Summer Collegiate

Stories with Gorm — on the A’s, Charlie Hustle, and the MLB playoffs

Published

2 years ago

October 15, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

To think that only Boston’s fabled Fenway Park and Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City remain of the fields Gorm pitched at, is a sign of time marching on — new parks host baseball now in Baltimore, where he made his MLB debut, and other American League (no interleague game at that time, folks) stops he made in places like Minnesota, Toronto, Detroit, and even a new Yankee Stadium.

Gorm threw his final MLB pitch at Fenway — quite a tale on its own, a grand slam given up to Hall of Fame outfielder Jim Rice after an error by Morgan helped load the bases.

“I was 27 years old when I got to the big leagues and in Kangaroo Court in the locker room there I was fined by the team for taking too long to get to the majors,” Gorm said, laughing.

“For me, it was a dream come true and I was blessed and lucky to realize my dream, and then to get into coaching like I have — I never thought of it.”

Then, there’s Charlie Hustle. The recent passing of Pete Rose took the baseball world by surprise.

“I never met Pete but I got to know his son (Pete Jr.) in the Phillies organization,” said Gorm, of the younger Rose who played in just 11 MLB games and collected two hits for the Cincinnati Reds — 4,254 fewer than his father did in setting the all-time MLB record.

“I saw Pete play in person many times at Dodger Stadium, he came up in 1963, and the first thing that comes to mind with Pete Rose was him running hard, sprinting, to first base on a walk. The head first slide — we all did that because of him. He played it hard, with such passion,” said Gorm, clearly showing admiration for players who give that all-out effort.

Pete Rose Jr. was with Gorm in Double-A with the Reading Phillies in 2001 — the manager was Gary Varsho, and his son Daulton Varsho was the team’s batboy. Of course, the younger Varsho is now a Blue Jays star outfielder.

Heimueller spent time coaching or coordinating in the Twins, Dodgers, Phillies and Padres organizations, earning World Series rings with the Twins and Phillies. He spent the most years with the Phillies.

“My time with Philadelphia, the closest thing to Pete Rose was Chase Utley, he also played the game hard. Pete wasn’t the most talented player, and they made a big deal about him being the first singles hitter to make $100,000. I never played against Pete, he was in the National League when I was in the American League with Oakland.

“Pete Jr. was in AA, and that was my first or second year coordinating back then, got to know him a little bit and obviously you knew who he was. He got a bit of time in the majors (11 games in 1997). I know Pete (Sr.) would sign every autograph ever asked of him and one time I got to sit with Larry Bowa and Pete Vukovich and most of what they talked about, I was in earshot, was about horse racing,” he laughed.

Now, it’s about watching the players who made it to The Show and smile when he hears a name or sees a player he may have spent even a moment or two working with during their ascension through the minors. Gorm’s last pro job before joining the NightOwls was as co-minor league pitching coordinator with the Padres organization.

Those he has watched just in the playoffs alone:

Cleveland Guardians — Emmanuel Clase, Erik Sabrowski (who hails from the Edmonton area), Joey Cantillo
New York Mets — Phil Maton (former Kelowna Falcons, WCL)
Philadelphia Phillies — Matt Strahm, Tanner Banks, Jose Ruiz
San Diego Padres — Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Nanaimo Hands Cats 8-3 Loss to Tie Series

Published

17 hours ago

June 25, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria, B.C. – The NightOwls rolled into town and squashed the HarbourCats on a warm Wednesday night, tying the series and forcing an 8-3 loss on Victoria.

Nanaimo opened the scoring early in the second game of the series, getting a couple of men on in the first inning and cashing in a run on a single up the middle to take control of the game. The visitors tacked on a couple more in their next trip to the plate, taking advantage of an eastward wind for a two-run homer to make it 3-0 in the second inning. It was the first long ball surrendered all season by Hudson Lance (Coastal Carolina), and the first multi-run effort against the right-hander as well.

BOX SCORE

Retaliation came off the bat of Max Bernal (Fresno Pacific) in the bottom of the second, who fired a double straight into the gap and scored a runner from first to cut into Nanaimo’s lead. The NightOwls, however, got them right back. A ground ball caromed off two Cats in the bottom of the third inning, giving a Nanaimo baserunner time to find his way home to restore the three-run gap.

Hudson Lance worked his way through 4.2 innings, allowing seven runs on ten hits with four strikeouts. (Photo by JPM Photography)

The NightOwls rocked their second long ball of the game to lead off the top of the fifth, followed by a base hit into centre field to push their lead to 7-1 at the midway point of the ballgame. This would spell the end of Hudson Lance’s start, as the Cats tagged in Easton Reimers (North Dakota State) to finish off the inning.

Reimers locked in for a powerful performance, striking out six NightOwls in just three innings to keep the score from getting any further out of hand. Reimers was swapped out for Flynn Warren (Hawaii Pacific) in the eighth inning, who worked the final two innings for the Cats.

