Victoria Sports Online

Everyone has a story of the one that got away. Now, The Victoria Shamrocks have the story of the season that got away. After winning the W-L-A regular season title, the Rocks were bounced from the playoffs in round one falling 4-1 in their best of 7 semi final to the Coquitlam Adanacs.

The Victoria Rebels are proving to be an offensive powerhouse early in the season following their second consecutive landslide victory over the Kamloops Broncos on Saturday night.

The Rebels were lead by running back Sam Adu who rushed for 3 touchdowns including a blistering 82 yard dash that gave the team a 14-7 lead they would not look back on.

The Victoria Shamrocks go into the 2009 WLA playoffs with the number one overall seed following a win and a tie in the final weekend of the season.

Following a 12-10 victory over Coquitlam on Wednesday at Bear Mountain Arena, Victoria needed only a draw against Vancouver Island rival Nanaimo on Saturday night to claim the division. Although the team blew an opportunity to win the game in regulation by allowing the tying goal with under two minutes to go, Victoria stayed the course in overtime and did what they had to do with a 16-16 draw.

The Victoria Rebels kicked of the 2009 season in style this past Saturday with a 34-21 victory over their division rivals Okanagan Sun at City Centre Stadium.

Victoria quarter back Yannick Rickli threw three touchdown passes, including two to slot back Taylor Takasaki, while Rebels running back Sam Adu added two touchdowns on the ground. Okanagan couldn't seem to stop the Rebels in the first half, as Rickli completed 9 for 10 passes for 214 yards and Adu ran for over 100 of his eventual 166 yards.

The dream of every young baseball fan finally came true for local boy Mike Saunders this week, as the Seattle Mariners prospect was called up to help bolster the team's struggling offence. Mariner's outfielder Wladimir Balentien was sent down to AAA Tacoma to make room for Saunders.

An 11th round selection the 2004 draft, the 22-year old Saunders has spent the entire 2009 season with the Tacoma Rainers of the Pacific Coast League batting .310 with 13 home runs and 32 RBIs.

Following a 0-4 outing against the Indians in his major league debut on Saturday, Saunders went 2-4 with an RBI single in his second start on Sunday.

"Michael is a versatile player capable of playing all three outfield positions," Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said in a release. "We've been very pleased with his development and work at Triple-A this season and felt he earned the right to join the big league club at this time."

The Victoria Shamrocks lead in the WLA standings had been reduced to just two points following two straight loses to Langley and New Westminster over the past two weeks.

Following a close 12-10 loss to Langley last week, Victoria hoped to return to the winning column this past Thursday as they traveled to New Westminster to take on the Salmonbellies.

It's hard to say what was more impressive in the Victoria Highlanders final portion of the season; the three game winning streak to end the campaign or the outstanding crowd support which has undoubtedly shown the team that Victoria has welcomed them with open arms.

The Victoria Highlanders finally put their road troubles behind them this past weekend with a decisive 5-0 win in Tacoma.

Victoria had not previously won away from City Centre stadium since their inaugural game in Spokane back on May 1, which is a critical reason the team will not be advancing to the PDL playoffs. But with the team now looking ahead to next season, a victory such as the one in Tacoma can go a long way in helping build the momentum for a strong squad in 2010.

The Victoria Seals will go into the 2009 GBL all-star break on a high note following a series victory on the road against their division rivals the Edmonton Capitals this past weekend.

The Seals, who have come up short on the offensive side during some stretches of the first half, didn't seem to have that problem this weekend as the team exploded for 29 runs over the three game set.

The Victoria Highlanders have been eliminated from PDL playoff contention following a tough 1-0 loss at City Centre Stadium against the Seattle Wolves on Sunday afternoon.

The loss came on the heels of a 3-3 tie in the first game of a home-and-home in Seattle on Friday night; a game in which Victoria lead 2-0 going into half-time, only to allow the Wolves to get back into the game and eventually earn a tie.