Wednesday morning, the 2021 All-West Coast League teams were announced by West Coast League Commissioner Rob Neyer.
“It’s my tremendous pleasure every year,” said Neyer, “to announce the WCL’s All-League teams. Considering the WCL’s position as the premier summer collegiate baseball league in the entire western half of the continent, saying our teams represent ‘the best of the west’ is hardly an exaggeration.”
Monday, this year’s MVP and Pitcher of the Year Awards were unveiled. Incoming Oregon State freshman Travis Bazzana of the Corvallis Knights was selected as the WCL’s MVP. The freshman-to-be for the Beavers won the WCL batting title with a league-record .429 average. Bellingham hurler Eric Chavarria captured pitching honors, with a league-best 1.83 ERA in 11 outings. With the Lewis-Clark Warriors last spring, he went 8-2 with a 3.14 ERA.
On the All-WCL first team, the Ridgefield Raptors were the most represented squad on the All-WCL first team with four selections, followed by the Corvallis Knights and the Portland Pickles with three.
Awards on deck next Tuesday: Coach of the Year, Top Prospect, Executive of the Year and the Team Sportsmanship Award will be announced by Commissioner Neyer.
First-Team All-WCL
C – Colin Wetterau (St. John’s, junior), Walla Walla Sweets 1B – Coby Morales (Cypress College, soph), Ridgefield Raptors 2B – Travis Bazzana (Oregon State, frosh), Corvallis Knights 3B – Leo Mosby (UC Santa Barbara, soph), Portland Pickles SS – John Peck (Pepperdine, soph), Ridgefield Raptors OF – Nick Vogt (UC Santa Barbara, soph), Corvallis Knights OF – Noah Williamson (*signed with Miami Marlins), Yakima Valley Pippins OF – Sam Linscott (Lewis-Clark State, senior), Bend Elks UTL – Adam Grob (South Carolina Upstate, junior), Wenatchee AppleSox DH – Will Chambers (College of the Canyons, soph), Ridgefield Raptors SP – Eric Chavarria (Lewis-Clark State, senior), Bellingham Bells SP – Kelly Austin (UCLA, soph), Cowlitz Black Bears SP – Alex Giroux (Clark College, soph), Portland Pickles SP – Jaren Hunter (Oregon State, soph), Ridgefield Raptors SP – Ty Uber (Stanford, frosh), Corvallis Knights RP – Josh Mollerus (San Francisco, junior), Portland Pickles RP – Caden Kaelber (Washington State, junior), Walla Walla Sweets
Second-Team All-WCL
C – Gavin Logan (Oregon State, junior), Bend Elks 1B – Willie Lajoie (Chico State, senior), Yakima Valley Pippins 2B – Rikuu Nishida (Mt. Hood CC, soph), Cowlitz Black Bears 3B – Julian Kodama (Seattle U, senior), Bend Elks SS – Nick Oakley (UC Santa Barbara, soph), Port Angeles Lefties OF – Caden Connor (Cal State Fullerton, soph), Ridgefield Raptors OF – Robert Guardino (Wofford, junior), Portland Pickles OF – Daniel Gernon (Lower Columbia College, soph), Bellingham Bells UTL – Bennett Thompson (Oregon, freshman), Bend Elks SP – Brad McVay (Georgia Gwinnett, junior), Portland Pickles SP – Travis Craven (Whitman, senior), Walla Walla Sweets SP – Seth Kuykendall (Western Oregon, senior), Yakima Valley Pippins SP – Ryan Harvey (UC Santa Barbara, soph), Ridgefield Raptors SP – Ethan Ross (San Jose State, soph), Corvallis Knights RP – Keegan Wright (San Diego Christian, frosh), Cowlitz Black Bears RP – Nathaniel Mendoza (Cal State San Bernadino, soph), Corvallis Knights
# year in school noted for fall/winter/spring, 2021-2022.
Honorable Mention All-WCL
Bellingham: Hunter Alberini (Umpqua CC), Ryan Beitel (British Columbia), Emilio Corona (Washington), Malakhi Knight (UCLA), Bennett Lee (Tulane), Ty Saunders (Portland)
Victoria unleashed 11 runs in the sixth inning, paving the way to a resounding win over the top team in the West Coast League. (Photo by JPM Photography)
Victoria, B.C. – A grand slam followed by an 11-run inning led to a robust win over the Bellingham Bells on Friday night, with the Cats claiming a 17-6 win.
The Cats looked a little trigger-happy in the first third of the game, only seeing 15 pitches from Bellingham’s starter. This enthusiasm didn’t earn much, with just two HarbourCats reaching base in a quick three innings.
On the other side of the coin, Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) made quick work of the Bells as well, refusing to allow them the luxury of a hit through four innings and earning five strikeouts on the side. Jake Rafferty (Tacoma) took up the torch for the fifth, getting himself into a sticky situation with a couple of wild pitches before finding his way out with a zero on the board.
Jeremiah Arnett allowed zero runs in a four-inning start. (Photo by JPM Photography)
The HarbourCats finally dug their claws in for the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases just in time for David Krahn (UBC). The British Columbia local stepped up to the plate and delivered, utterly pulverizing a ball to left field for an electrifying grand slam, breaking the seal and taking a 4-0 lead for the home side.
