The old guys still have it.
The East Vancouver Island Baseball League season opened with three entertaining games between the Yellow Point Vultures and Stuart Channel Blue Heron over three successive Saturdays at the Chemainus Ball Park’s Larry Irving Field.
There’s a wide range of ages on the two adult teams, but the quality of the baseball was quite high since many hadn’t played the game for a long time. It’s a great alternative for those who’d rather play baseball than softball or slo-pitch and organizer Heath Fenton hopes to expand the league by two more teams next year if there’s enough interest.
The Blue Heron took the first two games of the series 8-4 and 7-2 before the Vultures broke into the win column with a 9-6 victory May 13.
The player turnout has been just perfect for the games so far.
“Not too many, not too little,” said Fenton. “Between 11 and 13 (per side) so that’s been pretty good.”
Everyone who shows up still gets to bat regardless if they’re in the lineup or not so it keeps all the players engaged.
“Everyone’s been really excited about it,” added Fenton. “It’s awesome.”
Fenton and his Vultures teammates were glad to avoid a three-game losing streak right off the bat as well.
“When we finally won, the excitement went through the roof,” he chuckled.
The start overall, “we couldn’t ask for anything better,” Fenton confided.
The teams will continue to play each other weekly after taking a break for the Victoria Day long weekend. Games now switch to weekdays, with the first one on Friday, May 26 at 6:30 p.m. and the players would love to see some fans coming out to add to the decent crowds that have assembled so far.
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don.bodger@chemainusvalleycourier.ca
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