The Pirates came one win away from the PBL playoff championship and the off season has been filled with awards, college commitments, and opportunities for players to showcase their talents. (Mid Island Pirates/Pete Caljouw)

By Dan Marshall

Pirates Banner Year Continues

Pirates baseball program hitting its peak

Aug 29, 2019 | 4:57 PM

NANAIMO – A year full of highlights for the Mid Island Pirates has continued into the off season.

On the field the Pirates went 38-10 to win the Premier Baseball League regular season.

Then they made it to the final of the league’s Final Four tournament before losing out to North Shore.

Accolades from the PBL came soon after, including Team of the Year.

Coach Doug Rogers said he’s proud of the team and he’s very happy that some of his players were recognized individually.

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“Kudos to them for being recognized for being the leaders in their league. But we played as a team, we won as a team, we played kind of old school and we pulled for each other. That was the most gratifying thing for me.”

Connor Caskanette, Aaron Marsh and Jackson Stephen were all First Team All-Stars, and Dylan Brock and Marcus Steen were named to the PBL Second Team.

Rogers will lose eight members of his roster next season and be able to bring back seven players.

Three of the graduating Pirates have commitments in place to continue their careers.

Jackson Stephen will attend Marshalltown in Iowa, Brody Deverill is off to Taft in California, while Colby Neff will join Okanagan College.

Two of Mid Island’s top returnees in Caskanette and Marsh have taken advantage of opportunities to showcase their talents even after the Pirates season came to an end.

Marsh was named to BC’s Canada Cup roster and came back with a bronze medal from the event in Regina.

Caskanette was chosen to compete in the Area Code Games in California.

Players for that tournament are specifically chosen my Major League Baseball scouts.

In a few weeks Marsh and Caskanette will go to Toronto for what’s known as the T12 tournament.

They were invited by the Toronto Blue Jays and will have the chance to show off their skills Sept. 17-21.

Coach Rogers said the T12 will see Marsh and Caskanette alongside some of the best young talent in the country.

“I expect they’ll come back different players. Their level, their calmness, their competitiveness, is just going to go up. It’s going to carry through until next year.

On Monday Sept. 2 and Tuesday Sept 3. the Pirates will be holding two youth day camps.

Monday’s session will be for eight and nine year olds, and Tuesday will be for ten to twelve year olds.

Rogers says it will be a chance for the kids to have some fun and learn a few skills.

“We’ll put them through the paces and see what the future of the Pirates looks like. It’s always fun for the coaches to reach back to our roots and teach these guys.”

The Mid Island fall season is also just around the corner.

Registration has been strong for both the midget and bantam levels which run from Sept. 10 to Oct. 29.

dan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On twitter: @danmarshall77