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The Victoria Mariners remain perfect and sit at the top of the table of the sa国际传媒 Premier Baseball League standings at 10-0.
A pair of solid starting pitching performances from Liam Kruse and Jesse Simpson gave the Mariners two wins over the visiting Coquitlam Reds in a doubleheader at Henderson Park on Saturday afternoon.
Kruse defeated Reds鈥� ace starter, Indigo Diaz, 7-1 in the opening game, played before some interested scouts.
Simpson then went six innings, collecting seven strikeouts in allowing just the one hit on 83 pitches. He gave up walks to the first two batters he faced then settled down the rest of the way.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been keeping the four guys, running them out every weekend,鈥� Mariners鈥� manager Mike Chewpoy said of his pitching staff. 鈥淲e run out Kruse and Simpson then Duncan [Brens-Knight] in Game 3 and [Nick] Seginowich in Game 4.
鈥淲e鈥檙e prepared, but the more they know ahead of time when they鈥檙e playing or pitching gives these kids an easier mindset. There鈥檚 no anxiety for them.鈥�
At 10-0, there鈥檚 been little anxiety for Chewpoy, too, as his team has rocketed out of the gates. They will be one-quarter of the way through the season when they face the North Delta Blue Jays in a doubleheader today at 11 a.m. at Layritz Park.
On Saturday, Kruse allowed two hits in the opener, a double to Nikko Millas and a solo home run to Christian Gilchrist in the fifth inning. Kruse finished with eight strikeouts.
Caleb Piechnik led the way offensively for the Mariners in Game 1 going 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored. Jesse Mycock also had a pair of RBIs and Dylan Price 鈥� who, entering Saturday play, led the league in batting with a .632 average with 12 hits in 19 at-bats, including three doubles 鈥� scored a pair of runs.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good confidence for us facing Indigo Diaz, who was all-world, 3-0 and not allowing a single run coming in here. It was a good boost for our ball club,鈥� Chewpoy said.
The Mariners rung up a five-run fifth on Diaz, who went the distance.
In Game 2, the Mariners struck for three runs in the first inning and then added two more in the second and another in the third. Veterans Jason Willow and Chris Lata each had a pair of singles for the Mariners.
Taylor Nygaard closed out the game on the mound for Victoria, allowing a hit and hitting one batsman.
In 10 games this season, the Mariners have scored 77 runs and allowed just 33 as they鈥檝e played strong defence.
Meanwhile, the Victoria Eagles, who have struggled out of the gate at 3-9, lost 6-3 and won 2-1 against the Blue Jays on Saturday and will face the Reds today in another doubleheader at 11 a.m. at Lambrick Park.
