Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Haney names 2023 coaching staff, adds Anderson, Williams and local legend Sinclair

Published

3 years ago

February 25, 2023

Dugout Wire Service

Friday, February 24, 2023

For Immediate Release

VICTORIA, B.C. — The coaching staff that will support Victoria HarbourCats Head Coach Todd Haney (above) in search of a West Coast League (WCL) title is a mix of new energy and tremendous experience.

Jaxon Williams

Haney, who enters his fourth year as a HarbourCats coach and third in the top job, is proud to add former Arkansas and Texas State player Jaxon Williams and veteran WCL pitching coach Scott Anderson, joining returning coach Troy Birtwistle, who will coach first base as he has since 2017.

Also joining the crew this year is Victoria legend and former MLB lefty Steve Sinclair. Curtis Pelletier remains part of the effort as youth program coach, collegiate Golden Tide head coach, and will provide specialist work with catchers and hitters.

“I’m excited about this group, no question,” said Haney, who played at the MLB level with the Expos, Cubs and Mets. “We have a great mix of youth and experience with the 2023 coaching staff, providing all of our players with a tremendous development opportunity for the summer. Troy, Curtis, Jaxon and Scott bring a wealth of knowledge to the team and the addition of Steve Sinclair makes us that much better!”

Scott Anderson

Williams, from Texas, was a scrappy infielder at Arkansas, then Texas State and has worked as a personal trainer and coached at the high school level since leaving college. The 25-year-old hit .265 with 10 home runs in 147 games combined in the SEC and Sun Belt Conference.

“Jaxon was one of my favorite players to coach at Texas State. Our players will love his energy and passion for the game,” said Haney who coached Williams for one season at Texas State.

Anderson’s record is distinguished, drafted three times — first round, second round and fourth round as a lefty pitcher — and starring at Oregon State. He earned six pro seasons, giving up just 362 hits in 459 innings. Anderson, who now lives in Phoenix, coached in Bend in the WCL and was named WCL manager of the year in 2009. The 67-year-old, one of the real characters in the game, led the Lefties pitching staff in Port Angeles in 2017.

Steve Sinclair

“I’m excited to work with Todd and for an organization like Victoria, they do everything the right way,” said Anderson, also a former MLB scout with Tampa, Cleveland and Baltimore. “The game experience for fans in Victoria is outstanding but it’s still about playing great baseball. Todd has the right approach for development, class and character.”

Sinclair pitched two seasons, for Toronto and Seattle, as a lefty specialist, making 45 MLB appearances. The Blue Jays traded Sinclair, a life-long Victoria resident, to the Mariners for first baseman David Segui in 1999. “We are thrilled Steve will have the opportunity to coach with us this summer. Scott Anderson is a proven winner and one of the top pitching coaches in the game. What a great learning experience for our pitching staff to have access to Scott and Steve on a daily basis during the summer season,” commented an excited Haney.

Ex-MLB players Greg Swindell and Mark Petkovsek were unable to return to Victoria for the summer, after serving with the team in 2022. “The HarbourCats organization will miss Greg and Mark, they loved Victoria and did a tremendous job of teaching last season ,” said Haney of his former college teammates.

Troy Birtwistle

HarbourCats 2023 Coaching Staff

Todd Haney, Head Coach (third as Head Coach, fourth overall)
Scott Anderson, Pitching Coach (first season)
Jaxon Williams, Assistant Coach (first season)
Troy Birtwistle, Assistant Coach (fifth season)
Steve Sinclair, Assistant Coach (first season)
Curtis Pelletier, Youth/Collegiate Development Coach (fourth season)

The HarbourCats celebrate their 10th Anniversary in 2023 and the season kicks off with the home opener against the Kamloops NorthPaws on Friday June 2, 2023. Single game tickets for that game and all 31 HarbourCats home games in 2023 are now on sale and can be purchased on-line through our one-and-only ticketing partner, Select Your Tickets, at harbourcats.com/tickets. They can also be purchased at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street, or at the Select Your Tickets box office at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. Fans can also call 778-265-0327 to order over the phone.

Curtis Pelletier

Season tickets and 10-game flex packs are also now on sale. For details on all ticketing options, including our special $10.00 Tuesdays, Forces Fridays and Save-on-Food Vouchers, please visit harbourcats.com/ticketinfo.

HOST FAMILIES! The HarbourCats are in need of host families for 2023! If you are interested, you can find more details HERE, or contact Cindy Kent, our Host Family Coordinator by e-mail at hostfamily@harbourcats.com.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Final Game of the Season Cancelled Due to Health Concerns

Published

13 hours ago

August 5, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Wenatchee, WA – While Wednesday’s matchup between the Victoria HarbourCats and Wenatchee AppleSox was originally intended to be the last HarbourCats action of the 2026 West Coast League season, the game has been cancelled due to unsafe conditions in Wenatchee created by wildfire smoke.

The outcome of the game would have no impact on the playoff seeding of any teams in the North Division, with Wenatchee already clinching the #1 seed and Victoria being eliminated from playoff contention. Ultimately, it was decided that the conditions were unsafe and the game would be cancelled for the safety of players, staff, and fans.

With the Wenatchee series now over, this brings the 2026 HarbourCats season to an end with a record of 26-26. We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our wonderful fans who showed such incredible support and brought an electric energy to HarbourCats baseball this season!

