Mariners News

Coming off a series win in Lethbridge, the Mariners went on to have another series win against the University of Calgary! 

Game 1 was a pitchers duel between Dinos pitcher Dylan Soch and Mariners Senior pitcher Jake Nikirk. Nikirk popped off going 7 ⅔ innings with 2 earned runs, 2 walks and 4 punchouts and Sophomore Alex McLauchlan hit a leadoff home run, giving him back to back weekends with a bomb to kick off the series! The offense could not back up the quality start as the Mariners fell with a tough loss of 3-2. 

Game 2 the offense woke up, led by a 4 RBI day from Junior James Joyce who went 2-4 with a 3 run triple to boost the Mariners with an 11-3 lead. Junior Caleb Battye got the start and put up a show as he went 7 innings pitched with only 1 earned run and struck out 8 and was backed up by Graham Stephen with a 2 inning performance of his own giving up 1 run and striking out 2, completing the game 2 win. 

Game 3 was another pitchers duel between Dinos Ethan Webster and Mariners Sophomore Ryan Wilkie. Wilkie went 7 innings scoreless with 8 strikeouts and the offense was quiet, but managed to get 1 run off of Dinos pitching and took the lead 1-0 for the remainder of the game. Going into the 8th inning, closer Connor Dawson came in for the 2 inning save striking out 3, securing the 2nd win of the series. 

The last game of the series consisted of excellent pitching and clutch hitting! Senior pitcher Robinder Dhut got the ball going 7 innings pitched with 1 earned run, no walks and 3 strikeouts, putting the Mariners in a good spot to win the second series in a row. Fast forward to the 7th inning with a tie game at 1-1, Brayden McClary breaks it open with a leadoff single... enter Senior Sam McPherson! With the count 2-1 count, McPherson laces a go-ahead 2 run home run over the left field wall to take a 3-1 lead and brought momentum for the Mariners. Andrew Klassen comes into the game with a bases loaded jam with nobody out and the game on the line and surrenders only 1 unearned run with a series of flyouts to make the score a 3-2 lead. Going to the 9th inning, closer Alex McLauchlan comes into the game after being stellar at the plate all weekend getting his 2nd save of the year and strikes out 1! Mariners are 7-3 in their last 10 games, putting them 2 games above .500 and sets a great opportunity to move up in the standings with 2 series left of the season! Get up VIU!

Your Mariners are coming in hot for the final half of the 2024 regular season! They won 3 out of the 4 games in Lethbridge against Prairie Baseball Academy outscoring them 26 to 18 runs and with the help of solid offensive performances from Alex McLauchlan with a leadoff solo shot in Game 1 cashing in 3 RBIs, Sam McPherson going 3-4 with a double and a RBI, along with Trevor Nicoll, Ryder Duncan, Caleb Graham and Evan Symons cashed 2 RBIs each taking massive 17-4 victory. 

Game 2 was a tight game throughout with James Joyce's 3 run homer making it his second bomb of the season and starting pitcher Caleb Battye with the quality start going 7 innings of 2 run ball with 6 strikeouts but a tough 8th inning cost the Mariners with a 4-3 loss. 

In game 3 after a night's rest the Mariners offense fought back putting up 10 runs with the help of Ryder Duncan hitting his second homer of the year collecting  4 RBIs on the day and Trevor Nicoll collecting 2 RBIs. Relief pitcher Connor Dawson came into the 8th inning tossed 2 scoreless innings of work to conclude game 3 with a 10-5 win. 

Robinder Dhut got the start for the final game of the series, he went 6 ⅔ innings pitched with 3 earned runs and the offense continued to dominate with a tie game 5-5 going into the 9th. With bases loaded and 2 outs, your Mariners rallied with Landon Bowers working a walk to take the lead and closer Alex McLauchlan came in to shut the door striking out 1!

After two tough losses for the Mariners in Chilliwack to kick off the weekend against University of Fraser Valley, freshman starting pitcher Graham Stephen answered back at Serauxmen Stadium on Sunday. Stephen who has been lights out so far this season made his first collegiate start this weekend in front of the home crowd at Serauxmen going 8 innings pitched, 1 unearned run, striking out 4 with 3 walks and only 2 hits! This stellar performance helped the Mariners reach a 2-1 lead as Sophomore closer Connor Dawson came into the game in the 9th inning shutting the door on the Cascades striking out 1 getting the save!

Your VIU Mariners traveled to Kelowna to play the Okanagan College Coyotes for a 4 game set to kick off opening weekend. Game 1 was a battle between Mariners ace Jake Nikirk and Coyotes ace Corey Lawson but Okanagan took advantage of the 2 out base on balls to cash in runs late in the game to take the first game 10-5. 

Game 2 was a pitchers duel as Senior Robinder Dhut went the distance for 8 innings of work striking out 5 with only 2 out of the 3 runs earned, but the offense failed to back him up as Coyotes Teagan Ribbink pitched a complete game striking out 9, taking the win 3-0. 

After a night's rest, your Mariners woke up with a vengeance! In Game 3 your Mariners struck first offensively, cashing in 14 runs on the day with the help of Trevor Nicoll and Sam McPherson both cashing 3 RBI’s each and Freshman Spencer Harbourne recording his first collegiate hit cashing in 3 RBI’s as well! Junior Caleb Battye got the start going 6 innings strong with only 2 earned runs striking out 3 and no walks, earning the win along with shutout relief appearances for Freshman Graham Stephan and Sophomore Connor Dawson. 

In the final game of the series, the decider of a split or loss, Ryan Wilkie got the ball as he went 5 innings with 2 earned runs and was backed up by relief pitchers Connor North and Andrew Klassen. Fast forward to the top of the 9th inning, the contest tied 4-4, Sophomore Alex McLauchlan stepped to the plate. With the first pitch of the at bat, McLauchlan launched a towering home run over the left field wall to take the lead 5-4. This ignited the Mariners offence and a pair of RBI doubles from James Joyce and Trevor Nicoll followed, along with other timely RBI singles. A lights out final inning performance from McLauchlan on the mound ended the game for a final score of 9-4 as the Mariners split the series.