Easter, Fleury, Buchan and Waters excited to be back in Nanaimo
Building a team is also about building a culture, with character people who have leadership skills — and that culture is important.
The Nanaimo NightOwls are pleased to announce the return of four key players from the 2023 team, the second season of WCL baseball at historic Serauxmen Stadium, and it’s a group of four that especially has veteran pitching coach Gorm Heimueller smiling.
.
Two quality arms, a big bat and a second-team All-WCL catcher will be back in the navy and yellow — Michael Easter behind the dish, part of the catching crew that will receive pitches again from Nathan Buchan and Jake Fleury, along with a strong hitter in Wylie Waters. They join local infielder Aaron Marsh, last year’s co-player-of-the-year, as the first group confirmed for 2024.
“This is a great group, committed athletes who work hard and are classy people,” said GM Jim Swanson. “What’s fun for us, too, is we are close to confirming other returning players, something our fans will be excited about. Nanaimo is becoming a summer development destination because of our coaching staff, the atmosphere at Serauxmen, and how the community has jumped on board with the organization.”
Nathan Buchan, LHP, University of Redlands, from Mercer Island, WA
Jake Fleury, RHP, Skagit Valley College, from Burlington, WA
Wylie Waters, IF, South Mountain CC, from West Vancouver, BC
Michael Easter, C, Azuza Pacific, from Arcadia, CA
The WCL schedule was announced earlier this month — the regular season home opener for Head Coach Greg Frady and the NightOwls is Tuesday, June 4 against the Cowlitz Black Bears.
.
Easter, who has moved from East LA CC to D-1 Azuza Pacific, was part of a strong catching core in 2023, walking more times than he struck out (26BB, 18K) and hitting .315 (16th in the WCL in average) with 21 runs driven in. His nine doubles tied for third on the team.
.
Buchan, the opening day starter in 2023, is a warrior and a throwback, often going deep in games and going 3-3 with a 4.09 ERA over nine starts — a pitcher’s pitcher who struck out 32 batters in 37.1 innings.
.
Potent hitter Waters, who played some infield, some outfield and DH in 2023 for Coach Greg Frady, is at South Mountain CC in Arizona, and had a strong summer in the WCL in which he hit .317 (14th in the WCL) with two home runs, 21 RBIs and 10 doubles, second on the NightOwls, in 42 games. He struck out just 22 times, matching his total of 22 combined base on balls (17) and hit by pitch (5).
“I loved working with these pitchers,” said Heimueller, who has been in the game more than 50 years dating back to his college days at Cal Poly as a teammate of Ozzie Smith’s. “They work, they take care of their business, and they compete. We’re all excited to take a next step in 2024, in development and making a playoff run.”
