Summer Collegiate

– Kamloops NorthPaws

Published

2 years ago

July 10, 2023

Dugout Wire Service

Author: Larry Read

WENATCHEE, WA—The second half of the 2023 West Coast League season started in the same fashion as the first half for the Kamloops North Paws. The Paws were swept on the road. This time, Kamloops dropped three straight to the AppleSox in Wenatchee.

The scores were 7-6 in 12 innings on Friday (July 7), 5-1 on Saturday (July 8) and 11-6 on Sunday (July 9). Wenatchee won all six regular season games with the NorthPaws.

The AppleSox move to 22-8 overall and 3-0 in the second half. Kamloops falls to 7-26 overall and 0-3 in the second half.

By the way, Bellingham won the 2023 North Division First Half Title while the Ridgefield Raptors took the crown in the South Division: https://westcoastleague.com/bells-secure-postseason-bid-second-half-race-starts/

Kamloops will have a day off to travel home on Monday (July 10). They will open up a three-game series at home against the Edmonton RiverHawks on Tuesday (July 11).

The AppleSox will begin a six-game road trip on Tuesday (July 11) when they meet the Night Owls in Nanaimo.

SERIES RECAP:

Friday, July 7, 2023: AppleSox 7 NorthPaws 6 (12 innings)

The NorthPaws battled back from a 5-0 deficit to score five in a row to tie the game in the top of the ninth inning. Kamloops then took the lead in the 12th inning when Robin Villeneuve (Gatineau< QC) doubled and scored Casey Wayne who led off the inning with a single.

Wenatchee though scored two in their half of the 12th. Sebastian David (Medina, WA) led off and was hit by a Kolby Lukinchuk (Prince George, BC) pitch. He scored on a fielder’s choice which resulted in Reeve Boyd (Seattle, WA) getting to first. He scored the winning run on a single from Brandham Ponce (Federal Way WA).

Ponce was 2-6 for Wenatchee. Austin Ohland (Maple Valley, WA) led them offensively going 2-6 with 3 RBI.

Cooper Neville (Glendale, AZ) was 3-5 with two RBI and a run scored to lead Kamloops. Joey Baran (Austin, TX) was 2-5 with a run scored.

Lukinchuk was tagged with the loss. He is 0-1 in 11 appearances this season. He pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up three hits, two runs and walked one. Bryce Johnson (Sammanish, WA) was the third of three AppleSox pitchers and garnered the win. He went four innings giving up two runs, four hits, struck out eight and walked four. He is 2-1 on the year.

Link to Scoresheet: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=598639

Saturday, July 8, 2023: Applesox 5 NorthPaws 1

Kamloops broke open a scoreless tie with a run in the fifth inning. Wenatchee evened it up sixth with a run of their own and added another in the seventh and three more in the eighth. They had 13 hits to the NorthPaws’ six.

Trent Liolios (Newport Beach, CA) led the way for Wenatchee with a two run homer in that eighth inning. It was his first homer of the year. He was 2-5 with two runs scored. Ponse was 2-3 with a run scored as well for the AppleSox.

Kamloops ‘ Rei Kimura (Osaka, Japan) was 2-4. Villeneuve was 2-3 while Mestas was 2-5.

Griffin Allen (San Jose, CA), the third of four Wenatchee pitchers was the winner. He went 3 2/3 innings striking out two, giving up two hits and walking one. He moved to 1-0 on what was his first appearance of the year for the AppleSox. Collin Hysell (Payette, Idaho) the third of three NorthPaws pitchers was the loser. He went two innings giving up five hits and three runs including the homer to Liolios. He is 0-1 in is fourth outing of the season.

Link to Scoresheet: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=598641

Sunday, July 9, 2023:AppleSox 11 NorthPaws 6

Kamloops was playing catchup from the beginning. They gave up four runs in the first and one in the second before getting on the scoresheet. Villeneuve singled to center field brining in Tyler Glowacki (San Diego, CA) who had walked earlier.

Wenatchee scored two in the bottom half of the third to go up 7-1 and then added two runs in the sixth and the seventh innings.

The Paws cut the deficit to to 9-4 with two runs in the top half of the seventh and added singles in the eighth and ninth. Neville led the way for Kamloops going 2-4 with two runs scored. Villeneuve was 1-5 with a run scored. Glowacki scored two runs.

The AppleSox offense was led by Easton Admundson (Nampa, ID) who was 2-3 with two runs scored and three runs batted in. Liolios was 2-5 with a run scored and three runs batted in. Frankie Carney (San Diego, CA) was 2-2 with two runs scored.

