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Summer Collegiate

Nanaimo Boy Returns Home To Lead The NightOwls

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A local product is coming home to historic Serauxmen Stadium.

 

Cody Andreychuk, currently the Head Coach of the University of Pikeville (NAIA, Pikeville, Kentucky), has been named the new top coach with the West Coast League’s Nanaimo NightOwls. He assumes the post immediately.

 

“Cody is a perfect fit in so many ways to fill the role with Greg Frady stepping down last week,” said General Manager Tina Cornett. “We obviously love that he’s from Nanaimo and will connect with the community very well, but he has a track record of developing players and winning games and will bring that local pride to the NightOwls.”

 

Andreychuk, who has a degree in Sports Management and a Masters in Business Administration, resides in Pikeville with his daughter Harper.

 

“I’m grateful and humbled for the opportunity to be the next baseball coach for the Nanaimo NightOwls, and I’d like to thank Jim Swanson and the ownership group for believing in a local guy to come in and lead this program at historic Serauxmen Stadium,” said Andreychuk, 32.

 

“My daughter and I are excited to be back home on the island for the summer and I look forward to meeting all the fans throughout the season.”

 

Andreychuk has been head coach at UPike since July of 2021, and his Bears team posted a 30-19 record this past spring. Prior to that, he was at Lindsey Wilson College as both assistant and head coach, and served as an assistant at UPike in 2016 and 2017.

Andreychuk knows summer collegiate baseball well — he was hitting coach and camps coordinator for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod League, the top collegiate summer baseball league.

 

“Growing up in Nanaimo and playing baseball through the Nanaimo Minor Baseball Association still to this day are some of the most special memories I cherish. I hope we can impact the youth the same way I was impacted growing up playing baseball in Nanaimo.”

 

Andreychuk is certainly not a stranger to the WCL. In addition to supplying strong UPike players to WCL teams — Riley Paulino and Richtter Castillo among those to be NightOwls — he played for the Kelowna Falcons in 2013, posting a .298 average in 33 games, driving in 17 runs. He played collegiately for the VIU Mariners, and with Tusculum Pioneers of the South Atlantic College before embarking on his coaching career. He batted .437 over 29 games in his first year at Tusculum, with two home runs and 29 RBIs. With VIU, he set records for batting average and triples.

 

His younger brother Griffin was a star with the Victoria HarbourCats, playing three seasons and having his number retired at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park. He helped lead the HarbourCats to a then-league record 40-14 record in 2016, a team that set a WCL mark with 19 straight victories.

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Summer Collegiate

NorthPaws to feature five players from Kamloops on 2025 Roster

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This season, a franchise-high five players from Kamloops will be suiting up for the NorthPaws this summer, led by head coach and Kamloops Riverdogs alumni Reily Jepson. Four of the five local products are returning from last year’s roster.

Manny Rechhi will be back for a third summer in his hometown following a successful spring with the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack. He had a team-low 2.45 ERA and struck out 22 batters in 18.1 innings. Rechhi also secured three of the four Wolfpack saves. As a NorthPaw, he has logged 36.2 innings, including 16 last summer, where he gave up eight earned runs and struck out ten batters. Rechhi also appeared in 18 games as an outfielder.

An original NorthPaw, Nolan Austin, is back for year four. Friday’s game in Port Angeles will be the 75th game of his career as a NorthPaw. Austin started his college career at Northeast Oklahoma A&M and was a career .267 hitter in 69 games. During that time, he had 52 hits and 38 RBIs before transferring back home to play for the TRU Wolfpack. In his lone season at TRU, he hit .333 in 23 games, including a team-best 22 RBIs.

Dylan Dekker returns after playing 16 games last summer for the Northpaws, where he hit .219. As a freshman at Trinidad State, he started in 49 games and .303 with 33 RBIs and will look to put together a strong summer campaign.

Fellow freshman Matthew MacDonald is back for his second summer as a Paw. Last year, he hit .259 in 28 games with 10 RBIs. This spring, at Pima Community College, MacDonald played 39 games and held a .329 batting average, including 18 RBIs for the Aztecs.

Finally, Austin Coyle returns to the Paws after Spending last summer in the Jayhawk Collegiate league in Kansas. Coyle began his summer ball career in Kelowna during the 2022 season, appearing in three games. In 2023, He split time between the NorthPaws and Hutchison Monarchs in the Jawhawk league. Last summer, Coyle once again suited up for the Monarchs and played 23 games. Coyle has played 106 games for Cloud County Community College, boasting a career batting average of .316 and 76 RBIs for the Thunderbirds.

For Head Coach Reily Jepson, it has always been important to give fans some hometown names they recognize.

“I think when there are kids on the team from your community, it makes it easier as a fan to come out and support the team,” said Jepson.

In addition to the five Kamloops locals, the NorthPaws will feature 22 Canadians on their roster, the most of any West Coast League team. For fans, there are plenty of reasons to come to Norbrock Stadium and cheer on both the kids from Kamloops and the rest of Western Canada as the NorthPaws look to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Before the ‘Cats land at home, Wilson’s Group Stadium will be busy!

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May 30, 2025

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. — It’s among the top rivalries in local sports — the Victoria Mariners, against the Victoria Eagles.

