Larry H. Miller Toyota got a pre-tournament wakeup call from Victoria Payless veteran left-handed pitcher Mike Piechnik in an exhibition game Thursday in Victoria, British Columbia.
Piechnik fired his second two-hitter against Miller Toyota in three weeks, winning 2-1. Piechnik also pitches for the Sioux City Soos, whom Miller Toyota faced three weeks ago in a tournament.Tonight, a drastically altered Miller Toyota faces Seattle Sea First and veteran pitcher Graeme Robertson at 8 MDT in the opening round of the weekend's Seattle Invitational Tournament.
Miller Toyota lost eight players - Peter Meredith, Gordon Eakin, Brad Burrup, Doug Streeter, Brian Lehrman, Todd Wortman, Tommy Gray and Kenny Eriksen - to the Amatuer Softball Association's Sports Olympic Festival in St. Louis, Mo., this week.
The ASA told the players they couldn't represent the United States in the 1995 Pan American Games unless they participated in the Olympic Festival.
Miller didn't want to deprive his players of that chance but also wanted to keep his team's commitment to the Seattle Invitational Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Miller Toyota added seven players from the Class A Miller Chevrolet team to fill the vacancies: Steve Southern, Russell Childs, Robert Simpson, Gary Daniels, Ryan Brown, Clark Clifford, Matt Morman and Tom Rose.
They will get their wakeup call against the likes of Toronto's Darren Zack, New Westminster Regents' Terry Bell, Piechnik, and Robertson this weekend.
Miller Toyota faces Bell (12 p.m. MDT) and Zack (4 p.m. MDT) Saturday and a team from Portland Sunday at 9 a.m. (MDT).
Salt Lake's Page Brake, also in the invitational, draws Victoria Payless at 9 MDT tonight.
Miller Toyota pitchers Donny Hale, a three-hitter in losing 2-1, and Dwayne Dyck, a four-hitter in losing 1-0, pitched well in this week's exhibition games.
Zack's Toronto, the 1993 ISC World champions and Canadian champions, have been in eight tournaments this year and won them all, including a 5-0 win over the Regents in the Canadian Challenge Cup Championship in Ottawa last weekend.