The VIBI Mariners won around half their games in the regular season, won most of their games in the playoffs, and that will have to be good enough this year.
Nanaimo’s Canadian College Baseball Conference club, runner-up at nationals this past weekend in Kamloops, is satisfied with its achievements in 2011-12.
“It sucks that we can’t go 30-15 and show everyone we’re winning all these games. That’s not what our program does,” said Jordan Blundell, VIBI manager.
The club places special importance on the CCBC championships, he said, but leading up to the big tournament it’s not a win-at-all-costs mindset.
“I can’t ride my top nine guys all year. Other guys deserve to play, they earned that playing time and they need to get on the field to develop,” Blundell said.
As players go from freshmen to sophomores to juniors to seniors, they need to participate in all the steps, the manager said. VIBI believes this past season was successful in that regard.
“[We] continue to move forward and continue to establish that we do things the right way on and off the field, that we do things in a first-class way,” said Blundell.
BASE LINES … The CCBC chose its all-conference teams last week. Making the first team were shortstop Dallas Monk, outfielder Liam Goodall and pitcher Connor Russell. On the second team were second baseman Chad Schultz, third baseman Cody Andreychuk, outfielder Aaron Witzke and pitcher Cody Chartrand.
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