Andrew Monson (Liberty Lake, WA) went three innings of relief for his first win his second start with Wenatchee. He gave up a run, a hit, a walk and struck out six. New Zealander MacLain Roberts was the first of six NorthPaws pitchers. He suffered his fifth loss in six decisions going two innings. He gave up five runs on two hits with six walks and one strikeout.

Link to Scoresheet: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=602296

HEAD COACH KEITH FRANCIS:

On Roadtrip:

“We performed well in most disciplines, but we continue to struggle at the plate. Two nights ago, we left 18 men on base. We just can’t hit. Today (Sunday), we came out flat and our pitching put us behind the eight ball early. We are playing hard. We just can’t connect at the plate. We have tried different things including having the players do BP (Batting Practice) in the cage and by themselves. Tuesday (July 11), we will try something different. Everyone wants to turn this (lack of hitting) around. We just need to slow down and concentrate on hitting the ball.”

NEXT UP FOR THE NORTHPAWS:

Their next home series will be Tuesday July 11th when the Edmonton RiverHawks come to town. Opening pitch that night along with Wednesday and Thursday July 12-13th will be 6:35 PM. Kamloops then has a four day break.

July 12th is SPCA Night. Guess the object inside the Big Steel Box at the game and be entered to win a Yeti Cooler and More. The Clue will be unveiled at the game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH ON THE RIVERHAWKS:

KJ Ward – RHP – Park University Gilbert

Jonny McGill – OF – University of British Columbia

Jack Wheatley – MIF – Liberty University

Kelly Corl – MIF – Niagara University.

If you can’t make the home games, they are all webcast on https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv/ . Some home games will also be shown on Shaw TV in Kamloops (Cable 10 or 105 with Blue Curve).

NEW FAN PROMOTION:

The NorthPaws are looking for their newest fans. The team is running a promotion right now which sees you capture a $15 ticket for any home game for the remainder of the season. There are only 100 of these tickets available. Visit tickets.northpawsbaseball.ca and click “Find tickets” on the game you would like to attend. Enter ‘NEWESTFAN’ into the promo code box and the tickets are unlocked!

TAILGATE PARTY:

The Molson’s Tailgate Party is hoppin’ before every NorthPaws home game. It runs Tuesday through Saturday 5-630 PM. The Party runs Sundays noon-1 PM. Hotdogs and a Pilsner are sold for $ 12.00 plus tax.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Where are they now?…2025 Alumni update

Published

3 days ago

August 26, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

2017 HarbourCat Shane McGuire (above) has recently been promoted to AAA Las Vegas in the A’s system (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

32 former HarbourCats were active in affiliated pro ball in 2025

August 22, 2025

VICTORIA, BC – With the recent news that 2024 HarbourCat Lucas Ramirez had been promoted to “High A” ball in the Los Angeles Angels organization, we felt it was time to give a quick run down on some of our former HarbourCats and where they are now in their pro careers.

In total, 32 former players were active in affiliated professional baseball in 2025, from Rookie ball right up to the MLB level.

MLB

Notable among the 32 players are our currently active MLB guys, including Nick Pivetta (2013)(San Diego), Nathan Lukes (2014) (Toronto), Andrew Vaughn (2017) (White Sox and Milwaukee), Cade Smith (2019)(Cleveland), and Chase Meidroth (2019)(White Sox).

Meidroth is our most recent MLB player, receiving a call up to the Chicago parent club earlier this season and briefly appearing in the same lineup a few times with Andrew Vaughn, before Vaughn was traded to the Brewers.

2019 HarbourCat Chase Meidroth is now with the WhiteSox, having been called up to the big leagues in early 2025 (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

BEEN THERE DONE THAT….TRYING TO DO IT AGAIN!

In addition to our five active MLB players, three more have had their cup of coffee and are grinding away at the AAA level hoping to get there again. This includes Davis Wendzel (2017) who made his MLB debut in 2024 with Texas but is now with AAA Louisville in the Reds organization, Jack Neely (2019) who appeared for the Cubs in 2024 and is now at AAA Iowa, and finally Mr. HarbourCat himself Alex De Goti (2013-2015), who debuted in 2021 with Houston, but is now with AAA Round Rock in the Texas Rangers system.

KNOCKING ON THE DOOR

A few players have advanced to the AAA level this season and are knocking on the door and hoping for their MLB shot. This includes recently promoted Shane McGuire (2017) who is with AAA Las Vegas in the A’s system, Harrison Spohn (2018-2019) who is with Jacksonville in the Miami Marlins system and Carter Loewen (2018) who is with El Paso in the Padres system.