Stay tuned to our website and socials for info on renewing season tickets, as well as 12-pack and 32-pack flex packages for the 2027 season!

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – SIBL All-Stars Win Exhibition Clash

Published

2 days ago

August 4, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

A sold-out crowd gathered at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park for the final fireworks night of 2026. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats’ split squad and the SIBL All-Stars put on a show in a Monday night exhibition match, with the All-Stars taking a 10-8 victory after an explosive matchup.

The SIBL All-Stars jumped out to an early lead in this exhibition showdown, loading the bases and knocking in a couple of runs in the top of the first to take the upper hand. The away squad added another in the second inning on a sacrifice fly, pushing the lead to 3-0.

The HarbourCats launched an attempted counterattack in the bottom of the third, taking advantage of a shaky inning on the mound for the SIBL to run the bases full and score their first run. A strong sign of life, but still with some ground to make up for the visiting All-Stars.

The lead grew ever larger in the fourth inning, as the All-Stars scored two runs on a double and a wild pitch to make it a 6-1 ballgame. That production was backed up by former HarbourCat Flynn Ridley, who sliced and diced his way through the side in the fourth and fifth innings to keep the All-Stars well in front.

The HarbourCats stormed back with a parade of hits in the back half of the game and managed to tie it up in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out rally! Despite that effort to even the odds, the All-Stars threw a counter-punch in the top of the ninth in the form of two more runs, giving them the edge in a close 10-8 win.

Meanwhile, the HarbourCats’ A-squad fought tooth and claw in Wenatchee with a playoff spot still in the balance. Victoria was defeated 5-2 in the first contest of a three-game series and will give it their all on Tuesday night with the sands in the postseason hourglass draining.

WCL PLAYOFF PROCEDURES HERE

PLAYOFF TICKETS: Should the HarbourCats clinch a playoff spot (which may not be determined until Wednesday), they would host Game 1 of the best of three Divisional Series on Friday August 7th at 6:35 PM. Tickets for that series will NOT go on sale until a playoff position is confirmed. Season Ticket holders will be e-mailed their tickets (if we clinch) on Thursday August 6th.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats go quietly as Bells complete series sweep

Published

3 days ago

August 3, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

By Christian J. Stewart

August 2, 2026

Bellingham, WA – Bellingham pitchers combined to limit the Victoria HarbourCats to just four hits in a 5-0 Bells win over the HarbourCats in West Coast League (WCL) action Sunday afternoon at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham.

FULL BOX SCORE

The loss gave the Bells a sweep of the three-game series and put a serious damper on the playoff aspirations of the HarbourCats, who now head to Wenatchee to finish the season against the league’s top team and needing at least two or three wins and help from others to secure a spot (more on that below).

The HarbourCats sent WCL Pitcher of the Year candidate Jeremiah Arnett to the mound in this one, but the Bells jumped on him early, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first on the strength of three hits, including a two-RBI double from Matt Churchill.

The Bells would score another in the third and two more in the eighth off Arnett, before he left the game and gave way to reliever Davis Lee.

Arnett did finish with four strikeouts to move his season total to 66, which is a new HarbourCats single-season team record.

In the meantime, Bellingham starter Kole Laubach (4 innings pitched) and David Wiser (5 innings pitched) were at the top of their game, allowing no runs on just the four HarbourCats hits, while striking out nine and walking only one.

Offensively for the Bells, Churchill led the way with two hits and three RBI, while Noah Cassie and Tyler Peshke also contributed a pair of hits to the winning effort.

PLAYOFF PICTURE
With the win last night and today, the Bells secure the second seed in the North and will host a first round match-up against whoever finishes third in the North. At the moment, that team is Nanaimo, who defeated Port Angeles 8-0 to move their record to 28-23. Meanwhile, the Kelowna Falcons registered another comeback win (10-8) over Edmonton to move both of those teams to a record of 27-24 and dropping the Riverhawks into the fourth seed by virtue of holding the direct tie-break over the Falcons. The HarbourCats, with the loss, drop to 26-25 and are effectively in sixth place at the moment.

So what’s next? The HarbourCats travel to Wenatchee to play the AppleSox and will need at least two wins there, possibly three, to have a chance at grabbing the third or fourth seed. The NightOwls will host the Kamloops NorthPaws and need at least one win, possibly two to clinch a spot. Kelowna travels to Port Angeles, where a couple of wins could secure their berth and Edmonton travels to Bellingham, where they will be in tough against the Bells, in the hopes of winning one or two to stay in their current playoff position.

Four teams, within two games of each other, with three games left to play….does it get any better than this? The possibilities are endless and this author does not event want to attempt the math if there ends up being a four-way tie between these teams.

WCL PLAYOFF PROCEDURES HERE

BC DAY FIREWORKS & FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT APPROACHING CAPACITY CROWD!
Just a note that all reserved seating is effectively sold out for Monday’s fireworks and Fan Appreciation night, the final home game of the regular season. Select single reserved seats, general admission and some VIP area tickets are still available at harbourcats.com/tickets. If you are holding general admission tickets for this game, gates open at 5:00 pm and you are advised to arrive early to get your best choice of seating.

VOUCHER HOLDERS
With all reserved seating sold out, ALL voucher holders wishing to attend Monday’s game will be issued general admission tickets. Vouchers must be used Monday and can not be used for playoffs, or carried over into next season.

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