Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Shepherd returns in 2026 with sights set on new record and more

Published

4 months ago

February 13, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

2025 All-Star Logan Shepherd returns in 2026 with his sights set on besting the HarbourCats franchise home run record and bringing a WCL title to Victoria.

By Norm LeBus

The HarbourCats’ designated hitter says he’s breaking the team home record this season. But Logan Shepherd is the first to admit he’s not really trying to.

Batting for long balls is a fool’s errand, he says.

“You’re going to start popping the ball up in the infield or hitting really lazy fly balls,” the 21-year-old Olympia, Washington native says. “Home runs for me are never necessarily on purpose, they’re always sort of an accidental thing.”

Oops – Shepherd went yard in his very first at bat of the ‘Cats home opener last year.

The count was 2-1, he recalls, and he was sitting on a fastball, middle, middle away. That’s the pitch Shepherd hits best, and what he focuses on at the plate.

“Because it’s a lot easier to adjust from a fastball to an off-speed pitch than the other way,” he says. “If you’re not on time ready to hit a fastball, you’re going to foul it off or you’re going to swing and miss. There’s no in between.”

Shepherd made big strides with his bat two years ago. During his first year at Tacoma CC, he lacked the hip rotation that powers explosiveness. In a classic swing, first the hips open (rotate), then the torso and shoulders follow, in concert and in synchronicity. The bat then extends in a slight upward arc at contact.

Shepherd explained that because he lacked hip flexibility, he couldn’t adequately “separate” his lower and upper body and was “falling” into pitches and rotating late.

He spent time with a private baseball company, Driveline, who incorporate data-driven player development through motion capture, force plates and physics to help fine tune a swing.

“They really helped me unlock untapped potential,” Shepherd says. “So that really helped with home run ball projection and all that kind of stuff.”

Last season, Shepherd was the Harbourcats DH; hitting .345 over 40 games with nine doubles and eight home runs (The team record is nine dingers).

Shepherd came to the ‘Cats last season projected as a first baseman. But he admits he was less of a natural at the bag than at bat. As a youth, Shepherd played middle infield. But at Tacoma Community College, he realized a 6-2, 210-pound athlete is not playing second base.

“They kind of threw me to the wolves at Tacoma,” he says. “I didn’t have a whole lot of coaching on that, playing first…so I kind of learned how to play the position by myself.”

Last year in Victoria, the ‘Cats had players with NCAA division one experience at first base, so Shepherd helped where he could.

“I was learning from them (‘Cats first baggers) all the time, but when coach Haney put me in the DH spot, I kind of was able to just focus on what I feel I’m best at, and that’s hitting, he says. “When I was able to lock in and focus on that, that was me making my contribution to the team and doing what I could to help us win.

Shepherd is currently on baseball scholarship at NCAA Division 1 school Mercer College in Macon, Georgia, where he’s been training at first base since last September. The school plays a Southern Conference schedule of 56 games that begins February 13 out of 1,500 seat OrthoGeorgia Park.

“Now that I have a coaching staff that’s been able to get down and work with me on certain positional things, it’s been a lot better,” Shepherd says. “I’ve really developed in the position a lot over that last six months or so, just being here.”

Shepherd is penciled in at first base and batting lead-off or in the three hole, he says. And playing first carries more defensive duties than spitting out sunflower seeds on the bench DH-ing.

“100 percent,” he says. “So I had to work on my flexibility a little bit, and over time that got better; it all goes hand in hand. It not only made me a better first baseman, but a little bit faster, as well.”

As savvy fans realize, first base is a huge responsibility. Infield outs aren’t registered if the first basemen doesn’t have a good stretch – and really good hands.

HarbourCats’ fans will look forward to Shepherd’s return in 2026!

“You always got to be prepared for a bad throw, it’s a lot easier to relax and then just catch it instead of having to react and pick something out,” Shepherd says, “You’re already in a good position to handle that bad throw, no matter how bad it looks.”

So.

Faster, more flexible and coming back to Victoria in June in with a first season at first base at Mercer College.

Sounds like a home run record.

“Home runs for me are never on purpose, they are always kind of an accidental thing,” Shepherd says. “But once you catch it on the sweet spot of the barrel, it doesn’t feel like you’ve hit anything; it’s like you hit a marshmallow. You know you got it real good.

Harbourcats fans say: sweet.

Shepherd and the HarbourCats begin their 2026 season on May 29th with a visit to Portland and then return to Victoria for the Home Opener against the Edmonton Riverhawks on Tuesday, June 2, 6:30 pm.

Season tickets, single-game tickets, 12 and 32-game flex packs and 2026 All-Star Game ticket packages are now on sale at harbourcats.com/tickets or at the HarbourCats office at 1814 Vancouver Street.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Close Out Series with 6-3 Loss

Published

16 hours ago

June 7, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The Cats mustered just five runs over the three game series. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats offence came up short in this afternoon’s ballgame, as Victoria was defeated 6-3 to finish off the weekend.

