It was a dominant win, albeit in only two innings, but will it count in the standings?
The Gibsons Jays smoked the Ridge Meadows Mudhens 10-0 last Saturday at Ryan Dempster Field in junior men's baseball action, but the win was not without its controversy.
After a week of trying to reschedule several games, the junior men's game was slated to start at 3:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon. But with two bantam games on the field before, the junior men's game didn't start until 4:45 p.m.
"Because of earlier games not starting on scheduled times, the visiting Mudhens' coaches were unwilling to start play an hour later because of wanting to catch a 6:20 p.m. ferry back to the Mainland," said Gibsons' coach Gary Pennington. "They said they are going to lodge a forfeiture appeal because the game could not start on time. This claim is being disputed vigorously by the Gibsons Minor Ball Association, who feel that the key element in such matters is play on the field rather than politics and pettiness off the field."
In the game, Mitch Rainer, just back from college ball in Texas, pitched two scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit, struck out four, and did not issue a walk in a masterful job of pitching.
Leading Gibsons at the plate were Tyler Craig, James Duff, Nick Pennington, Trevor Nicholson and Tim Scarr with one hit apiece. Scarr drove in two runs with a long double. Aggressive base running was a hallmark of the Jays' game.
Before the game, Coast Reporter spoke with Rainer about his freshman season with the Hill College Rebels. Rainer finished the season with a 7-5 record and led the team in wins and innings pitched.
"Overall, I'm very happy with my freshman season for sure," said Rainer. "I started all year and I'll probably go back starting. Hopefully I'll be the number one starter next season."
Rainer said he was disappointed the Rebels didn't make the playoffs, adding they let a lot of games get away.
"We certainly under achieved," he said. "We had a lot of close games that we should have won. Errors in some games and a lack of hitting proved to be too much for us to overcome."
Back for the summer, Rainer hopes to play a bit with the Jays and maybe some recreation fastball to stay in shape for his return to the Rebels in August.
"I have to start throwing harder. That's the biggest thing I need to improve on before I go back," he said. "My stuff is there. I need to make sure my pitches are down in the zone. When I do that and if I can hit 90, then I think I can get drafted."
