Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Community-first approach for All Star Game committee, leading WCL showcase

Published

4 months ago

February 26, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

February 26, 2026

For immediate release

VICTORIA, BC — With an exciting announcement earlier this week (SEE HERE), and ticket packages available and selling fast, it’s time to publicly unveil the leadership stars of the 2026 West Coast League Baseball All-Star Game committee.

It’s a group that, combined, knows one word well — community.

Dave Cockle and Brenda MacFarlane are the co-chairs, working closely with Victoria HarbourCats leadership — President John Wilson, part owner and community advocate Helen Edwards, Managing Partner Jim Swanson, General Manager Christian Stewart, Marketing Director John Pollard, and Adrian Somers, VP of Operations/Business.

Cindy Kent and Dave Garton, who wear many hats for the HarbourCats including host family and gameday events, are involved in planning and execution.

Cockle is the retired former longtime Oak Bay fire chief who is active with many boards including Kiwanis (Board Chair of Oak Bay Kiwanis Pavillion) and their advocacy for seniors and affordable housing, a director with SVI Rangers, and the HarbourCats advisory committee, and was chair of the 2017 and 2018 Baseball Canada Men’s Championship.

MacFarlane is — well, what isn’t she involved with? With IG Wealth Management, she gives her time to the Victoria Hockey Legacy Society (Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada, 100 Year Stanley Cup “Century Celebration”) among other charity work and involvement literally too numerous to list here.

“What a group — seriously, we are so glad to have people who understand what it means to really captivate Victoria with memorable events, who get the vision and logistics mix that make things shine,” said Swanson.

The 2026 WCL All-Star Festival will take over Victoria, helping fill hotels and seats, on July 14 and 15, culminating with the game on Wednesday, July 15. The HarbourCats will also host the festival in 2027.

The leadership group involved goes WAY deeper than those named above.

Vince Greco, a well known local sports leader, is spearheading the youth camps component, some of which is still to be announced.
Stewart is overseeing ticketing, graphics, photography and media, and stadium planning — yes, the famous HarbourCats food trucks scene will be on full display for the home run derby and game.
Veteran pro baseball scouts Walt Burrows and Marti Wolever and coach Gorman Heimueller will direct the WCL player scouting combine, supported by HarbourCats and Collegiate Cats coaches.
Nanaimo NightOwls GM Tina Cornett is heavily involved with planning and administration.
Doug Sturgeon, known well in local ball circles, is coordinating the community wiffle ball game slated for the B.C. Legislature lawn on July 14.
Chris Jaycox of Chris Jaycox Productions is overseeing the broadcast, featuring the play-by-play of Warren Dean, that will allow people from around the world to see many of the events.
Samantha Newton will oversee transportation needs for players, team officials and VIPs, with the LA Limousine fleet as a featured addition.
Shawn Leckie, Stacey Gillespie, Raphael Oliveira, Kevin Schmidt and Garton will provide setup and logistics leadership both at Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP, and for events away from the main venue.
Kelly and Rory Kurta will oversee some special projects that have yet to be finalized and able to be announced — stay tuned!

Major partners and sponsors will be recognized as this major event comes closer to reality in Victoria.

The All-Star Festival begins the morning of July 14, 2026 with a kids camp and wiffle ball scrub game on the lawn of the BC Legislature, followed by a Home Run Derby at Wilson’s Group Stadium that evening. The actual All-Star game takes place on Wednesday evening July 15th at 7:00 pm.

Ticket packages are now on sale for the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game and are available on-line HERE, or by stopping in at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street to order in person.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Matt Westley is the Extra Innings Hero in Walk-Off Victory

Published

14 hours ago

June 14, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats battled all night to claim a walk-off win in extra innings!

Victoria pitcher Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) made his mark immediately in his Saturday night start. The big Texan struck out three batters in the top of the first inning, an early warning to the Drifters that they would need their A-game to take him down.

BOX SCORE

Springfield was not deterred, however, scoring on an error in the bottom of the second for the first run of the ballgame. Arnett kept the visiting bats quiet otherwise in the second inning, adding two more K’s to his total.

The Cats created a juicy RBI opportunity by way of a couple singles and stolen bags in the bottom of the third. The heart of the lineup took advantage, cashing in two runs to take a narrow lead by the end of the inning.

Jeremiah Arnett (Rice University) put together a solid start with eight strikeouts. (Photo by Raphael Oliveira)

The offensive production continued as Rohne Klein (San Jose State) battled with two outs and drove a base hit to right field to keep the fourth inning alive for the Cats. Inspired by his comrade’s effort, local catcher Jai Berezowski (Victoria Collegiate) blasted a triple to widen the home team’s lead to 3-1.

