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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats blow away Bells in series opener

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Jacob Silva has four hits in his first four HarbourCats games (Photo: Christian J. Stewart) 

June 13, 2025

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. – The Victoria HarbourCats bounce back in a big way, snapping the division-leading Bellingham Bells’ five-game winning streak, winning 12-1 to open the weekend series.

The Cats got on the board in the first inning for the fifth straight game when Jacob Silva (TCU) hit a deep fly ball to right field with the bases loaded that went in and out of Gavin Long’s glove. The error allowed two runs to score. Cayden Munster (Fresno State) followed that up with a sacrifice fly, giving the home team a 3-0 lead after the opening frame.

BOX SCORE

No more runs were scored until the fourth inning, when the Bells’ pitching lost control and the Cats took advantage. Three walks and one hit by pitch gave the Cats plenty of opportunity to drive in runs, and they did just that, scoring five in the inning, giving them a resounding 8-0 lead.

Thomas Bridges has walked just one batter in 11 innings of work this season (Photo: Christian J. Stewart) 

Jake Butler (George Mason) debuted and had his first hit in that big inning, an RBI single.

WCL STANDINGS

Thomas Bridges (TCU) made his third start of the season and picked up where he left off. The right-hander threw four shutout innings, giving up three hits and one walk, while striking out a season high five batters. Bridges has yet to give up a run this season in 11 innings pitched.

Carson Burks (Hill College) took over in the fifth and threw three innings, giving up one run on three hits, walking one, and striking out three.

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Victoria added to their lead in the fifth inning through an Owen Clyne bases-loaded walk, his second RBI of the evening, and Xander McAfee scoring on a wild pitch, making it 10-0.

The Bells broke the shutout with a Brock Sell sacrifice fly in the seventh inning.

Xander “Boogie” McAfee (Texas Arlington) hit an RBI single in the eighth, which was followed by a Jacob Doyle (Nevada) sacrifice fly to make it 12-1, Victoria.

Cayden Munster has six hits in his first three games as a HarbourCat (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

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Dustin Davidson (Brookhaven) closed out the game, pitching two scoreless innings, striking out three batters.

The HarbourCats had nine hits and drew eight walks Friday night. Victoria is now 7-6 on the season, gaining ground on Bellingham, who fall to 9-4.

Game two of the series is tomorrow at 6:35 PM. Logan Rumberg (George Mason) is projected to make his HarbourCats debut as the starting pitcher. Buy tickets at HERE

Season Tickets, 10 and 32-Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are now on sale for all 33 home games and four “Showcase” events through the HarbourCats’ new and one-and-only ticketing partner SHOWPASS at harbourcats.com/tickets.

Tickets and merchandise can also be purchased in person at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street or by calling 778-265-0327.

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Summer Collegiate

A Late Rally By The Falcons Put An End To The NightOwls Win Streak

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KELOWNA, B.C. — A late rally from the Kelowna Falcons saw the Nanaimo NightOwls fall 2-1 on Saturday night from Elks Stadium. A two-run rally from the home side was enough to tie up the series in the 8th inning.

It wasn’t the pitching that hurt the NightOwls on the night, as starter Richtter Castillo threw four innings of two-hit ball while striking out six batters. Not to be outdone, Teague Van Dyke had three scoreless innings not giving up a hit and adding another 4 strikeouts to the NightOwls total.

Trey Langan is the picture of record for Nanaimo despite only giving up two hits and two runs. It is safe to say that pitching could not be blamed on the evening, as the three pitchers combined for just two runs on four hits and 11 strikeouts. The NightOwls couldn’t deal with the Kelowna starting pitcher.

Joel Hogan went all nine innings for the Falcons and had to face just 31 batters in the process. He only walked two and got 3 strikeouts, so he wasn’t carving up the Nanaimo batters; they were just hitting them right at people, and sometimes you have a game like that.

At the plate for the Nanaimo NightOwls there were still a couple of bright spots as Owen Wessel went one for three with a double, run, and a walk. Jacob Hayes continued to keep his hitting streak alive as he went one for four with a single. That moves the streak now to 10 games for the 6’5 first basemen from Azusa Pacific University.

Nathan Davis, Raoul Fabian Jr., and Brady Morse all added in with one hit on the evening. I spoke with Brady after the game,

“Yeah, it was a hard-fought game, and we just didn’t have some hard-hit balls fall our way. Baseball is a weird game like that, sometime where even if you play great, you can still lose. Their pitcher threw really well and attacked the zone. With wood bats, sometimes that’s enough to get the job done.” He finished it off perfectly for the NightOwls, “All we can do is get back tomorrow and bring some intensity.”

It was a hard night to come by hits and runs as the NightOwls had just one run on 5 hits with an error, while the Kelowna Falcons had two runs on four hits, but they didn’t come until late in the game. The series is on the line Sunday, and like Brady said, all we can do is get back tomorrow and bring some intensity!

The Nanaimo NightOwls finish their road trip in Kelowna against the Falcons on Sunday, June 15th. Nanaimo heads back to Victoria for a three-game stint before returning home on June 20th against the Port Angeles Lefties for a weekend series. Make sure to get your tickets and follow the team on our website and social media when they are out on the road for the latest information and updates!

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Bells even up series with huge win

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Isaiah Afework came into the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning (Photo: Raphael Oliveira)

June 14, 2025

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. – The Bellingham Bells returned the favour Saturday night with an emphatic 14-3 against the Victoria HarbourCats, after the Cats’ blowout win Friday night.

