West Coast League

Dr. Randy Gregg and Edmonton Riverhawks preparing for inaugural season

Published

2 years ago

December 10, 2021

Dugout Wire Service

Dr. Randy Gregg gets behind the plate after announcing the the newest baseball team in Edmonton, The Riverhawks, a baseball club, which will play out of RE/MAX Field in the n the West Coast League, on Sept. 15, 2020 in Edmonton. PHOTO BY GREG SOUTHAM /Postmedia

By Derek Van Diest – Toronto Sun

Former Edmonton Oilers defenceman Dr. Randy Gregg is spending a lot of his spare time of late at RE/MAX Field in the heart of the river valley.

As the managing director of the Edmonton Riverhawks, Gregg has been working tirelessly to try and get the facility ready for the upcoming West Coast League season, which is a wooden-bat collegiate circuit that operates in the summer.

Dr. Randy Gregg and Edmonton Riverhawks preparing for inaugural season
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The Riverhawks were to play its inaugural season this past summer, but the COVID-19 pandemic made Gregg and his group wait another year.

“All of these young players that are in college, they are wanting to get either drafted or signed, and will be enticed to play summer collegiate baseball,” Gregg said earlier this week. “The Cape Code league is probably the ultimate league on the East Coast, but when it comes to the West, the West Coast League is by far the highest quality league.

“In fact, in 2019, 90 players that were selected in the Major League Draft had played in this league. It’s considerably important for these young players in the summer — not only do they want to get out of Arizona because it’s 120 degrees — but they want to come up and be coached by good quality coaching and get some extra at bats and swings and things like that.”

Gregg won five Stanley Cups with the Oilers during their glory years, but has always had a soft spot for baseball.

“I was probably a better baseball player than hockey player, but by the time I could get a scholarship down in the ’States, I was in medical school,” Gregg said. “And I thought I better not give up medical school. I loved hockey, of course, it’s a great sport, but I also loved baseball.”

The West Coast League is made up of 15 teams divided into three divisions. The South Division comprises of teams in Oregon and Washington, the North is made up from teams in Northern Washington, while the Canada Division has four teams in B.C., along with Edmonton.

“We’re so excited to have our head coach Kelly Stinnett, who played 15 years of Major League Baseball, so he knows what it takes to be at that level,” Gregg said. “And by having a coach with that kind of reputation, we’re getting some young recruits that not only love to come to Edmonton because it’s going to be a lot cooler than it is in the south, but with his reputation, with 9,000 seats here in the city, and the size of Edmonton, we’re going to have a really competitive team and it’s going to be a wonderful experience for our fans to see these young fellas.”

Edmonton will be the biggest market in the league and have the best facility. Gregg and the Riverhawks signed a lease agreement for the Triple-A rated facility and the crew has been hard at work making upgrades to the park.

Along with a new infield turf, the group put up a new scoreboard and made upgrades to the dugouts and club houses.

“It’s amazing. Fans that haven’t been here in a few years are not going to recognize the place with the new turf and everything else going in,” said Riverhawks pitching coach Ethan Elias. “It’s special. I’m really excited to see what we’re going to get and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

“It’s awesome to bring back a really high level of baseball in the West Coast to come play here. It’s going to blow people’s minds the level of talent that’s going to be here, so it’s going to be exciting and I guess the next step is to count the big leaguers we file out of here, that’s kind the goal.”

The Riverhawks replace the Edmonton Prospects as the main tenant at RE/MAX Field. The Prospect, who play in the Western Canadian Baseball League, also a summer wood-bat circuit, are moving to Spruce Grove for the upcoming season.

The Riverhawks’ roster will be made up of college players throughout North America. The 54-games season begins on May 31 and runs through the first week of August.

“We started recruiting players back in June and July,” Elias said. “We have most of our roster already selected, the updates will be coming up here shortly, but it’s an on-going process.

“Guys are going to fall out, guys might get hurt, guys might throw too many innings in the spring for their college teams, respectively, and so we have to adjust, we have to be able to take things as they come and deal with it.”