The Falcons took an early lead this afternoon on a sacrifice fly to centre, but it was smooth sailing otherwise for starting pitcher Jeremiah Arnett (Rice). The righty gave up four hits over four innings, the only run being that sac fly, with a trio of strikeouts and no free passes.

BOX SCORE

Austin Lindsey (Hill College) was tagged in for the top of the fifth and nailed his first inning of work, setting the Falcons down in order. The sixth was a different story, as Lindsey allowed a solo homer to push Kelowna’s lead to 2-0.

San Jose State reliever Landon Marchetti took over on the mound for the seventh, letting a couple of runners on but managing to escape the inning without a run scoring.

Flynn Warren (Hawaii Pacific) emerged from the bullpen in the top of the eighth to a precarious situation: bases loaded, no outs. The New Zealander walked one batter, hit two more, and gave up a sacrifice fly to allow four runs before the end of the frame.

Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) pitched four innings with three strikeouts. (Photo by JPM Photography)

The bottom of the eighth saw the HarbourCats offence finally gain some ground. A double from Kade Davis (UTSA) made room for Koa Won (Hawaii) to score, followed up by a single from Hewitt to bring in another run. Marcus Nolen (Fresno State) drove in one more before the inning came to a close with a score of 6-3 in favour of the Falcons.

The Cats would be unable to add on any more runs in the bottom of the ninth, dropping the final game of the series 6-3.

WCL STANDINGS

Victoria will now head on the road for a midweek matchup with the Edmonton Riverhawks, returning home on Friday to take on the Springfield Drifters.

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.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Offence Stunted Versus Kelowna

Published

1 day ago

June 7, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats were defeated 8-1 by the Kelowna Falcons in the second game of the series.

The Falcons drew first blood in this one, launching a three-run dinger to left field in the top of the fourth to snag an early lead. Victoria’s starting pitcher Schuyler Fairchild (Wenatchee Valley) had cruised through the first three frames without much trouble up to that point, but his contributions this evening came to a close after the long ball in the fourth. Fairchild allowed three runs on four hits, striking out one batter and issuing a walk.

BOX SCORE

Inning number five required the services of Auburn, Washington’s Caden Shoul (Wenatchee Valley). The right-hander pitched 1.2 innings, calling it a night after giving up two runs in the top of the sixth to push Kelowna’s lead to 5-0.

Tyler Bono (North Central Texas) came into the game with the bases loaded and put on a sub-par performance, hitting two batters and walking one to allow three more runs. Marcus Janovsky (UBC) was summoned from the bullpen to finally get out of the inning.

Garen Geoghegan (Whitman) and Pierce Stone (Regis) combined for two scoreless innings in the final stages of the game, but Victoria’s offence continued to sputter.

Centre fielder Marcus Nolen (Fresno State) led off the bottom of the ninth with a double, and was welcomed home by another double hammered by Carter Eberhard (Cal Baptist) to score the Cats’ first and only run of the game.

WCL STANDINGS

The Cats close out the series on Sunday, June 7 at 1:05 pm before departing to Alberta for a midweek matchup with the Edmonton Riverhawks.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Fall 4-1 to Falcons

Published

2 days ago

June 6, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Missed opportunities with runners in scoring position led to a disappointing outcome for the Cats. (Photo by Victoria Spotlight Photography)

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats were defeated 4-1 by the Kelowna Falcons on Friday night in the first game of the series.

Both sides’ bats stayed quiet until the third inning this evening, when the Falcons drove a pair of base hits up the middle, jumping out in front to a 2-0 lead.

BOX SCORE

Easton Reimers (North Dakota State) entered the game in the top of the fourth to relieve Cats starter Bryson Toner (Hawaii). Toner allowed two runs on five hits through his three innings on the bump this evening, throwing in a walk and a strikeout as well.

Reimers was excellent throughout his first two innings until a leadoff homer in the sixth broke his hitless streak. A second run scored on a passed ball before Reimers was able to get out of the inning and pass the baton to Jack Clark (CSU San Marcos).

The Cats offence woke up in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases and scoring a run on a ball that dropped just fair in left field from Rohne Klein (San Jose State). That was the only run they got on this crucial opportunity, as the Falcons picked up a big strikeout to escape the jam and maintain a 4-1 lead.

Tate Collins (Arkansas State) claimed control of the mound for the Cats in the top of the eighth inning. Despite a leadoff walk, the Little Rock, Arizona native tossed a zero on the board to bring about the bottom of the eighth for the Victoria offence.

The Cats were unable to pull off a comeback after loading the bases in the bottom of the ninth, leaving the runners stranded and losing the ballgame 4-1

WCL STANDINGS

Victoria and Kelowna will be back in action Saturday, June 6 at 6:35 pm for game two of the weekend series.

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