For the sixth game in a row, the Cats got off to a quick start, scoring in the first inning. Jacob Silva (TCU) drove in two runs with a single down the left field line to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.

The lead didn’t last very long as the Bells put up five runs in the top of the second, including an Andrew Lamb grand slam, to give them a 5-2 lead.

BOX SCORE

Logan Rumberg (George Mason) made his HarbourCats debut on the mound and pitched two innings. He gave up five unearned runs, due to a two-out error before the grand slam, walked three batters, and struck out three. He showed flashes of what he can do with his fastball reaching 95 MPH in the early going, but lost velocity and control as the game progressed.

The runs kept coming for the visitors, and it was Lamb again at the heart of it. The left fielder hit his second home run of the game, this time a three-run shot, to give the Bells a 9-2 advantage in the fourth inning. Lamb finished the game with three hits, two walks, and eight RBIs.

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One bright spot in the game for Victoria was their switch-hitting catcher Silva, who hit his first home run of the season in the fifth, a solo shot. On the defensive side, the freshman was also impressive, picking off two runners. In 23 plate appearances this season, he leads the team with a .565 on-base percentage.

Bellingham had 16 hits on the night and continued to tack on runs late in the game, scoring a pair in the fifth and seventh, and one more in the eighth.

WCL STANDINGS

Oliver Mabee (Nebraska Omaha) pitched two innings, giving up four runs on six hits. Nolan Bushko (ETBU) walked five batters over two innings of work, giving up two runs. Jalen Sami (Golden Tide) also pitched two innings, giving up three runs on six hits. Jake Finkelstein (Georgia Gwinnett) made his second appearance of the campaign and threw a three-up-three-down ninth inning.

Owen Clyne (George Mason) went three for three, Jack Johnson (Baylor) had a pair of hits, and Logan Shepherd (Tacoma CC) increased his hit streak to eight games with a third-inning single.

WATCH GAMES HERE

The rubber match is at 1:05 PM tomorrow for our Father’s Day matinee and the second Family Fun Sunday of the season. Buy tickets at harbourcats.com/tickets

Season Tickets, 10 and 32-Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are now on sale for all 33 home games and four “Showcase” events through the HarbourCats’ new and one-and-only ticketing partner SHOWPASS at harbourcats.com/tickets.

Tickets and merchandise can also be purchased in person at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street or by calling 778-265-0327.

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Down 5-1 NorthPaws rally to steal game one against the Riverhawks

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The Kamloops NorthPaws won a thriller at home against the Edmonton Riverhawks 8-6 in game one of the weekend series. The Riverhawks led five one and hit back-to-back home runs, but the NorthPaws were able to claw their way back into the game mainly because of five brilliant innings from Nolan Austin on the mound. Kamloops scored three in the eighth and shut the door, winning the series opener.

“If we lose that game, we’re 1-3 on the week, and morale isn’t going to be the highest, but I think our group is at a point where we never feel like we’re never out of games,” said Head Coach Reily Jepson.

Edmonton would get off to a quick start by scoring three runs off four singles and a wild pitch. Kamloops responded in the bottom of the second as shortstop Anthony Setticassi sent an RBI double to right center field. The Riverhawks wasted no time in the top of the third, hitting back-to-back solo home runs to left and right field, taking a 5-1 lead.

In the bottom of the third, the NorthPaws scored a pair of runs on a past ball and a wild pitch while only recording one hit in the inning. Righty Nolan Austin took over in the fourth inning and recorded three straight scoreless innings while not allowing a hit, slowing down the Riverhawk’s offence.

“Nolan was going after hitters tonight; that was as good as anyone’s pitched all year,” said Pitching Coach Jack Slominski.

The bottom of the sixth saw Jared Hall lead off with a walk and move to second after a wild pitch. Left fielder Joey Rico sent a double to the gap in left-center, scoring Hall. Rico then advanced to third after a Matt MacDonald ground ball. First baseman Keegan Drinkle hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Rico tying the game.

Edmonton responded in the seventh, with catcher Kyle Yip hitting a triple with two outs. Austin uncorked a wild pitch that brought the go-ahead run home for the Riverhawks. That was the lone run Austin gave up over his five innings in relief.

The NorthPaws rallied in the bottom of the eighth with Jared Hall reaching base, and Rico hit his second double of the night. Drinkle was at the plate and sent a grounder to second base. Hall broke for home and dove in safely. Pinch hitter Kalen Applefield had runners at second and third. The lefty hit a grounder through the right side, scoring Rico and giving the NorthPaws their first lead of the game. Drew Abercrombie and Elijah Clayton both walked, loading the bases for Connor Clark. The right fielder stayed tough in the batter’s box and worked a walk, extending the lead.

Julio Garcia was on in the top of the ninth for his second save opportunity in as many days. Garcia was excellent, going three up and three down, sending the fans home happy with a NorthPaw win. Despite a rigid back-to-back, having travelled from Wenatchee the night before, the team showed grit, scoring eight runs on only five hits.

“It’s cool to see, these guys the whole night said in the dugout that they would be coming back in that game, and they did,” said Jepson.

The second game of the series will go at the same time from the same place, 6:35 pm at Norbrock stadium, as the NorthPaws look to take the first two games against the Riverhawks. You can find the game on West Coast League TV.

 

 

 

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