Summer Collegiate

Getting To Know Your Nanaimo NightOwls: Episode One With Catcher Brock Wirthgen

Published

11 months ago

July 11, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

NANAIMO, B.C. — I want to do something a little different this season and introduce our players to the fans. I will be doing player profiles, so you can get to know your Nanaimo NightOwls a little bit better! The first player profile is one of our catchers, Brock Wirthgen, who wasn’t always a catcher and didn’t always play baseball. We will take a look back at the past and find out what’s in store for these young student-athletes in the future.

I started off asking Brock how he got into baseball, “I got into baseball at the young age of 4, my dad kind of pushed me to play the sport.” Which completely contradicts what his dad Phil told me. Nice try Phil! He would continue, “I started getting serious about the sport when I was around 10. I was watching my cousins play, and ever since then, I fell in love with the sport.”

Brock’s parents were also in town from California for a homestand, and I was lucky enough to catch up with his dad and ask him some questions about Brock. I asked about the family’s sports history. Phil played Water Polo and swam, and Brock’s mom and her family had a baseball background. Brock started as a pitcher, they told me, and had to adjust to how competitive things are down in California. He could hit and catch, and made the switch to Catcher. I asked him about changing positions from the mound to behind the plate.

“Well I’ve always grown up as a catcher, that was my first position I played. Then I started to pitch when I was 12 and I threw the ball hard so I continued pitching and catching. But as soon as I hit high school my coach told me to prioritize pitching but I always worked catching and hitting in. But my senior of high school I started as a pitcher and none of our catchers were hitting so my coach put me behind the plate and then I started hitting and that’s when I made the decision to scratch pitching and continue as a catcher.”

Catcher Brock Wirthgen (Photo Credit: Chad Frostad)

The 6’1 catcher who has now committed to Hawai’i Pacific University has been a fan favorite this season with his fun personality and great play behind the plate. He has been hitting for power this season, and opposing pitchers would rather give him a free pass than pitch to him. Brock has 14 hits, five walks, two home runs, and six RBIs so far this season for the Nanaimo NightOwls. I wanted to know his approach at the plate.

“The approach I take to the box is pretty simple. I want to beat the pitcher doesn’t matter if I get out or get a hit. I just want to beat the pitcher.” You can see why he does so well at the plate from that answer.

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Brock was a multi sport athlete and played baseball and football and was a defensive end and offensive line his dad Phil told me, “So he played Football all the way up until high school…O-Line and D-Line so he was on the ends, left tackle and he was pretty good on special teams.” I wanted to know if anything from football translated over to baseball for Wirthgen?

“Playing football when I was younger helped tremendously both physically and mentally. Physically it put me in a better shape and mentally it made me tougher. It also helped me with my plan, because with being on the o line and d line made me think more and more about the game of football. Like what blocking assignment I had and it made me more patient because of the snap count.”

NightOwls Catcher Brock Wirthgen (Photo Credit: Chad Frostad)

The Nanaimo NightOwls are a summer league so I wanted to get his plans for the future and what he hopes to accomplish in his career? ” My future plans and goals are of course to try and play baseball for as long as possible. But I do want to get my degree and find a possible route in sales or become a fire fighter or something with law enforcement.” With Mustache Brock would make a pretty mean cop but I Imagine his baseball career could get in the way of that for now.

http://Nanaimonightowls.com/tickets

The NightOwls continue their homestand Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 11th, 12th, and 13th as the Wenatchee AppleSox head into town. Make sure to come out and support the team and tag any social media posts with the Hashtag #IlluminuteTheDark and we will try share your pictures on our social media!

Of course, I needed an embarrassing story about Brock from his dad, instead he gave me a golden quote when I asked, “You know what, he does a pretty good job of embarrassing himself.” He went on to spill Jam all over the locker room a couple of days later so I didn’t need any follow up.

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Summer Collegiate

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

Published

14 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.

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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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