Springfield answered back with two runs in the top of the fifth to end Jeremiah Arnett’s night. Arnett went 4.2 innings with eight strikeouts, walking three batters and allowing two earned runs. Davis Lee (Calgary) came in to cover for the starter, securing a huge strikeout in a messy situation to preserve a tie game.

Lee kept a clean slate across his two innings of work, giving way to Hunter Daniels (Phoenix) in the top of the eighth. Daniels surrendered a solo homer to give the Drifters the lead.

The HarbourCats came up big in a crucial eighth inning, loading the bases and getting the game-tying run across. This paved the way for extra innings, in which reliever Pierce Stone (Regis) came up huge with two strikeouts in the top of the tenth to keep the score tied. In the bottom of the tenth inning, with the bases loaded, Matt Westley (George Mason) stepped up to the plate and mashed a line drive to centre field for a HarbourCats walk-off win!

WCL STANDINGS

Catch the Cats back on the field tomorrow at 1:05 pm for the rubber match of the series.

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 Suffer Gruelling 18-9 Loss

Published

2 days ago

June 12, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Cats pitching struggled to keep runners off the bases on the way to a 18-9 loss. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats hosted the Springfield Drifters on Friday night, failing to keep the visiting team in check and dropping the first game of the series 18-9.

The Drifters’ lineup spelled trouble from the beginning for Schuyler Fairchild (Wenatchee Valley). The visitors filled up the bases and drove in two runs in the top of the first before the starter locked down a couple of K’s to vacate the mound.

BOX SCORE

Determined not to fall behind, the Cats fought back during their turn at the plate. A 94 mph screamer off the lumber of Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) brought home a run and set up another to score on a sacrifice fly in the next at bat. Even Steven after the initial frame.

Springfield ran up the opener’s pitch count in the first inning, making room for a relief appearance from Austin Lindsey (Hill College) to begin the second. The Drifters gave Lindsey some difficulty as well, ending the inning with three more runs across to make it 5-2.

Schuyler Fairchild saw a shortened outing, battling through a long first inning. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Outfielder Marcus Nolen (Fresno State) was sharp in the bottom of the third inning, drawing a walk, stealing a base, and coming around to score on a Kade Davis (UTSA) single.

The next arrival from the bullpen was Landon Marchetti (San Jose State), who threw two clean innings in the fourth and fifth to earn a much-needed respite for the Cats defence.

Things drew even once again in the bottom of the fifth thanks to Rohne Klein (San Jose State). The first baseman muscled a ball out to centre field to drive in a pair and tie the game at five runs each.

Rohne Klein (San Jose State) snapped his slump tonight with a clutch base hit. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Flynn Warren (Hawaii Pacific) inherited the mound from Marchetti for the top of the seventh inning. Marchetti was lights out over three innings, allowing only a single hit and shredding through the Drifters’ lineup for five strikeouts. Warren found himself in a jam, loading the bases and letting four runs slip by to give the lead back to Springfield.

A grand slam for the Drifters in the top of the eighth broke the game wide open, bestowing a 14-5 lead upon the visitors. The Cats showed some life in the back half of inning the eighth, highlighted by a Logan Shepherd (Mercer) RBI triple, but the deficit proved insurmountable as Victoria eventually fell 18-9 in the series opener.

WCL STANDINGS

The Springfield series continues at 6:35 pm on Saturday night and concludes with a 1:05 pm Sunday matinee.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Lose Control of Game Three in Edmonton

Published

3 days ago

June 11, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria made four costly errors in this one to give Edmonton an advantage (Photo by JPM Photography)

Edmonton, AB – The HarbourCats were unable to complete the sweep, falling 9-5 to the Riverhawks on Thursday night.

Edmonton knocked Bryson Toner (Hawaii) around a little in the first three innings, but the right-hander stayed locked in and only let one run slip by on six hits.

BOX SCORE

The Cats returned fire in the top of the fourth, putting pressure on the Riverhawks defence to load the bases and score a run off the bat of Kade Davis (UTSA).

Easton Reimers (North Dakota State) entered the game with the score tied at one apiece, striking out two batters in the fourth inning to keep Victoria’s momentum going.

The Riverhawks made some noise in the fifth to take back control of the game, shaking down Reimers for four more runs and ending the inning with a 5-1 lead over the HarbourCats.

Tate Collins (Arkansas State) took the field for the Cats in the bottom of the sixth and wasted no time getting the job done, tossing a clean inning out of the pen.

The Cats were stricken with the error bug in inning number seven, coughing up a handful of runs as a result of some less-than-stellar defensive play.

Victoria loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the eighth and closed the distance with four more runs before inning’s end, but the comeback was unsuccessful en route to a 9-5 Edmonton victory.

With this series complete, the HarbourCats will be back in Victoria starting Friday night for a three-game series versus the Springfield Drifters.

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