The most important digits are 7-3 under the win-loss column as Victoria holds down third overall relatively early in the campaign.
Mike Chewpoy鈥檚 club has managed that solid record despite team pitching stats that have Victoria sitting 11th out of the 13 squads.
鈥淭raditionally, we鈥檙e a defence and pitching team,鈥� said Chewpoy, whose troops head off to Vancouver today to face the 7-6 Cannons in a doubleheader. 鈥淎 ground ball is a ground ball. A fly ball is a fly ball. You always have to field those; they are a given.
鈥淥ur offence has been unreal for us, though. It鈥檚 kept us in a lot of games and usually it鈥檚 vice-versa. We still feel very good every time we have Colton Wood or Mackenzie Catto, or any of our four starters on the hill.
鈥淲ood is our No. 1 guy and if it ever came down to one game, he鈥檇 be my guy that I want throwing it. His numbers aren鈥檛 there, but in the end he鈥檒l be there, real strong.鈥�
Of that, there is little doubt as Wood threw 88 mph last week, much like Eric Hegadoren has for the crosstown Eagles, who are 4-3 and playing four on the Mainland against league-leading Abbotsford Cardinals (9-3) and the Whalley Chiefs (2-9).
The Mariners鈥� offence has delivered in the 10 games, with 93 hits in 299 at-bats, despite not having a single home run.
Leading the way offensively is Grade 10 centre-fielder Jesse Mycock, who is hitting .407 and is coming off a 3-for-3 performance in a 10-4 win over White Rock last weekend.
鈥淛esse, to me, is a special type of player. Not a kid you see come around too often,鈥� Chewpoy said of Mycock, who had a double and triple and collected a pair of runs batted in. 鈥淗e鈥檚 one of the fastest players that I鈥檝e ever coached.鈥�
Shortstop Chris Fougner is right behind the outfielder with a .406 average. The two are eighth and ninth in the league in hitting with teammate Chris Lata in 11th with a .391 average.
Another number that could hurt the Mariners this weekend is the fact that Chewpoy has seven starters out due to illness, including Catto and starting catcher Evan Willow. Morgan Varley will catch.
