After a historic regular season, the Okanagan College Coyotes open up the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC) World Series today (May 19) in Lethbridge, Alberta.
The Coyotes go into the double-elimination playoffs as the number one seed after finishing with a 25-5 record. They even closed out the season in historic fashion by throwing a no-hitter for the first time in the club鈥檚 history.
鈥淭he coaching staff is extremely proud of this group of student athletes that have worked very hard to get to this point,鈥� said Coyotes Head Coach Geoff White. 鈥淎fter missing two seasons due to COVID, to come back out and play very well consistently is rewarding for the program. We had high expectations heading into the season, however there is still a championship to compete for, so we are not satisfied.鈥�
Being the number one seed, the Coyotes get to open up the tournament at 1 p.m. (12 p.m. Pacific time) against the eighth-ranked Victoria Golden Tide.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e feeling good and we鈥檙e in a good spot,鈥� said White. 鈥淓veryone鈥檚 healthy and excited to get to the tournament.鈥�
White told Capital News that Chris Wyslobocki will be starting game one against Victoria. The right-handed pitcher finished the regular season second in strikeouts, tied for second in wins and fourth in ERA. (5-1, 1.53 ERA, 67 strikeouts).
鈥淗e鈥檚 been our most consistent arm and our most experienced guy,鈥� said White.
After the team鈥檚 last practice on Tuesday before heading to Lethbridge, White reminded his team to stay in the moment and play the same way they have all season long.
鈥淲e talked about enjoying the moment and to not get too high or too late,鈥� said White.鈥漌e approach everything the same way, it鈥檚 just a matter of going out there and executing, what we鈥檝e been doing all year and enjoying it鈥�.
Tonight, after the Coyotes first game, the league will have it鈥檚 annual dinner and awards ceremony, followed by a home run derby. McCoy Pearce and Elias Erdman will be the Coyotes participants in the event.
In the double elimination format, if the Coyotes win on Thursday, they don鈥檛 play again until Saturday morning (May 21) at 10 a.m. If they lose the first game, they will play at 4:30 p.m. on Friday (May 20).
The Coyotes last won the CCBC Championship back in 2018 when they beat the University of Fraser Valley in the finals.
To follow the Coyotes and the entire tournament, click here.
To watch the tournament, you can subscribe and watch here.
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