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Summer Collegiate

NorthPaws Add Pair of UBC Freshman Pitchers

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The Kamloops NorthPaws have strengthened their inaugural rotation with two freshman pitchers from the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

Vic Domingo and Sean Heppner are following very parallel paths through their baseball development.

They both grew up playing in the BC Premier Baseball League, they simultaneously attended the 2019 Tournament 12 showcase hosted by the Blue Jays Baseball Academy, they are dorm mates for their freshman season with the Thunderbirds, and they will both look to solidify the NorthPaws pitching staff this summer.

The NorthPaws have six Thunderbirds players signed for the 2021 season.

“UBC is a tremendous program that has set the standard for player development at the collegiate level in Canada,” said head coach Cole Armstrong. “Having the opportunity to showcase Thunderbird players against players attending NCAA schools is something we’re very excited about.”

Vic Domingo

Domingo is the first player to play for the Thunderbirds after developing for the UBC Thunder youth program. Even though he received attention from other schools, he wanted to stay at home to play baseball and study.

Photo Credit: Rich Lam/UBC Thunderbirds

“I love the culture, I love everything about UBC,” Domingo said. “I’ve been playing here since I was 15 years old. This is my home, this is where I want to be so I don’t see why I would go anywhere else.”

The Vancouverite has had the opportunity to represent Canada on two occasions.

His South Vancouver represented Canada at the Little League World Series when he was 11 years old, and he made the Junior National Team in 2020, which was unfortunately cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic after spring training in Florida.

Listed at 5’10”, Domingo is the shortest pitcher on the NorthPaws roster, but his demeanour and ever-improving three-pitch repertoire – fastball, changeup and slurve – gives his coaches the confidence he will succeed in the West Coast League.

“He comes after you, he challenges you on the mound. He might be shorter in stature than some of these other guys, but he doesn’t lack anything from the confidence piece and the presence on the mound,” said Sammie Starr, assistant coach for both the Thunderbirds and the NorthPaws. “He’s gritty, he’s not scared of anybody and his stuff is good. He’s got the stuff to back it up. When we put him out there, I would feel comfortable with him on the mound against almost anybody at this point.”

Sean Heppner

Heppner is the most Canadian American on the NorthPaws roster. Though his identification indicates he is a resident of the United States, his resume would suggest he’s from the Great White North.

Photo Credit: Rich Lam/UBC Thunderbirds

Heppner grew up in Point Roberts, Wash., located on the southernmost point of the Tsawwassen Peninsula. A town where the only land access through to the rest of Washington is to drive through B.C.

“Because Point Roberts is isolated from the rest of Washington, I’ve basically done everything in Canada my whole life with school, baseball, all sports and all my friends are in Canada too,” Heppner said. “It’s definitely one of the most unique places in North America because it’s basically Canada, but it’s not.”

He was the ace on the 2019 version of the North Delta Blue Jays, helping win a Baseball BC provincial title and earn a berth at nationals.

He throws what he calls a very traditional mix of pitches with a fastball, changeup and slider.

“Sean’s a bit more of a later bloomer. He had a really successful senior year in the PBL and has made huge strides in the past eight months,” Starr said. “This fall he just dominated our guys throughout our fall camp.”

The next step for Heppner will be to test himself against West Coast League talent.

“When I heard about Kamloops and how it’s part of the West Coast League, how it’s such a competitive league and also that it’s starting up as a new organization, I was really excited and really want to be a part of that first season with the team,” he said.

The Kamloops NorthPaws are an expansion West Coast League franchise bringing the highest calibre baseball Canada’s Tournament Capital has ever seen. The West Coast League, founded in 2005, has 15 teams across Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alberta featuring some of the top collegiate players during a 54-game summer season. Find the NorthPaws online at www.northpawsbaseball.ca, @northpawsbaseball on Instagram and Facebook, or @northpawsbb on Twitter.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Chase makes eight! Meidroth recalled by Chicago

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April 11, 2025

VICTORIA, B.C. — In 10 seasons of play, it’s now eight Major League Baseball players produced — not too shabby.

The Victoria HarbourCats are proud to announce that the Chicago White Sox have recalled infielder Chase Meidroth, and he will make his MLB debut at second base tonight against the team that drafted him, the Boston Red Sox.

