Seals roar back to sink Vipers 6-5

The Victoria Seals came back from a 5-3 deficit to defeat the Calgary Vipers 6-5 on Thursday night at Norbrock Stadium in Kamloops. The victory gave the Seals a split in their two-game exhibition series.

Trailing 5-3 in the eighth inning, the Seals cut the gap in half with a Shane Cronin solo home run. The round-tripper was Cronin's second in two games and the Seals newcomer is making a strong case to make the squad. Victorian Charlie Strandlund doubled in the tieing run and then Campbell River's Scott Wallis scampered home on a wild pitch for the eventual game-winning run later in that same inning.

Aaron Easton was the winning pitcher and Ryan Paterson earned the save. Matt Kavanaugh had the only other RBI on the night for Victoria as three of their six runs scored on wild pitches.

Seal Blubber Bits

• The Seals coaching staff is expected to make the first five or six cuts by this Saturday, with the remaining cuts coming before the first game on Friday May 21st. The 32-man roster must be paired down to 22 by opening day.
• The Seals will be working out at RAP from 6-10 PM tonight. The workout is open to the public.
• Jason Kershner is expected to be the opening day starter for the Victoria Seals.
• The Times-Colonist estimated the attendance at Wednesday's exhibition game was about 1,200 fans, while the Kamloops Daily News estimated between 500 and 600. Approximately 500 attended the Thursday night game between the Vipers and Seals. Dave Kaval, CEO of the Golden League, estimates that probability of Kamloops getting an expansion team in the next year or two as "better than 50-50."
• Seals alumnus Isaac Hess was traded by the Diablos Rojos del Mexico to the Guerreros de Oaxaca of the Mexican (AAA) League. It looks like he'll remain in the bullpen for the Guerreros though.  After getting off to a rough start this season, Hess is now 3-1 with a 3.66 ERA in the Mexican League. He has also limited opponents to a .244 batting average.
• Ex-Seal Austin Bibens-Dirkx continues to dominate AA hitters for the Tennessee Smokies.  Bibens-Dirkx had another great outing on May 8th, giving up only one run on four hits in six innings of work.  He struck out seven and only walked one batter. In six starts, Bibens-Dirkx has a sparkling 2.61 ERA and a WHIP of 0.94. He has also limited opponents to a .193 batting average.  That promotion to AAA is looking more and more likely every day.