The stage is now set for the West Coast League’s 2024 All-Star Game, with festivities beginning tonight in Bellingham, followed Wednesday evening by the League’s first All-Star Game since 2019. Thrilling news was announced last week, as the All-Star Game will be broadcast live on MLB Network, MLB.TV, MLB.com, and the MLB App beginning at 6:30 PM Pacific Time. The broadcast will feature renowned on-air talent, with Tyler Maun handling play-by-play duties, along with analysts Ryan Rowland-Smith and MLB Pipeline’s Sam Dykstra. Probable starting pitchers have been set by head coaches Brooke Knight (South) and Bob Ralston (North). Corvallis Knights right-hander Kaden Segel (U. of Portland) gets the nod for the South, while the North will counter with reigning WCL Pitcher of the Week Tyler Van Dyke (Stetson). Tuesday night, the West Coast League’s celebration of amateur and grass-roots baseball will feature players from the Max Higbee Center alongside WCL All-Stars in the Community Champions Game, an integrated baseball game. The Max Higbee Center supports and empowers teens and adults with developmental disabilities to build community, friendships, happiness, life skills, and health through recreation. Half of ticket sales from the evening will go directly to the Max Higbee Center. Updated rosters for Wednesday night’s WCL All-Star Game, including players tabbed as replacements for original selections no longer available, may be found below. Prior to the game, All-Stars will participate in an invitation-only workout for scouts and amateur coaches, as the West Coast League continues its mission to create tremendous environments for ambitious young baseball players from around the world. NORTH C – Conner Smith of Santa Clara (Bellingham Bells) C – Jonathan Fitz of San Diego (Wenatchee AppleSox) 1B – Jacob Mejia of Cal State San Bernadino (Bellingham Bells) 1B/DH – Wylie Waters of USC Upstate (Nanaimo NightOwls) 1B – Jeremy Giesegh of Cal State San Bernadino (Port Angeles Lefties) 2B – Michael Soper of Westmont College (Edmonton Riverhawks) SS – Roman Martin of UCLA (Bellingham Bells) SS – Nevan Noonan of San Diego State (Nanaimo NightOwls) 3B – Nate Kirkpatrick of Yavapai College (Bellingham Bells) 3B – Jakob Poturnak of Sacramento State (Edmonton Riverhawks) OF – Bryce McFeely of Westmont College (Edmonton Riverhawks) OF/P – Joey Rico of Westmont (Kamloops NorthPaws) OF – Trey Duffield of Rice (Kelowna Falcons) OF – Riley Paulino of Pikeville (Nanaimo NightOwls) OF/2B – Tate Shimao of Hawaii (Victoria HarbourCats) OF – Max Hartman of Washington State (Wenatchee AppleSox) P – Josh Flaugher of Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Bellingham Bells) P – Nic Peterson of UC Santa Barbara (Bellingham Bells) P – Tyler Van Dyke of Stetson (Bellingham Bells) P – Tate Dearing of Reinhardt (Edmonton Riverhawks) P – Vicarte Domingo of British Columbia (Edmonton Riverhawks) P/OF – Gavyn Jones of McLennan CC (Kelowna Falcons) P – Adison Mattix of Everett CC (Nanaimo NightOwls) P – Carson Cormier of TCU (Victoria HarbourCats) P – Garrett Ahearn of Grand Canyon (Wenatchee AppleSox) P – Quincy Vassar of Vanguard (Wenatchee AppleSox) *P – Evan Canfield of Lewis-Clark State (Wenatchee AppleSox) SOUTH C – Luke Iverson of Utah Valley (Ridgefield Raptors) C – Dane Woodcook of New Mexico State (Springfield Drifters) 1B – Easton Amundson of Liberty (Bend Elks) 1B/3B – Patrick Keighran of San Francisco (Portland Pickles) 2B – Spencer Shipman of Whitworth (Yakima Valley Pippins) SS/OF – Blake Wilson of Washington (Corvallis Knights) SS/2B – Ty Yukumoto of Pacific (Corvallis Knights) 3B – Kedren Kinzie of Hawaii (Springfield Drifters) 3B/OF – Preston Allen – uncommitted (Yakima Valley Pippins) OF – Brandon Cabrera of Lewis-Clark State (Corvallis Knights) OF – Dylan Schlaegel of Dallas Baptist (Cowlitz Black Bears) OF – Tanner Griffith of Saint Mary’s (Portland Pickles) OF – Davis Mauzy of Wichita State (Walla Walla Sweets) OF – Kolby Felix of Colorado Mesa (Walla Walla Sweets) UTL – Kevin Takeuchi of USC (Corvallis Knights) P – Mason Edwards of USC (Bend Elks) P – Jackson Elder of Utah (Bend Elks) P – Tyler Wood of UC Davis (Bend Elks) P – James DeCremer of Oregon State (Corvallis Knights) P – Tyner Horn of Nebraska (Corvallis Knights) P – Kaden Segel of Portland (Corvallis Knights) P – Freddie Rodriguez of Hawaii (Portland Pickles) P – Shay Timmer of Salt Lake CC (Portland Pickles) P – Curtis Hebert of Portland (Ridgefield Raptors) P – Liam Hohenstein of Colorado Mesa (Walla Walla Sweets) *P – Dylan Stewart of Pepperdine (Ridgefield Raptors) Universities and colleges noted indicate where players will be enrolled this fall. *Announced as All-Star when rosters were initially unveiled, but unable to participate in the game.
