PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 18, 2017

VICTORIA, B.C. – The 21-player host team that will look to mine gold at the Yates Street Taphouse Baseball Canada Men’s Championship, presented by B.C. Lotteries Corp., will have a decidedly local/Island flavour to it, with strong outside additions to bolster both pitching and hitting.

The Victoria Mavericks, host entry for the Aug. 23-27 event at Royal Athletic Park and Lambrick Park, are highlighted by the return of ex-HarbourCats stars Griffin Andreychuk (infield) and Connor Russell (RHP), and ex-pro players Kyle Orr (infield/outfield), Bobby Scott (OF/C), Sean Murphy (infield), and Charlie Strandlund (C/RHP).

Orr (Dodgers, 2006) and Scott (Blue Jays, 2004) were both drafted by MLB teams. Strandlund was a fan favourite as a member of the Victoria Seals of the Golden League.

Former and current college players make up the rest, including catcher Connor Moughtin, veteran infielders Lanny Burrows and Kevin Biro, pitchers Brendan Orr, Cooper Misic, Luke Manuel, Jordan Broatch, Mitch Davidoff, Kevin Pockett, Jeremy Campbell and Jason Gibson. Nanaimo brothers Liam Goodall (OF/P) and Aidan Goodall (RHP), who starred at the college level, bring front-end ability to the roster.

“This is a team we think can be a strong threat to play in the gold-medal game on Sunday,” said Jim Swanson, who led a group that selected the roster – including Brad Norris-Jones, Mavericks team manager Dave Diachuk, and coaches Troy Birtwistle, Scott Thompson and Mike Cressey.

“It’s always key to find good pitching, and with these being seven-inning games, there is a greater feeling of urgency with a pitching staff. We think the lineup is one that will be able to score runs, and the defence should be solid behind our pitchers.”

The tournament starts with the Victoria Mobile Radio Harbour Derby, a home run derby into the Pacific Ocean off Ogden Point (cruise ship piers), on Wednesday, August 23. The host will have two entries in the home run derby, with Kyle Orr and Sean Murphy taking part. First pitches in the derby will be served up at 6pm.

Tournament play itself gets going on Thursday, August 24, with the host team playing that evening against New Brunswick (7pm).

Ticket info and packages are available through the Victoria HarbourCats office at 1814 Vancouver Street, or 778-265-0327(brittany@harbourcats.com).

 VICTORIA MAVERICKS ROSTER

2017 BASEBALL CANADA MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP

Aug. 24-27, Royal Athletic Park and Lambrick Park

 http://harbourcats.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/NationalsSchedule.pdf

COACHES – Dave Diachuk, Troy Birtwistle, Scott Thompson, Mike Cressey

*From Victoria unless noted

1. C – Connor Moughtin
2. C – Charlie Strandlund (also P/util)
3. 1B – Kyle Orr
4. 2B – Lanny Burrows
5. SS – Griffin Andreychuk (Nanaimo)
6. 3B – Duncan Blades
7. IF/OF – Kevin Biro
8. OF – Liam Goodall (Nanaimo)
9. OF – Bobby Scott
10. OF – Jeremy Campbell
11. IF/DH – Sean Murphy
12. P – Connor Russell, R (Nanaimo)
13. P – Aidan Goodall, R (Nanaimo)
14. P – Luke Manuel, R (Vancouver)
15. P – Jason Gibson, L
16. P – Brendan Orr, R
17. P – Mitch Davidoff, R (also OF)
18. P – Kevin Pockett, R (also OF)
19. P – Jordan Broatch, R (White Rock)
20. P – Matt Campbell, R
21. P – Cooper Misic, R (Langley)

ABOUT MEN’S NATIONALS

The 2017 Baseball Canada Men’s National Championship presented by Yates Street Taphouse is a 26-game tournament featuring nine provincial teams and the host team from Victoria. The tournament will take place in Victoria on August 24-27 with Royal Athletic Park, home of the Victoria HarbourCats, serving as the primary field, hosting 18 games including the entire playoff Sunday. The remaining games will be played at Lambrick Park.

The full tournament schedule is available at: http://harbourcats.com/packages/mensnationals/

TICKETS

Tournament passes are on sale now for the Diamond Club (field-level) seats, Campbell Real Estate Club Seats, and Main Grandstand (Section 10) areas only. Full tournament pass cost is $150. Without a tournament pass, spectators will not be able to sit in those prime locations.

Day-pass ticket sales will be available in the near future.

Tickets are available at the Victoria HarbourCats office (101-1814 Vancouver Street) and by calling the office at: 778-265-0327.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Follow the Baseball Canada Men’s National Championship:

Facebook– https://www.facebook.com/BaseballNationalsVictoria/

Twitter– https://twitter.com/NationalsInVic