Either way, the Riverhawks are expecting to field a competitive team out of the gate, using the city and facility as a draw for young college players. Every player in the league has to have at least one year of college eligibility left.

“We’re not going to bring in a guy like Connor McDavid,” Gregg said. “But what we want to do is maybe bring in a young pitcher throwing 95-97 (mph) that is at Arizona State and all of a sudden three or four years from now he’s playing with the Dodgers in Los Angeles and we saw him here in Edmonton.”

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Two key returnees among three Canadians signed for 2024

Published

1 week ago

September 20, 2023

Dugout Wire Service

Green (above), Hall and former Canadian junior team star Chee-Aloy join Cats

September 20, 2023

VICTORIA, B.C. — The reloading of the 2023 North Division champion Victoria HarbourCats has started — not surprisingly, given the team’s history of finding local and Canadian talent — with three players who have maple leaf passports.

Returning infielders Brandon Green of the Victoria Golden Tide and Tyrus Hall of Bossier Parrish JC are joined by prized Illinois recruit Cameron Chee-Aloy of Toronto as the HarbourCats, who have posted just one sub-.500 record since 2014 and have made the playoffs in five of the last six seasons, get ready for the 2024 campaign.

Hall, primarily a shortstop, is a Victoria product who came through the Eagles program, while Green, who can play any infield position, is in his third year with the Golden Tide, hailing from Olds, Alberta. Both played with the HarbourCats in 2023, part of the team that set a WCL record with 25 home wins in 27 home regular season games — 27-2 counting playoffs.

HarbourCats infielder Ty Hall will return to the HarbourCats in 2024 (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

“Ty Hall has tremendous potential and a pro-level arm, with blazing speed — and we saw so much improvement with him under WCL coach of the year Todd Haney,” said Jim Swanson of the HarbourCats. “He will get better yet in college and being back with us next summer. And Brandon, he was one of the great stories of our season, unceremoniously dumped before the season by a summer team in another league in Alberta and given a chance to stay in Victoria at the WCL level, and all he did was earn the trust of Todd and the staff. He had the summer of his life, and he’s not done.”

Green became the first product of the third year Golden Tide program to have a notable impact on the WCL club, part of the mandate of the CCBC entry.

In 24 games, Green had two doubles, two home runs and drove in 10 runs, batting .222 and earning stretches of time at second base, with just one error. Hall got into 26 games, his speed of great value off the bench, and hit .250 with 13 stolen bases — caught just once. Hall was a featured part of a league record 150 stolen bases as a team.

Chee-Aloy (pictured right), a product of the Ontario Terriers, is best described as a plus-speed outfielder who plays the game hard, getting the most out of his 6-0/180 pound frame. The right-handed hitter with a right fielder’s arm had two stints with Team Canada, where he was teammates with Hall.

“We are exited to add Cameron to the 2024 team,” said Head Coach Todd Haney. “His speed will be an asset both offensively and defensively.”

The HarbourCats 2024 schedule in anticipated to be released in late October or early November 2023. Stay tuned to our website and social media channels for news on that once it becomes available.

Season tickets are now on sale and can now be renewed for the 2024 season of HarbourCats baseball! Lock in and renew your existing seats, or purchase new seats by October 31, 2023 to guarantee Early Bird Pricing at the 2023 rates:

General Admission – $375 ($385 after October 31)
Premium Reserved (Sections 6-9 and 11-12) – $475 ($495 after October 31)
Grandstand Reserved (Section 10 Rows E and up) – $525 ($550 after October 31)
Campbell Real Estate Club Seats (Section 10 Rows A-D) – $675 ($700 after October 31)
Diamond Club Field Level – $750 (WAIT LIST – CALL FOR AVAILABILITY) ($775 after October 31)

Season tickets offer the best per-game value per seat and come with the following benefits:

Includes all regular season WCL league home games, and all pre-season and exhibition games
Incudes FREE PLAYOFF TICKETS
Season ticket holders get first right of refusal to purchase tickets for other special events (eg. concerts)
Season-ticket holders do not pay additional Fireworks Game pricing
Service fees and all taxes included in above prices

Please call the office at 778-265-0327 or e-mail chris@harbourcats.com to renew, or to purchase new seats.