Meidroth was placed with the HarbourCats in 2019 by Head Coach Rich Hill, then at the University of San Diego (now at Hawaii), and starred for the Cats at Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP under HarbourCats Head Coach Todd Haney, himself a former MLB player.

Meidroth joins Nick Pivetta (Philadelphia/Boston/San Diego), Andrew Vaughn (Chicago White Sox), Alex DeGoti (Houston), Nathan Lukes (Toronto), Cade Smith (Cleveland), Davis Wendzel (Texas) and Jack Neely (Chicago Cubs) as MLB players who have come through the Victoria program.

That Pivetta was the first HarbourCat in the majors was pure poetry — he threw the first pitch in HarbourCats history in 2013, and is a Victoria product and former PBL Victoria Eagles pitcher.

With Vaughn and Meidroth together, this will be the first time two HarbourCats have been on the same team at the MLB level — and they may even bat next to each other in the lineup over the coming days.

With the HarbourCats, Meidroth was a star defensively at shortstop, and was near impossible to keep off the bases — he hit a whopping .424, a .494 on-base percentage, with four doubles, a triple, two home runs, 13 RBIs and eight stolen bases. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 MLB draft after his junior season at USD.

Meidroth is just 23, with a whole career ahead of him. He’s considered an excellent contact hitter with MLB power potential, and had a big year at AAA in the Boston system last year before being a key part of a major trade between the two Sox teams. He’s hit 38 home runs across all levels, batting .304 with 54 stolen bases.

“Chase was tremendous for us — so strong at short, and an impact bat in helping that 2019 team reach the WCL final,” said Jim Swanson of the HarbourCats. “We are so proud of him — and all our players who go pro, and of course the eight now who have made it to the MLB level.”

Vaughn is the top bat with the White Sox after being the third-overall MLB draft pick in 2019, fast-tracked to the MLB level. Smith, Wendzel (now at AAA in the Reds organization)  and Neely made their MLB debuts in 2024, and Lukes, the 2014 HarbourCats player of the year, is fast becoming a regular in the outfield with the Blue Jays. DeGoti saw time with the Astros during the covid season and is now at AAA in the Rangers organization.

The HarbourCats open their 2025 home schedule on Friday, June 6, with the Port Angeles Lefties visiting Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP. 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 – Finn returns, two Tide guys sign, and three Horned Frogs

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April 10, 2025

VICTORIA, B.C. — There may not be a better team nickname in all of sports than that of TCU — The Horned Frogs. And three of those Horned Frogs will be with the Victoria HarbourCats this summer.

Catcher Jacob Silva and pitchers Andrew Carter and Thomas Bridges have been added to head coach Todd Haney’s roster for this summer, which the HarbourCats will start on the road in Kelowna on May 30 — less than two months away. TCU provided right-hander Carson Cormier, a WCL all-star and Pitcher of the Year, to the HarbourCats in 2024.

The home opener is June 6 with the Port Angeles Lefties at Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP.

“It’s always good to add top young talent from a great program like TCU, which sees the value in the competition we get to face in the West Coast League on a daily basis,” said Haney, the 2023 WCL coach of the year, now in his fifth season as head coach of the HarbourCats.

Also added today are local pitcher Jack Finn, in his third season with the HarbourCats, and Victoria Golden Tide outfielder Dominic Biello, who is having a breakout season with the CCBC program in Victoria. Righty Jalen Sami, who was a valuable asset of
out the bullpen before starting a playoff game for Victoria in 2024, also returns.

“Having Jack Finn return with the strides he’s made at the D1 level, will be great for the staff as well,” said Haney. “He really enjoys working with our pitching coach, Scott Anderson.”

Announced today:

  • LHP Jack Finn, Illinois State, 6-2/185, L/L, Victoria
  • OF Dominic Biello, Victoria Golden Tide, 6-0/200, R/R, Victoria
  • RHP Jalen Sami, Victoria Golden Tide, 5-10/170, R/R, Burnaby
  • RHP Andrew Carter, TCU, 6-2/192, R/R, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
  • RHP Tommy Bridges, TCU, 5-11/190, R/R, Los Angeles
  • C Jacob Silva, TCU, 5-10/203, S/R, San Antonio, TX

Finn, a product of the Victoria Eagles, had an impressive showing for the HarbourCats late in the 2023 season, before heading to Normal, Illinois and Illinois State. The sophomore is used as a lefty out of the pen by head coach Steve Holm, but started seven games among his nine appearances in summer of 2024 in Victoria, going 0-2 with a 3.96 ERA — 16 strikeouts and 23 hits allowed in 25 innings.