AJ Lewis (2018) had also advance to AAA Albuquerque in the Rockies’ system, but moved into a front office position with the Chicago Cubs in 2025.

GRINDING AWAY IN DOUBLE A

Players working hard and climbing the ladder at the AA level include AJ Block (2017) and Joe Redfield (2022) who are both with Rocket City in the Los Angeles Angels system, Travis Kuhn (2017) who is with Erie in the Tiger’s system, Indigo Diaz (2017) with Somerset in the Yankees system, Wyatt Young (2016) with Binghamton in the Mets system, and Caleb Ricketts (2018) with Reading in the Phillies system.

Rowdy Jordan (2018) had also advanced to AA Corpus Christi in the Mets system but announced his retirement in 2025. Adam McKillican is also with AA Hartford in the Rockies system but was on full season IR in 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery.

2024 HarbourCat Lucas Ramirez was recently moved to High A Tri-City in the Angels system after time in Rookie ball and with Team Brazil (Photo: Christian J. Stewart).

THE ‘A’s” ARE JUST GETTING STARTED

Ten former players spent time in single A ball this season (either short-season A or high A), the most notable among these being Dakota Hawkins (2019) who finished the year with Brooklyn, but also had stints at the AA and AAA level in the Met’s system. Another 2023 free agent Noah Takacs (2022) is with Bradenton in the Pirates system.

Headlining our 2024 draft class is the aforementioned Ramirez, who is now with High A Tri-City in the Angels organization. Ryan Magdic (2023) is with High A Lansing in the A’s system, Hunter Omlid (2019) is with High A Spokane in the Rockies system, Sean Heppner (2023) is with Lynchburg in the Guardians system, Connor Dykstra (2024) is with Modesto in the Mariners system, and Jesse Brown (2022-2023) is with Jupiter in the Marlin’s system.

From our 2025 draft class, Nick Dumesnil (2023) has been assigned to Lakeland in the Tigers system, while Dallas Macias (2023) is with Augusta in the Braves system.

HEY ROOKIE!

Also just starting their path on the pro ladder and still with their Rookie League teams are Jagger Beck (2024) with the Florida Complex League Astros and Carson Latimer (2023) with the Arizona Complex League Reds.

MOVING ON

In addition to Rowdey Jordan and AJ Lewis who hung up their pro cleats in 2025, a number of other former HarbourCats enjoyed a few years of affiliated minor-pro ball before recently moving on to other things. Here are a few notables:

Nick Meyer (2015) – played six seasons in NY Mets and Tampa Bay organizations, making it to AAA before being released in 2024.

Jack Owen (2017) – The 2017 WCL Pitcher of the Year, played four seasons most with the Lansing Lugnuts before retiring in 2024.

Matt Clayton (2018-2019) – A 2023 free agent signing by Minnesota, played two seasons, all at the A/A+ level.

Dillon Larsen (2019) – Signed by Arizona as a free agent in 2022, played three seasons making it to AA Amarillo before being released.

Josh Gessner (2019) – Signed by the Phillies as a free agent in 2019, moved to Rangers organization where he went to High A Hickory in 2024 before retiring.

Luke Boyd (2017) – Drafted in 2021, played parts of three seasons in Padres system before moving to independent pro ball where he was still pitching for Winnipeg in 2025.

Kekai Rios (2017) – Drafted by Milwaukee in 2018, traded to Dodgers, then Blue Jays where he advanced to AAA Buffalo before being released in 2024.

Joe Record (2013) – perhaps our longest grinding minor leaguer, Record was drafted in 2017 by the Twins and eventually rose to AAA with Houston and ultimately Tampa in 2024 before moving to independent ball where he is still going, having pitched in the Mexican leagues in 2025.

Ready to see what HarbourCat may have their shot at pro ball? Season tickets and 10-game flex packs are now on sale for the 2026 season at http://harbourcats.com/tickets. Lock in your season tickets today to get first right of refusal on your seats for the 2026 WCL All-Star game that will be played here in Victoria.

Season tickets, 10-packs and team merchandise are also available at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street, Tuesday thru Friday, 10am-4pm.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Five HarbourCats selected to 2025 “All WCL” team

Published

1 week ago

August 20, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

Above: Logan Shepherd belts one of his eight home runs on the season against Wenatchee on July 27th. Shepherd earned All WCL first team honours for his play this season (Photo: Christian J. Stewart).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 19, 2025

Victoria, BC – The Victoria HarbourCats are extremely pleased to announce the following players have been named to the 2025 “All WCL” team:

Starting Pitcher, Tommy Bridges (First Team)
Designated Hitter, Logan Shepherd (First Team)
Shortstop, Tanner Beltowski (Honourable Mention)
Starting Pitcher, Logan Rumberg (Honourable Mention)
Relief Pitcher, Austin Lindsey (Honourable Mention).

