VICTORIA, B.C. — One of the best pitching coaches in the WCL is going to be staying around awhile longer.
Scott Anderson, who completed his first year with the Victoria HarbourCats, but with extensive college and WCL coaching experience, has agreed to a two-year extension running through the 2025 season, working with Head Coach Todd Haney, recently named the 2023 WCL Coach of the Year and who is also signed long-term by the club.
Anderson, who has also been a head coach in the WCL, worked very well with the experienced coaching staff and helped the HarbourCats to a second place overall finish in the 2023 regular season (38-15), being crowned North Division Champions and making their third trip to the WCL Championship game. The pitching staff was second in strikeouts, fourth in team ERA and fifth in walks allowed, as Anderson managed a deep and diverse group of pitchers, one that totaled almost 40 players in 2023. Anderson can also take pride in knowing that nearly half of those pitchers had ERAs of 3.00 or less.
Part of that management was his tutelage of pitchers Logan MacNiel and Davis Franklin, both named to the WCL end of season all-star rosters, MacNiel (6-0, 1.08 ERA) to the first team and Franklin (2-1, 1.44 ERA) to the second team.
His trademark phrase “figure it out” also became a real mantra for the 2023 team.
Pitching Coach Scott Anderson was masterful at managing the revolving door of close to 40 different pitchers that the HarbourCats used in 2023, helping to guide the team to the North Division Championship and the 2023 WCL Championship game (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)
“I have really enjoyed my experience in Victoria, this is a premium place for summer baseball and development of college players,” said Anderson. “Working with Todd, with Steve Sinclair and Ethan Fox, and with the rest of the coaching staff, was really fun this summer and we’re excited to prepare for 2024. Staying with this organization is a blessing for me.”
Haney sees the stability of the coaching staff as a key for ongoing success with the HarbourCats.
“Scott has been outstanding and has really fit in with the group, and gives so much value to our pitchers,” said Haney, who has been with the HarbourCats since 2018, and head coach since 2019. “I’m excited to know we have him back the next two years.”
Season tickets for the 2024 HarbourCats season are now on sale and available for renewal. Lock in your seats at special Early Bird pricing – the same rates as 2023 – prior to October 31, 2023. Contact Christian at the office at 778-265-0327 or by e-mail at chris@harbourcats.com for details or to take care of payment. You can also pop in to the office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street to renew or purchase in person. Off-season office hours are Tuesday to Friday, 10AM to 5PM.
The 2024 HarbourCats schedule is anticipated to be released in late October or early November of 2023. Single game tickets will go on sale shortly after that. Keep your eyes peeled on the various HarbourCats social media sites for more information as it becomes available.
Victoria, B.C. – A war of attrition ended in a win for the good guys on Thursday night, with the Cats clawing their way to the finish line to take a series win over the NightOwls.
The Cats weathered the lengthy rain delay and came to the plate ready tonight, striking first on a two-out single from Rohne Klein (San Jose State). Designated hitter Logan Shepherd (Mercer) got the wave around third and Victoria quickly took a 1-0 lead.
UCSD’s Quincey Brown added to a string of dominant starting pitchers for the Cats in this series. Brown’s nine strikeouts in his second start of the season are the second-most in a single game for Victoria this year, tied with Austin Lindsey in the previous game and just short of Jeremiah Arnett’s team-leading ten K’s on Tuesday.
In addition to a whole lot of swings and misses, Brown kept the NightOwls off the bases with just two hits across his five innings of work. Davis Lee (Calgary) came in on the heels of Brown’s start, opening up the sixth inning on the mound with a one-run lead. Lee got himself into some trouble, loading the bases with two consecutive walks and letting the game-tying run sneak by on a pitch straight to the backstop.
Will Zielinski held strong in his Cats debut, scoring important outs in the late innings. (Photo by JPM Photography)
Lee returned in the seventh for a much cleaner frame, striking out two for a scoreless inning. Will Zielinski made an impressive Cats debut in the top of the eighth. The local Victoria product secured a quick two strikeouts and a groundout to keep the score tied and bring the HarbourCats lineup back up to the dish.
Victoria rallied to finally break the tie in the bottom of the eighth, courtesy of a Marcus Nolen (Fresno State) special. The outfielder walked, stole a base, and came in to score on a throwing error from the Nanaimo shortstop to take a 2-1 lead for the Cats.
Zielinski was back for the top of the ninth, shutting it down and securing a close win for the Cats to take the series and tie up the Island Cup!
The HarbourCats will now hit the road to Kelowna for a three-game weekend series against the Falcons.
Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games 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.
GET YOUR ALL-STAR TICKETS BEFORE THEY ARE GONE! Tickets for the 2026 WCL All-Star Home Run Derby (featuring former Blue Jay Kevin Pillar) and the West Coast League All Star Game on July 14-15 are selling fast. Get yours today! Each event is now on sale separately, or grab the package deal for both and save a few bucks at http://harbourcats.com/tickets! Or call the office at 778-265-0327 to order by phone.
Nanaimo, B.C. – The HarbourCats evened the series with a titanic 11-2 win over their island rivals on Wednesday night.
