The invites have been sent, and three of the four Island squads in the 13-team sa国际传媒 Premier Baseball League, have RSVP鈥檇 to reserve their places in the eight-team playoff dance.
The Victoria Mariners finished fourth in the regular season and will meet the fifth-place Okanagan Athletics in the best-of-three first round, beginning with a doubleheader today at noon and 2:30 p.m. at Layritz Park. Game 3, if needed, will be Sunday at 11 a.m. at Layritz. Both clubs finished at 30-18, but the Mariners got the higher seed on tiebreakers, which is a huge perk, considering that means getting to play the series at home.
The series could be over, either way, by dusk tonight.
鈥淵ou play 48 games in the regular season and it comes down to your best six hours,鈥� said Mariners head coach Mike Chewpoy, who has eight of his players headed to college or university ball next season across North America.
鈥淚f you have two good arms starting on the mound, you can beat anybody. That鈥檚 why a lot of people in the league have been lobbying for best-of-five series.鈥�
Starting today for the Mariners in the first game will be Aidan Heintz, coming off an outstanding regular season in which he led the league at 9-1 with a downright nasty 1.83 ERA. The second-game starter for Victoria will be Noah Doorschot (5-3, 2.85 ERA).
They will have to deal with the league batting champion, Jaden Parsons of Okanagan, who hit a blazing .416 this season.
鈥淭he four-five seed matchup is always a tough one,鈥� added Chewpoy.
鈥淥kanagan can pitch and hit and are well coached.鈥�
The Mariners were the top defensive team in the league.
鈥淲e can really field it,鈥� said Chewpoy.
鈥淲e were also one of the best hitting teams in the league.鈥�
That Mariners onslaught was led by Jon Gale, who started every game defensively as catcher, and hit for a league second-leading .391 average. Chris Niketas banged in a BCPBL second-best 33 RBIs while batting .355 and Josh Walker a league tied-for-fifth 28 RBIs while batting .323.
The Parksville Royals placed sixth at 28-20 and will meet the third-place North Shore Twins (31-17) today and Sunday across Lion鈥檚 Gate.
The Mid-Island Pirates of Nanaimo took the eighth and final post-season slot and will play the regular-season champion Langley Blaze, who set the gold standard at 39-9, leaving second-place Abbotsford Cardinals five games back at 34-14.
The Pirates travel to the Fraser Valley for their series today and Sunday in Langley. Don鈥檛 count out Mid-Island. The first round of the BCPBL playoffs has historically become known for its upsets. That鈥檚 because a best-of-three is to the point and does not allow much wriggle room for even a superior team to overcome early mistakes as in best-of-sevens or even best-of-fives.
鈥淚n a best-of-three, you鈥檝e got to pitch it and take care of the ball,鈥� said Chewpoy.
The 2018 BCPBL Final Four will be played at Elks Stadium in Kelowna from Aug. 3 to 6. Okanagan has a bye as host, so it could be a Final Five if the Mariners beat the Athletics this weekend to advance.
The Victoria Eagles placed ninth in the regular season at 18-30 and are among the five BCPBL teams that will watch the playoffs from the sidelines.
DIAMOND DUST: The BCPBL has a well-founded reputation as a producer of MLB talent with alumni such as former Mariners Michael Saunders and Rich Harden, former Eagles hurler Nick Pivetta, along with Tyler O鈥橬eill, Brett Lawrie, Ryan Dempster, Larry Walker, Justin Morneau, Jeff Francis, Adam Loewen and James Paxton. The next generation steps up with a total of 31 BCPBL players from the 2018 season having been selected for the Northwest Nike MLB Showcase camp Aug. 14-16 in Hillsboro, Oregon. It will be conducted by Minnesota Twins scout Walt Burrows of Victoria. Scouts from all 30 MLB teams, and from many colleges, are expected. The camp will conclude with the BCPBL players, representing sa国际传媒, playing Team Hawaii/Japan and Team Oregon.
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