Tacoma. 鈥淣anaimo (25-23 and in seventh place) is a good team. We鈥檒l get a dogfight from them. They are well coached. Their shortstop [Brady Rogers] is excellent and Alex Rogers is a No. 1 guy on any team.鈥�
The two teams split their four regular-season matchups and all were one-run games.
The same held true for the No. 6 Eagles (27-21) who will face No. 3 North Shore Twins (30-18) on the Mainland as those two teams split their four encounters.
GM Gautam Srivistava鈥檚 Eagles were not far behind fourth place, which would have earned them home-field advantage, but three straight losses to end the season saw them slide.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e a pretty good ball club,鈥� Srivistava said of the Twins. 鈥淭hey hit the ball well, they run a lot and defensively they are very sound. There is a reason they finished third.
鈥淲e look forward to playing them, though. We did split with them so we do feel we can beat them.鈥�
Srivistava went with four starting pitchers all year in Kurt Horne, Brett Hull, Ethan Skuija and Riley Edmonds and was expected to decide his playoff starter after Thursday鈥檚 practice.
Offensively, Brandon Feldman led the league in hitting percentage at .439, was tied for fourth in home runs with three and his 35 RBIs was fifth in the BCPBL.
The four weekend winners in the best-of-threes will advance to the league championship tournament in Abbotsford the following weekend. If the No. 4 Abbotsford Cardinals lose this weekend, they would still advance as host and five teams would then compete for the title at Delair Park.
EXTRA INNINGS: Horne of the Eagles, and Wood and Jesse Mycock of the Mariners, were named to Team sa国际传媒 for the sa国际传媒 Summer Games.