The two strong B.C. Premier Baseball League teams, stalwarts in the top high school aged loop in Western Canada, will face off on Tuesday, June 3, a 6:35pm start at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park.

That game and more are taking over the park until the WCL Victoria HarbourCats are done a season-opening six-game road trip that has them in Kelowna (Friday-Saturday-Sunday evenings) and Edmonton (Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday). The HarbourCats host the Port Angeles Lefties on Friday, June 6, 6:35pm, to open the home schedule, the first of a three-game series that includes FIREWORKS for the Saturday, June 7 game. (Tickets — harbourcats.com/tickets — for all events)

The Mariners-Eagles clash isn’t the only thing happening prior to the HarbourCats landing for real.

The Eagles will also play a doubleheader on Sunday, starting at noon, against the perennial powerhouse Langley Blaze, two seven-inning games at Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP.

Prior to that, fastball returns to Royal Athletic for the first time in literal decades, when the sport ruled Victoria in summer.

The Sooke Loggers will take on the Lacey A’s in the EMERY ELECTRIC FASTPITCH SHOWCASE, some alterations to the baseball diamond and a secondary fence added to allow for this world-class-level fastball doubleheader which has already proven popular with ticket-buyers. Food trucks and all the entertainment that makes the HarbourCats such an enjoyable experience will be part of the atmosphere, including a pre-game walk down history lane with Cliff Lequesne and some of the greats of the past — scheduled to appear are legends such as Reg Underwood, Mike Piechnik, Rob Guenter, Korrey Hareau, and Kevin Bobroske, with hopes others will attend as well.

Upcoming schedule of events at WILSON’S GROUP STADIUM AT RAP

SATURDAY, MAY 31, 4pm
Emery Electric Fastpitch Showcase
Sooke Loggers vs. Lacey A’s, doubleheader

SUNDAY, JUNE 1, Noon
BCPBL Doubleheader
Victoria Eagles vs. Langley Blaze

TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 6:35pm
BC PBL Regular Season
Victoria Mariners vs. Victoria Eagles

Season Tickets, 10 and 32-Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are now on sale for all 33 home games and four “Showcase” events through the HarbourCats new and one-and-only ticketing partner SHOWPASS at harbourcats.com/tickets.

Tickets and merchandise can also be purchased in person at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street or by calling 778-265-0327.

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Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats comeback late, win opener 6-4

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May 30, 2025

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KELOWNA, B.C. – Familiar faces led the way for the Victoria HarbourCats as they began the 2025 season with a 6-4 win over the Kelowna Falcons. Three local Victoria players started the game, while five returning Cats featured throughout, all contributing to the opening night victory.

After a quick first two innings, Curtis McKay (Niagara) drove in Jai Berezowski (Golden Tide) with an RBI single in the top of the third to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. The Cats doubled that lead in the fourth when Tanner Beltowski (Westmont College) grounded out with the bases loaded, allowing Jordan Bond (Doane University) to score.

Thomas Bridges (TCU) was given the ball for the opening game and was lights out through three innings. The freshman struck out four, giving up two hits and walking none.

BOX SCORE

Falcons left fielder Max Trembley’s fourth-inning RBI single cut the HarbourCats’ lead in half after Kyle Slater reached on an error.

Julian Orozco (Cal Baptist) pitched in relief of Bridges and was in control through 2-2/3 innings until a Falcons two-out rally in the sixth inning culminated in a Mathieu Moran bases-loaded single, scoring two and giving the hosts their first lead of the game.

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Victoria answered back immediately in the top of the seventh when Bobby Filler Jr. (Niagara) drove home Beltowski with an infield single, making it all square at 3-3.

Cade Rusch (IUS) got out of the jam in the sixth and followed it up with a three-up, three-down seventh, striking out all four batters he faced on the night. Son of former MLB pitcher Glendon Rusch, Cade is back for his second year as a HarbourCat.

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Another returning HarbourCat, Jack Johnson (Baylor), produced the all-important hit with two outs in the eighth, driving an RBI single up the middle to make it 4-3. Next up was Berezowski, who continued the two-out rally with an RBI single of his own, giving his team a 5-3 cushion.

Dominic Biello (Golden Tide) added an insurance run in the ninth with what should have been an inning-ending groundout, but the right fielder hustled out of the box and beat the throw, allowing a run to score to make it 6-3.

Shea Lake (West Texas A&M), back for his second season in Victoria, earned the save, recording the final six outs of the game, giving up one run on zero hits, while walking two and striking out one.

These two teams are back at it tomorrow at 6:35 PM for game two of the three-game set.

Don’t miss the three exciting events at the ballpark before the HarbourCats return home! The Emery Electric Fastpitch Showcase between the Sooke Loggers and Lacey A’s is SATURDAY, MAY 31 at 4:00 PM. On SUNDAY, JUNE 1 at noon, the Victoria Eagles take on the Langley Blaze in a BCPBL Doubleheader. The Eagles are back on TUESDAY, JUNE 3 at 6:35 PM to take on the Victoria Mariners in BCPBL Regular Season action.

Season Tickets, 10 and 32-Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are now on sale for all 33 home games and four “Showcase” events through the HarbourCats’ new and one-and-only ticketing partner SHOWPASS at harbourcats.com/tickets.

Tickets and merchandise can also be purchased in person at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street or by calling 778-265-0327.

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