Biello, who attends UVic, is tied for the Tide team lead in home runs with two this spring, batting .318, with a team-high nine runs batted in, along with three doubles. An Eagles product, Biello is a leader for the Tide, usually batting second in the order — also a strong defender in the outfield.

Sami, from Burnaby, took the winter off to rest, rehab and strengthen his pitching arm but will be ready by late May. He made nine appearances for the HarbourCats in 2024, giving up just 10 hits in 16.1 innings, walking only two hitters.

Silva hit .375 in his high school career before joining his older brother Anthony at TCU. Jacob was a stellar student-athlete at Clark HS, recognized for his academics and named a unanimous all-district player. He won the Texas 6A Student Athlete Award in 2024.

Carter had three no-hitters in high school and was first-team all-conference in his last two years of prep baseball. He is a freshman at TCU, as is Bridges, who had a record 0.59 ERA in high school, earning an invite to the Perfect Game national showcase.

The HarbourCats open their 2025 home schedule on Friday, June 6, with the Port Angeles Lefties visiting Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP. 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 – Little League Classic coming to RAP, ahead of nationals at Layritz

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April 7, 2025

VICTORIA, B.C. — It’s a first for the best baseball park in Victoria, and a way to celebrate a major event coming to Layritz Park in late July.

With Layritz due to host the Canadian Little League Championship starting on July 29 — the winner advances to Williamsport, PA, and represents team Canada for the Little League World Series — the Victoria HarbourCats, and the HarbourCats Foundation, are hosting the LITTLE LEAGUE CLASSIC at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park.

On Sunday, July 20, all six Little League organizations in the Victoria area will be represented as a preview of the Canadian Little League Championship, which will start at Layritz on July 29 — an event supported by the HarbourCats Foundation through the Victoria Foundation.

“This is something we have never tried, and we can’t wait to see the faces of these young athletes when they are on that field, with their pictures up on the video scoreboard,” said Jim Swanson of the HarbourCats. “We think this is something that could grow in future years to see Wilson’s Group Stadium used for an entire youth baseball showcase weekend — the same as we are using the Emery Electric Fastpitch Showcase on May 31, featuring the Sooke Loggers and Lacey A’s, to bring attention to that area of diamond sports.

“We could not be more excited to see what Layritz is doing in hosting the Canadian Little League Championship. There is no more pure level of sport than events like that, the pure joy of the young stars, and all who support them.”

Little League Classic schedule of events:

Sunday, July 20 2025 Little League Classic
Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP

  • 11am, Hampton vs. Central Saanich
  • 1pm, National vs. Lakehill
  • 3pm, Layritz vs. Beacon Hill

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the HarbourCats Foundation to bring the Little League Classic to Royal Athletic Park,” said Brittney Crump, Chair of the Canadian Little League Championships Planning Committee.  “It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase the talent of our little league athletes in Victoria and build excitement for the Canadian Little League Championship at Layritz. We are grateful for the support we have received to date from the local community – but we have not reached our fundraising goal yet. Community support is vital to the success of these events, and we’re proud to stand together with the HarbourCats Foundation in making this experience possible for these young athletes.”

Tickets are available on-line for the Little League Classic, and are by donation for adults, with a minimum donation of $5 required. Kids 12 and under are free!  These great events need financial support to be able to pull them off, and the HarbourCats and HarbourCats Foundation are proud to be part of that effort.

Anyone wishing to learn more or to support the national tournament can visit the tournament website at https://layritz.ca/tournaments/2025-canadian-championship/ or e-mail Brittany Crump at media@layritz.ca.

The HarbourCats open their 2025 home schedule on Friday, June 6, with the Port Angeles Lefties visiting Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP. Season Tickets, 10 and 32-Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are now on sale for all 33 home games and three “Showcase” events through the HarbourCats new and one-and-only ticketing partner SHOWPASS at harbourcats.com/tickets.

Tickets 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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