Skip to content

Coal Miners winning games

Nanaimo’s Pacific International League baseball team is picking up some victories as it gets closer to playoff time.
60588nanaimocoal_miners_IMG_6117
Nanaimo Coal Miners player Cody Phipps hits a foul ball during a game against the Langley Blaze on Saturday at Serauxmen Stadium.

The Coal Miners are starting to come around.

Nanaimo’s Pacific International League baseball team is picking up some victories as it gets closer to playoff time.

This past weekend, the Miners split with the Langley Blaze on Saturday at Serauxmen Stadium, winning 6-5 before losing the rematch 9-2.

The previous weekend Nanaimo entered Kelowna’s Canada Day Baseball Blast tournament, where it won two of six games.

In Saturday’s win, Jeff Vickers scored the winning run on a passed ball in the bottom of the seventh inning. Dale Ballance and Bill Hadden had RBIs and Cody Phipps earned the win on the mound in a relief appearance.

In the late game, Donny MacQuarrie was 2-for-5.

At the tournament, Joey Benda and Thomas Entwistle earned pitching wins and Jeff Vickers, Cole McKaig, Ben Cairns, Grant Vickers and Jordan Blundell all put forth multi-hit games. Nanaimo’s wins came against the Kelowna Jays in a 4-3 game and against Parkland in a 9-0 blowout.

GAME ON … The Coal Miners have a bye week, then return to PIL league play on July 23 with a doubleheader at Serauxmen Stadium against Bellevue’s Northwest Honkers. Game times that day are noon and 2:30 p.m.

sports@nanaimobulletin.com