The Virden Oilers are confident they have an opportunity to win no matter which teammate is on the mound.
“We feel as a group that we have the most confidence in our pitching staff,” said Brett Braybrook, the Oilers’ player/coach along with Des Koop.
The Oilers, who went 1-2 last week and were 5-5 in the South West Baseball League as of Sunday, have a strong, deep pitching roster.
Jeff Peel led the team with three wins and a 2.21 earned run average entering this week.
Curtis Plett was 2-2 and had logged a team-high 24 innings. That duo and Austin Brereton are the squad’s regular starting pitchers.
Seasoned veterans
“(They) are all considered seasoned veterans and have played in the league for a number of years now,” Braybrook said. “They know what it takes to be successful in our league and no matter who gets the ball we have a chance to get the win.”
Plett joined the Oilers this season from SWBL foe the Wawanesa Brewers. What has he enjoyed most so far?
“It's a good group of guys,” Plett said. “I have been competing against Des, who is a great baseball mind and has had many years of success in the sport, and it's great to get to work with him now on developing a winning tradition of baseball in Virden.
“I have competed against legendary players such as Jeff, Danny (Cochrane), Tyler (Strachan) and Brett for many years and they bring a lot of energy each game and know what it takes to win and be competitive.”
Cody McPhee is deployed as a situational pitcher for the Oilers. The lefty had thrown nine innings in relief. The veteran Koop is used as a closer.
“(He) is still one of, if not the, best closers in our league,” Braybrook said.
Peel got the win in a complete game on June 13 when Virden scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie and secure a 5-3 victory.
The Oilers fell 6-1 to Boissevain and 7-3 to Deloraine in June 17 road contests.
In their lone game this week, Virden hosted Rivers on Wednesday after the Empire-Advance deadline.
Elkhorn Expos
The Expos halted a five-game losing streak as they went 2-1 last week. As of Sunday, the team was 3-7 on the season.
Bradley Bowles got the win on the mound and drove in three runs as Elkhorn earned a big 9-4 victory in Reston on June 15.
Josh Martin, Mike Stevenson, and Steve Bonchuk each had two RBIs. Shawn Bowles pitched a gem of game on June 17 when the Epos won their second in a row 6-1 over Deloraine.
Bowles allowed only three hits and struck out eight in a complete game effort.
Colby Walker had two RBIs for the Expos. Later in the day, the Expos fell 6-1 to Boissevain. Elkhorn was to host the Oak River Dodgers on Wednesday.