Kamloops, B.C. – The series opener didn’t go how the HarbourCats hoped, with the Kamloops Northpaws taking a 4-2 win over the visiting Cats.
The Northpaws got a jolt to their offence early on, rocking a solo homer in the second inning to take the upper hand. Kamloops continued their production in the next frame, capitalizing on two consecutive walks from HarbourCats starting pitcher Landon Marchetti (San Jose State). A couple of stolen bases and a double, and a wild pitch later, and the visiting Cats suddenly find themselves in a four-run deficit.
Victoria made up some ground in the second half of the ballgame when infielder Riley Kwak (Bossier Parish) legged out a leadoff triple. A single from the reliable Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) brought home Kwak for the HarbourCats’ first run.
Rohne Klein (San Jose State) made a rare start at third base tonight and picked up an RBI. (Photo by JPM Photography)
Merchetti’s night was done after the opening third of the game, over which he allowed four runs on three hits and struck out five Kamloops batters. Daniel Tovar (Northern Kentucky) appeared from the bullpen and delivered the best outing you could really ask for from a reliever. His four innings featured just two hits, no walks, and a grand total of zero runs scored.
The HarbourCats mustered another run in the top of the eighth, a sacrifice fly by Rohne Klein (San Jose State). An important step, but still a ways to go if the visiting squad were to catch up. Leif Friedrich (Concordia-Nebraska) sliced through an efficient frame in the bottom of the eight inning, retiring the side on just eight pitches, but Victoria were held off by the Northpaws in a 4-2 loss.
The HarbourCats will look to rebound and tie the series in Kamloops tomorrow night, before coming back to Victoria for the long-awaited Showpass 2026 West Coast League All-Star Festival presented by Canadian Club!
Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games 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.
GET YOUR ALL-STAR TICKETS BEFORE THEY ARE GONE! Tickets for the 2026 WCL All-Star Home Run Derby (featuring former Blue Jay Kevin Pillar) and the West Coast League All Star Game on July 14-15 are selling fast. Get yours today! Each event is now on sale separately, or grab the package deal for both and save a few bucks at http://harbourcats.com/tickets! Or call the office at 778-265-0327 to order by phone.
Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats fought to the bitter end in a ten-inning showdown that ended in a 7-6 Bend Elks victory tonight.
The first run of the game belonged to the visitors this time. A couple of walks in the first inning came back to bite Quincey Brown (UCSD) when they were moved over and cashed in by a two-out single. 2-0 Elks in the early going, putting the Cats on their back foot. Victoria retaliated in their first turn at the plate, bringing home David Krahn (UBC) on a Logan Shepherd (Mercer) fly ball to cut the lead in half.
The HarbourCats surged back to reclaim the lead in the second inning, taking advantage of some heads-up baserunning, a single from Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD), and a handful of wild pitches. Two frames down, and it’s suddenly 3-2 for the home team.
Quincey Brown was relieved after two innings where he wasn’t at his sharpest. The Seattle-born righty tightened it up in the second inning, but his command wavered in the first, leading to two runs allowed. Davis Lee (Calgary) took his place in the third and quickly turned two strikeouts before his control began to slip and the free passes became an issue. All of a sudden, what looked like a quick one-two-three turned into a three-run inning to give Bend a 5-3 lead.
Tacoma reliever Carson Ackermann was summoned from the bullpen to close out a long top half of the third and did just that, securing a quick out to change sides and give Victoria another chance on offence. Ackermann wasn’t quite so efficient in his second inning of work, loading the bases and letting up another run for the Elks before getting out of it.