The HarbourCats were among seven of the 17 WCL teams that had five or more players named to the First Team, Second Team and Honorable mentions, with the Portland Pickles leading the way with 11 players. Bellingham led the way in the North Division with eight players selected.

See full list of “All WCL” team selections HERE.

Bridges was lights out on the mound for the HarbourCats this season and was selected to the midseason All-Star Game thanks to his 1.83 ERA in his nine appearances, all starts. In that time, he pitched 39.1 innings, striking out 37 and walking only seven.

Tommy Bridges’ 1.83 ERA was good enough to earn him All WCL First Team honours for 2025 (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

Shepherd was an offensive catalyst in 2025, hitting .345 with 41 RBI and eight home runs, tying the HarbourCats franchise record. He also added 28 walks to the mix and had an OPS of 1.039.

Beltowski was a pleasant surprise for the HarbourCats, originally intended to be a start of the year fill-in player, but he earned himself a regular spot and an All-Star game selection thanks to his .303 batting average, 27 RBI, three home runs and 32 walks. He was also second on the team in runs scored with 44.

Tanner Beltowski earned an All WCL Team Honourable Mention for his solid play for the HarbourCats in 2025 (Photo: Justin Morash).

Rumberg made seven appearances on the season, all starts, and amassed a 2-3 record with a 3.64 ERA in 29.2 innings of work. He struck out 35 and walked only 11. His most notable appearance was his last, going seven complete innings in a 13-8 win over Wenatchee.

Lindsey was a consistent arm out of the bullpen for the ‘Cats, appearing in 13 games and earning a 2-1 record with two saves and a 4.12 ERA. He also pitched two innings of scoreless relief in Victoria’s 3-1 playoff win in Edmonton, striking out three to earn the save.

Season tickets and 10-game flex packs are now on sale for the 2026 season. Get yours now at http://harbourcats.com/tickets, or by calling the office at 778-265-0327. You may also drop in at 101-1814 Vancouver Street. Off-season hours are Tuesday – Friday, 10AM to 5PM.

Fans who renew or purchase new Season Ticket Memberships prior to tickets going on sale for the 2016 WCL All-Star game here in Victoria, will get first right of refusal to purchase their seats for that game and any other associated events. It is anticipated that All-Star tickets will be available in October, so lock your season seats in now!

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Thank you, Coach Anderson!

Published

2 weeks ago

August 15, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

August 15, 2025

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. – Using his signature phrase of “figure it out,” the Victoria HarbourCats would like to thank coach Scott Anderson for his years as Pitching Coach of the West Coast League team. He has, indeed, figured out that he is saying a fond good-bye to the organization.

Anderson, a veteran baseball guy and a veteran of the league, will turn 70 in October — a very young 70 for all who know him! He has been a tremendous asset on and off the field in guiding the pitching staff and working so closely with Head Coach Todd Haney for three seasons — the HarbourCats have enjoyed every moment, and Scott will always be a part of the family.

“Scott has been tremendous in the role, his pitchers loved working with him,” said Managing Partner Jim Swanson. “He was the perfect addition for us three years ago and gave us every bit of his energy. Such a classy baseball gentleman — even when suggesting an umpire should maybe return to school,” Swanson joked. (Well, kinda…)

The HarbourCats made the WCL Playoffs all three years Anderson was pitching coach, including the run to the Championship Final in 2023. The Cats had a combined regular-season record of 100-62 in three years with Anderson on the coaching staff.

Countless pitchers who have played in Victoria and worked under Anderson have seen major improvements in their game. Right-handed pitchers Carson Cormier and Tommy Bridges were named to the WCL All-Star Games in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Anderson has also played a part in the development of recent MLB draftees such as Ryan Magdic, Sean Heppner, and Carson Latimer, who all played for the Cats in 2023.

2026 SEASON TICKETS – Season ticket renewals and sales are now on for the 2026 season! 10-Game Flex Packs are also on sale! Existing season ticket holders can log in to their Showpass account and navigate to the Memberships link, where they can easily renew their seats online. Members can also drop in or call the office at 778-265-0327, and we can process the renewal for them. New Season Ticket buyers can click HERE to purchase seats for 2026!

For more updates, be sure to follow @HarbourCats on all social channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

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