It was a blink-and-you’ll-mis-it start for the Cats, who scored their first run just four minutes after the first pitch. David Krahn (UBC) and Matt Westley (George Mason) found themselves on base with a single each, and a double off the wall from Logan Shepherd (Mercer) drove Krahn in from second. Westley came in to score an an extremely well-placed bunt from Jacob Silva (UTSA), and a Rohne Klein (San Jose State) single swiftly made it 3-0 Cats after the first half-inning!
Krahn touched the plate once again in the second inning, reaching base on an error and being cashed in by a Logan Shepherd base hit. Westley followed suit, pushing the score to 5-0.
Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) powered through six innings in his fifth start of the season, allowing three hits, no runs, and striking out nine. (Photo by JPM Photography)
The onslaught continued in the middle innings, highlighted by a two-run homer from infielder Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) in the fifth. A Tristan Buehring (Whitman) single brought home another before the end of the frame. Victoria followed up with another two tallies in the sixth, a result of some wild pitches and a knock from Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD). 10-0 Cats after six.
That strong start carried over to the other side of the baseball as well, with Jeremiah Arnett putting on a pitching clinic. The Rice University starter let up three hits in a scoreless six innings, striking out nine NightOwls. Daniel Tovar (Northern Kentucky) took over in relief for the seventh and eighth, keeping things clean and keeping Nanaimo off the board.
Matt Westley was on fire at the dish in Nanaimo, badgering NightOwls pitching for a four-hit game. (Photo by JPM Photography)
David Krahn stayed hot in the top of the ninth, crushing an RBI double to extend the lead to 11. Hunter Daniels (Phoenix) was sent in from the bullpen with a safe cushion to work with, giving up the first runs of the game for the NightOwls but ultimately closing out an 11-2 victory.
The Cats finish off the series in Victoria at 6:35 pm Thursday night before hitting the road for a weekend series in Kelowna.
Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games 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.
GET YOUR ALL-STAR TICKETS BEFORE THEY ARE GONE! Tickets for the 2026 WCL All-Star Home Run Derby (featuring former Blue Jay Kevin Pillar) and the West Coast League All Star Game on July 14-15 are selling fast. Get yours today! Each event is now on sale separately, or grab the package deal for both and save a few bucks at http://harbourcats.com/tickets! Or call the office at 778-265-0327 to order by phone.
Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats’ late comeback bid was unsuccessful this fireworks night, dropping the first game of the Nanaimo series 10-7
Usual relief pitcher Austin Lindsey (Hill College) settled into his newfound starting role nicely tonight. The Lufkin, Texas righty was straight up impenetrable in his first four innings, pocketing eight strikeouts over that span. A rare walk from Lindsey came back to bite him in the fifth, driven in by the second hit of the game for Nanaimo to put the NightOwls on top.
Rohne Klein (San Jose State) retorted with a blistering line drive straight to the right field wall, cruising into second with a double and tagging up to third base on an ensuing flyout. Despite Klein’s effort, the bats sputtered and the first baseman was stranded on third to end the inning, still down by one to the visiting side.
Nanaimo made another edit to the scoreboard in the top of the sixth, battling with two strikes and two outs to turn a ball the other way and double their lead to two. Lindsey got into a bit of hot water following that second run, loading the bases and relinquishing the mound to Houston Tomlinson (Arkansas State).
It was a packed house on Tuesday night for the postgame fireworks show! See if you can spot Harvey the HarbourCat in the crowd . . . (Photo by JPM Photography)
The sticky situation only got stickier, with an error by the Cats shortstop allowing two more runs to slip by on Tomlinson’s watch. The NightOwls added a three-run homer as the exclamation point on the inning, taking a 7-0 lead before the Cats got out of it.
The NightOwls loaded them up once again in the seventh, but the inning was saved by third baseman Matt Westley (George Mason). Westley made a diving stop in the hot corner, stepped on third base, and fired a bullet to first base to keep the score from getting further out of hand.
Victoria finally found their way on the board in frame number seven. Rohne Klein’s screamer off the glove of the Nanaimo first baseman moved catcher Jacob Silva (UTSA) over to third base, and Silva came in to score on a wild pitch for the first Cats run of the game. A sacrifice fly from Marcus Nolen (Fresno State) brought home Klein and yet another wild pitch made room for Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) to score, whittling the deficit down to four with two innings to go.
Tomlinson’s struggles to find the strike zone in the eighth inning gave way to Jake Rafferty (Tacoma) from the bullpen. Rafferty let three more runs fly by before eventually retiring to the dugout.
The Cats put some serious pressure on the NightOwls in the bottom of the eighth, running the bases loaded and scoring four runs on a couple of walks, a sac fly, and an RBI single right back up the middle by Tristan Buehring (Whitman). The comeback effort came up short, however, as the bats returned to dormancy in the bottom of the ninth.
The series goes to Nanaimo on Wednesday night for a Canada Day showdown with the NightOwls, before the third game of the Remax Island Cup takes place in Victoria at 6:35 pm on Thursday.
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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