Matt Wells respects the West Side Monarchs as the top dog and defending champions in Corner Brook senior baseball circles, but he is quick to remind people that his Wing ‘N It Marlins always come to play for keeps in the playoffs.
“Only at their peril will they underestimate the Marlins,” Wells said earlier this week when asked about his team’s opponent in the first round of the playoffs.
The Monarchs, winners of the playoff crown one year ago with what many people believe was an upset as they swept the veteran-laden Veitch Ultramar Hawks in four-straight games, will tangle with the Marlins in one of two best-of-five semifinal series that get underway Sunday at Jubilee Field.
Time after time, when it comes to the post-season, Wells has enjoyed how the Marlins have always found a way to come up with a better effort in the playoff run.
He said the Marlins will be ready to knock off the defending champions with a full roster on board for the long haul. In past years there have been some players who have missed the playoff run because of work, school or vacations, but that’s not going to be the case this October so he expects his squad to be a formidable opponent.
Wells said his squad isn’t intimidated by the opponent’s pitching staff, but they do acknowledge the black and gold’s ability to make things happen with the sticks.
“The Monarchs got a knack for putting the ball in play,” he said. “Every batter in their lineup can hurt you.”
Kevin Farrell, affectionately known as Homer around the diamond, is hoping he can help the Monarchs go back-to-back and that starts with a solid effort against his former teammates so he’s pretty anxious to get the series going.
He has respect for a team that he believes has a good pitching staff that will give their team a chance to win every night and they can be a tough team to keep down if they get their key guns smacking the ball around like they can.
He played with the Marlins last season so he knows they are a pesky group of guys who always seem to pick it up a notch when it counts most.
“They band together pretty well that’s for sure,” Farrell said. “They realize that when it’s playoff time it’s serious stuff so we’re definitely not going to take them for granted because nothing is guaranteed.”