You can also stop into the office to take care of this at 101-1814 Vancouver Street. We are open in the off-season Tuesday – Friday from 10AM to 5PM.

Cats merchandise is also on sale now at the office at The Cat Shop, or online at https://victoria-harbourcats-official.myshopify.com/

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Summer Collegiate

2023 Fan Experience Survey – Kamloops NorthPaws

Published

2 weeks ago

September 18, 2023

Dugout Wire Service

Photo by: Allen Douglas

The Kamloops NorthPaws wanted to thank our fans for another great season at Norbrock Stadium – THANK YOU ‘PAWS FANS!!!

The organization is looking to fans to share their experiences in order to make improvements for 2024. Fans who choose to include their email will be entered into a draw for a 2024 10-game flex plan, the winner will be contacted on October 6, 2023. All anonymous users will not be entered into the draw. The NorthPaws thank you for your reviews and support of our team, we look forward to improving our operations and welcoming you back to the ballpark in 2024!

You can complete the form below:

https://forms.gle/YBfFHvp6eDyRuoUR6

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Summer Collegiate

Top player in 2023 returns for third season as a NightOwl

Published

3 weeks ago

September 12, 2023

Dugout Wire Service

Marsh the first NightOwls’ signing for 2024 WCL season

An original NightOwl is coming back for a third season at historic Serauxmen Stadium.

Infielder Aaron Marsh of the UBC Thunderbirds, who shared the 2023 player of the year award with keystone partner Elijah Ickes, will be the key offensive piece that Head Coach Greg Frady will build his lineup around in the summer of 2024.

The Nanaimo product, a former Pirate, has been the picture of consistency for the NightOwls for the team’s first two seasons in the West Coast League. In 2022, Marsh batted .309 and was among team leaders with 38 hits and 20 runs driven in, and followed that up in 2023 with 39 more hits, 24 RBIs, and batting .287 while playing both second and third. He hit two home runs both seasons.

“Aaron is a tough out, gives the team gritty at-bats and is so reliable on defence,” said Jim Swanson, GM of the NightOwls. “He brings so many intangibles to UBC and to the NightOwls, is a leader and you can tell he loves to play the game, and loves to play in front of our great crowds in Nanaimo, in front of people who watched him grow up in our city. He’s the ideal player to have as our first signing for the 2024 season.”

A left-handed hitter with extra-base power, a valuable asset with the exciting fence configuration at Serauxmen Stadium, the 5-10/185 Marsh has played 73 games as a NightOwl, so will be looking to become the first player to play in 100 games for Nanaimo’s young WCL franchise.

“Recruiting is very much underway, between myself and the coaching staff, looking to build a team that can get us to the playoffs and be the first Canadian team to win the WCL title,” said Swanson. “Our 2023 team played everyone hard, one game below .500 — and known for being scrappy and playing the game the right way, with the right approach of effort and sportsmanship. We are building future pro players here, we are also building young men who will be successful in whatever they advance to in life. Aaron is definitely one of those people.”

Season tickets are now on sale for the 2024 campaign — renewals and new fans, the best seats at the park available for as low as $400 for the season (roughly $12.50 per seat per game). Included in season tickets are gratis playoff tickets, with the NightOwls in the hunt for a post-season spot until the final week in both of the team’s initial seasons.

“If you haven’t yet made it to a game — you’re missing out on a great spot and a special energy that only Serauxmen creates,” said Swanson.

For information on season tickets, email tina@nanaimonightowls.com

Team merchandise is also in hot demand, find the shop site at nanaimonightowls.com for a variety of offerings from hats to hoodies to shirts and miscellaneous items.

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