Matt Westley (George Mason) let fly an absolute laser over the fence for a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, but it was too little too late as Victoria fell short to Nanaimo by a score of 8-3.

WCL STANDINGS

The series comes to an end tomorrow night in Nanaimo, following which the HarbourCats will engage with the Bellingham Bells for a weekend series in Victoria.

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 Nail Down 5-3 Win in Nanaimo

Published

2 days ago

June 24, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Marcus Nolen’s homer in the second inning gave an early advantage to the HarbourCats. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Nanaimo, B.C. – Victoria kicked off the Island Rivalry series the right way on Tuesday night, claiming a 5-3 win over the Nanaimo NightOwls

The Cats made it a loud second inning in this one, slamming two monster moonshots to get on the board first. Marcus Nolen (Fresno State) shelled the parking lot for his second of the season, followed up by a blast to right field from Max Bernal (Fresno Pacific) to make it a three-run inning for the Cats.

BOX SCORE

That run support backed up a scoreless start from Landon Marchetti (San Jose State), who pitched three innings, gave up zero hits, and struck out four batters. Davis Lee (Calgary) was summoned for the bottom of the fourth, surrendering the first Nanaimo run of the evening before stranding two runners to end the inning. Victoria responded with another run in their next turn at the plate, bringing in a run on a sacrifice fly to restore a three-run lead.

Davis Lee took a seat after a strong two innings of work, giving way to Asher Clark (Northern Colorado) in the sixth. The right-hander loaded the bases but buckled down, generated some weak contact, and stranded the runners to keep the HarbourCats’ lead intact.

David Krahn is tied for the second-most hits in the West Coast League, adding three more in tonight’s ballgame. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Clark ran the bases full once again with no outs in the bottom of the seventh, inducing a change of personnel for the HarbourCats. Marcus Janovsky (UBC) took to the field, hitting a batter but stranding three runners to escape the inning clutching a 4-3 lead.

Victoria answered back in the next frame, beginning with a well-earned walk from Kade Davis (UTSA), who later came around to score on a base hit by Dryden Fuoco (Hill College). 5-3 Cats after eight innings..

It was Carson Ackermann’s turn to get in on the action in the bottom of the eighth. The Tacoma College hurler locked down the frame with two strikeouts to keep the score frozen. Pierce Stone (Regis) appeared on the bump to close it out and didn’t disappoint, filling up the zone and securing a quick three outs to seal the deal.

WCL STANDINGS

The series continues tomorrow, with the HarbourCats hosting the NightOwls in Victoria for an Island Rivalry game at 6:35 pm!

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Offence Erupts Early in 15-5 Win

Published

4 days ago

June 22, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

David Krahn’s two-homer ballgame led the way for an offensive clinic. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Port Angeles, WA – The HarbourCats closed out the Port Angeles series in style on a sunny Sunday afternoon, racking up 17 hits in a 15-5 victory.

David Krahn (UBC) took it upon himself to spark the offence early in this one, blasting a leadoff rocket to make it 1-0 Cats in the top of the first.

BOX SCORE

The Lefties responded quickly, dropping a perfectly placed line drive into left field to bring in the tying run in the bottom of the first. Port Angeles threatened with more runners in scoring position, but an unassisted double play by David Krahn kept the game even at one.

Cats outfielder Max Bernal (Fresno Pacific) knocked a double into the gap in the next inning to push Dryden Fuoco (Hill College) up to third base. David Krahn came in clutch once again in his second trip to the plate, driving in Fuoco to snatch the lead back for Victoria. The second-inning offence wouldn’t end there for the Cats, as Matt Westley (George Mason) and Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) both singled to widen the lead to 5-1 by the end of the frame.

Matt Westley was 2/4 this afternoon with a double and 3 RBI. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Victoria didn’t let up after gaining the lead, putting some ducks on the pond in the top of the third inning for, you guessed it, David Krahn. The Langley, B.C. product pulverized his second homer of the game to further extend the lead to 8-1. The hits just kept coming in the third frame, and suddenly Victoria was up 12-1.

A bruised Lefties lineup managed to throw a counter-punch in the bottom of the third, uncorking two leadoff home runs to dead centre. A valiant effort, but the home side had a lot of work to do if they were to erase a 12-3 deficit.

The Cats kept their foot on the gas, loading the bases in the top of the fifth and bringing home a pair of runs on hits by Matt Westley and Brady Hewitt. Austin Lindsey (Hill College) came in to pitch for the bottom of the fifth, relieving Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) who allowed three runs on four hits over four innings.

Spencer Kratt (San Jose State) took over on the heels of two spotless no-hit innings from Lindsey, before Anson Stuckly (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) closed it out in the ninth with two strikeouts.

Port Angeles managed to scrape together a comeback attempt in the later innings, but Victoria’s mountainous lead stayed intact for a 15-5 win.

WCL STANDINGS

With the road trip complete, the Cats will come back to Victoria to take on the Nanaimo NightOwls at 6:30 pm on Tuesday night.

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