Matt Westley was one of two HarbourCats to register a hit on Thursday night, bashing a homer in the fourth inning. (Photo by JPM Photography)
Bryan Bradshaw has displayed some great aggressive baserunning since arriving in Victoria, and this game was no different. The UCSD outfielder got on base with a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth, and proceeded to steal two bases before coming home on a wild pitch. WCL All-Star Matt Westley (George Mason) further cut into the lead later in the inning, pulverizing his fourth homer of the summer to pull the Cats back within one.
The HarbourCats clawed their way back to a tie ballgame in the bottom of the fifth with a sacrifice fly from returning catcher Dillon Lopez (St. Mary’s) bringing the score to an even 6-6. Victoria threatened with more runners in scoring position in the bottom of the fifth but were unable to take advantage, leaving them stranded on second and third.
Taylor Franklin (George Fox) entered the game in Ackermann’s wake in the top of the seventh and had no trouble at all, striking out the side on 12 pitches to preserve that tie.
The deadlock lasted all the way into extra innings, when a wild pitch by Anson Stuckly (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) allowed an Elk to cross the plate and take the lead in the top of the tenth. Despite a bases loaded opportunity, the Cats were unable to climb back, and fell in the third game of the series by a score of 7-6.
The Cats are back on the road this weekend in Kamloops, and will return next week for the Showpass 2026 West Coast League All-Star Festival presented by Canadian Club!
Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games 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.
GET YOUR ALL-STAR TICKETS BEFORE THEY ARE GONE! Tickets for the 2026 WCL All-Star Home Run Derby (featuring former Blue Jay Kevin Pillar) and the West Coast League All Star Game on July 14-15 are selling fast. Get yours today! Each event is now on sale separately, or grab the package deal for both and save a few bucks at http://harbourcats.com/tickets! Or call the office at 778-265-0327 to order by phone.
Victoria, B.C. – We’re less than a week out from the Showpass 2026 West Coast League All-Star Festival presented by Canadian Club, and four ballplayers have been selected to represent the HarbourCats among the league’s best. David Krahn, Matt Westley, Erik Rico, and Jeremiah Arnett have all been crucial parts of the HarbourCats roster this year, and the four of them will suit up for the North Division in the 2026 WCL All-Star Game.
David Krahn is in the midst of an impressive debut season with the HarbourCats, and his stats show exactly why he’s been named an All-Star. The UBC second-baseman has showed consistent contact and crackling power at the plate this season, ranking third league-wide in hits (43) and second in home runs (7). Krahn brings more than just a reliable bat to the Cats, though – he’s a spark plug for the team as well.
“Energy and talent,” is head coach Todd Haney’s simple reply when asked about what Krahn brings to the table. “You need a guy with that kind of energy, and he brings that every night.”
Matt Westley, hailing from Manassas, Virginia, has been the other half of a lethal one-two punch at the top of the lineup, alongside David Krahn. Westley’s contact ability is undeniable – he has the second-most hits in the entire WCL this year with 46, and has been a mainstay at the number two spot in the lineup in recent weeks. The third-baseman also shows off flashes of brilliance in the hot corner, making those long throws across the infield look easy and making some spectacular diving plays that leave Cats fans stunned.
Jeremiah Arnett is arguably the toughest pitcher to face in the entire WCL this summer. The calm, cool, and collected Texan has allowed just seven runs in 29 innings, and leads the league in strikeouts with 41. Clearly some excellent stuff on display, but Arnett is entirely focused on improving further.
“He’s an All-Star for a reason,” says Haney on the Rice University starter, “He’s here to get better and work on his craft. Obviously he has talent, there’s no doubt about it, but he’s here for all the right reasons.
Erik Rico has been the stuff of hitters’ nightmares this season. The Fresno State right-hander is just one strikeout behind his teammate Arnett for the league lead, but he’s amassed 40 K’s in just 22 innings. That strikeout prowess combined with a staggering 1.23 makes for little mystery why Rico was an easy choice for the All-Star roster.
Don’t miss these four superstars and the rest of the WCL’s brightest when the Showpass 2026 West Coast League All-Star Festival comes to town next week!
GET YOUR ALL-STAR TICKETS BEFORE THEY ARE GONE! Tickets for the 2026 WCL All-Star Home Run Derby (featuring former Blue Jay Kevin Pillar) and the West Coast League All Star Game on July 14-15 are selling fast. Get yours today! Each event is now on sale separately, or grab the package deal for both and save a few bucks at http://harbourcats.com/tickets! Or call the office at 778-265-0327 to order by phone.
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