Bellingham responded passionately in the next inning, sneaking a run in on a base hit followed by a three-run blast off of Cats reliever Spencer Kratt (San Jose State). Victoria shrugged it off and pulled out all the stops in the bottom of the fifth, taking advantage of a Bellingham error and finding hits from Lukas Le Gras (Westmont), Bryan Bradshaw (UC San Diego), Rohne Klein (San Jose State) et al to jump out in front of the Bells. By the time the smoke cleared on a long sixth inning, the Cats were suddenly up 15-4. Not too shabby.
Surrey, B.C.’s Marcus Janovsky (UBC) entered the game in the seventh to face a battered and bruised group of Bells, who snuck home on a sloppy relay from the outfield to scratch away at the 11-run lead standing over them.
Unwilling to let up after taking a comfortable lead, the Cats kept their foot on the gas in the bottom of the seventh. Designated hitter Jacob Silva (UTSA) batted in a pair of runs with a one-out single, pushing the score to a humble 17-6 with two innings to go.
Hunter Daniels (Phoenix College) came in from the bullpen to dot the i’s and cross the t’s on a booming victory for the HarbourCats in their first game against the top team in the West Coast League Standings.
The Cats get another crack at the Bells on Saturday night at 6:35 pm, and the series comes to an end with an afternoon game on Sunday.
Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games and the 2026 West Coast League All-Star Game and Home Run Derby are now on sale at http://harbourcats.com/tickets. Season tickets, 12-pack and 32-pack game vouchers may also be bought online or by stopping by the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.
Despite out-hitting the NightOwls, two solo homers in the fourth inning was all Nanaimo needed to overpower the visiting Cats. (Photo by JPM Photography)
Nanaimo, B.C. – The Island Rivalry Series came to an end in Nanaimo on Thursday evening, with the Cats offence held quiet in a 2-1 loss to the NightOwls.
Erik Rico (Fresno State) was dominant in the opening third of the ballgame, keeping Nanaimo scoreless with six strikeouts. The Cats starter wavered in the bottom of the fourth, surrendering a solo homer for the first blemish on his previously spotless ERA this season. The NightOwls took the opportunity to pummel another ball over the wall, taking a 2-0 lead by the end of the fourth inning.
The Cats had their first real offensive opportunity in the top of the seventh, moving Rohne Klein (San Jose State) over to third after a leadoff single. Nanaimo’s defenses held strong, however, and Klein was stranded to end the inning.
Victoria finally broke through in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Kade Davis, but one run was all they could muster. Nanaimo closed it out in the top of the ninth to claim a series victory in the first Island Rivalry Series of the year.
Northern Kentucky reliever Daniel Tovar was introduced to the ballgame in the fifth inning, powering through two scoreless innings before handing the ball over to Houston Tomlinson (Arkansas State). Tomlinson worked his way across the seventh and eighth, picking up a strikeout and allowing two hits in two innings.
With the Nanaimo series complete, the Cats will now host the Bellingham Bells in a weekend series at home, beginning Friday night at 6:35 pm.
Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games and the 2026 West Coast League All-Star Game and Home Run Derby are now on sale at http://harbourcats.com/tickets. Season tickets, 12-pack and 32-pack game vouchers may also be bought online or by stopping by the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.
Victoria, B.C. – The NightOwls rolled into town and squashed the HarbourCats on a warm Wednesday night, tying the series and forcing an 8-3 loss on Victoria.
Nanaimo opened the scoring early in the second game of the series, getting a couple of men on in the first inning and cashing in a run on a single up the middle to take control of the game. The visitors tacked on a couple more in their next trip to the plate, taking advantage of an eastward wind for a two-run homer to make it 3-0 in the second inning. It was the first long ball surrendered all season by Hudson Lance (Coastal Carolina), and the first multi-run effort against the right-hander as well.
Retaliation came off the bat of Max Bernal (Fresno Pacific) in the bottom of the second, who fired a double straight into the gap and scored a runner from first to cut into Nanaimo’s lead. The NightOwls, however, got them right back. A ground ball caromed off two Cats in the bottom of the third inning, giving a Nanaimo baserunner time to find his way home to restore the three-run gap.
Hudson Lance worked his way through 4.2 innings, allowing seven runs on ten hits with four strikeouts. (Photo by JPM Photography)
The NightOwls rocked their second long ball of the game to lead off the top of the fifth, followed by a base hit into centre field to push their lead to 7-1 at the midway point of the ballgame. This would spell the end of Hudson Lance’s start, as the Cats tagged in Easton Reimers (North Dakota State) to finish off the inning.
Reimers locked in for a powerful performance, striking out six NightOwls in just three innings to keep the score from getting any further out of hand. Reimers was swapped out for Flynn Warren (Hawaii Pacific) in the eighth inning, who worked the final two innings for the Cats.
Matt Westley (George Mason) let fly an absolute laser over the fence for a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, but it was too little too late as Victoria fell short to Nanaimo by a score of 8-3.
The series comes to an end tomorrow night in Nanaimo, following which the HarbourCats will engage with the Bellingham Bells for a weekend series in Victoria.
Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games and the 2026 West Coast League All-Star Game and Home Run Derby are now on sale at http://harbourcats.com/tickets. Season tickets, 12-pack and 32-pack game vouchers may also be bought online or by stopping by the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.
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