The baseball was closely contested all weekend and the VIBI Mariners were able to win their share.
Nanaimo’s Vancouver Island Baseball Institute team won two out of four games against the University of Calgary Dinos at Serauxmen Stadium on the weekend as the Canadian College Baseball Conference season got underway. The M’s won 2-0 and then lost 3-2 on Saturday, and won 1-0 and lost 7-6 on Sunday.
“We’ve got a young team, so any experience is good experience…” said Nick Salahub, Mariners assistant coach.
“We did a good job of staying focused the whole time defensively and on the mound of getting the guys out that we needed to get out.”
Pitching was a strength for the Mariners on the first weekend. Austin Penner got things started with a complete-game shutout, Brodie Stairs followed up with eight innings of four-hit ball in his start, and then the next day, Justin Johnston threw a complete-game shutout.
“Everything was working well,” Johnston said. “My fastball was good, it was getting inside, my slider was getting them off-balance and then my knuckleball fooled a few of them.”
He credited his defence too, saying it makes a pitchers’ jobs a lot easier when they know guys are working for them.
“Being put in a pressure situation is good for our young guys,” Salahub said. “In pressure situations you’ve got to make those plays.”
The Mariners know they’re capable of better, but are encouraged with some aspects of their game.
“It shows that we battle, for sure,” Johnston said. “It’s a lot tougher than we thought it would be to win ball games. We’ll work hard, stay disciplined, get some good approaches.”
In the first game, Penner allowed five hits while striking out five. Matt Brisson was 3-for-3 with two stolen bases and Gobind Sall had two hits.
The second game, Stairs allowed two earned runs while striking out seven.
Johnston struck out four in his win, with Sall providing a pair of hits.
Liam Ballance went 3-for-3 in the finale with Tyler Ulrich supplying two hits.
GAME ON … VIBI is home again this weekend (April 2-3) at Serauxmen Stadium against the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack. Saturday’s doubleheader starts at 2 p.m. and Sunday’s games start at 10 a.m. Admission is free.
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