Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – BASEBALL STARS TO VICTORIA

Published

11 months ago

July 17, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

WCL All-Star Festival returning to Victoria for two seasons, HarbourCats last hosted game in 2013

For immediate release

July 17, 2025

VICTORIA, B.C. – The best of the very best in the West Coast League will return to Victoria – not once, but twice.

In a media event on the field today, the Victoria HarbourCats are excited to announce, along with the West Coast League and the Greater Victoria Sports Tourism Commission, an arm of Destination Greater Victoria, that the WEST COAST LEAGUE ALL-STAR GAME will be played at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park the next two seasons – 2026 and 2027.

The expected dates will be July 15, 2026, and July 14, 2027 – in both cases, the day after the Major League Baseball all-star game. The West Coast League is a proud partner of Major League Baseball.

Destination Greater Victoria, the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, the Wilson’s Group of Companies, Better Print, and New Era Cap Company are the first partners to officially join forces for this event – with opportunities for corporate and community partners at all levels.

“Our outstanding ballpark, which plays to professional standards, and the engagement of this market in terms of support of WCL baseball made this happen – two years in a row, the best of the league will be in the best city in the world,” said Jim Swanson, Managing Partner of the Victoria HarbourCats (and Nanaimo NightOwls).

“The excellent broadcast quality provided by Chris Jaycox Productions, and the tremendous work done by City staff on all facets of Wilson’s Group Stadium, put this over the top and made our bid to host in consecutive years successful with WCL board members.

“We could not be more excited to do the work to make these the best all-star games in league history.”

The event has already received support in the form of a sport hosting grant from the Province of British Columbia.

“Hosting the West Coast League All-Star Games in 2026 and 2027 will further elevate Victoria’s global profile as a premier sport tourism destination,” said Spencer Chandra Herbert, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. “These All-Star Games will bring significant economic benefits to our local tourism sector, boosting business revenues and creating ripple effects that will be felt throughout the region.”

Bellingham played host the last two seasons, including yesterday’s game. When Victoria hosted in 2013, the game set a league attendance record with more than 4,000 in attendance – 2026 and 2027 project to see more than 5,000 in-person spectators at each event. Edmonton, the WCL attendance leaders, and Victoria are league facilities capable of holding more than 3,500 spectators.

“Hosting back-to-back West Coast League All-Star Games in 2026 and 2027 is exciting for fans and once again demonstrates how Victoria is being recognized as a go-to destination for sports tourism and major sporting events,” said City of Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto. “These games will be unforgettable, and our dedicated partners and passionate community are showing the world what Victoria can do.”

Swanson will be part of a steering committee that includes former BC Games chair Kelly Mann, former Oak Bay fire chief Dave Cockle, HarbourCats Creative Director Chris Beveridge, HarbourCats General Manager Christian Stewart, Marketing Director John Pollard, and VP Operations and Business Adrian Somers.

These events will be considerable contributors to the local economy, promoting the great and growing sports legacy of Victoria.

Further details will be rolled out, but tentative plans are slated to include:

**A next-level home run derby the day before the game

**Youth camps that will cover the entire city and be focal points of festivities

**MLB scouts will attend a combine that will happen before the game

**A signature luncheon on the day of the game, with an exciting keynote speaker to be announced

**A pre-game concert is in the works

**Plus a hot stove social event also in the planning stages.

“Ticket packages for the entire event will go fast, and we anticipate offering those to our partners, season ticket holders and host families first during a two-week window in September, with the general public able to snap up what is left after that – it will be affordable, and it will bring great value,” said Swanson.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Suffer Gruelling 18-9 Loss

Published

5 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Cats pitching struggled to keep runners off the bases on the way to a 18-9 loss. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats hosted the Springfield Drifters on Friday night, failing to keep the visiting team in check and dropping the first game of the series 18-9.

The Drifters’ lineup spelled trouble from the beginning for Schuyler Fairchild (Wenatchee Valley). The visitors filled up the bases and drove in two runs in the top of the first before the starter locked down a couple of K’s to vacate the mound.

BOX SCORE

Determined not to fall behind, the Cats fought back during their turn at the plate. A 94 mph screamer off the lumber of Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) brought home a run and set up another to score on a sacrifice fly in the next at bat. Even Steven after the initial frame.

Springfield ran up the opener’s pitch count in the first inning, making room for a relief appearance from Austin Lindsey (Hill College) to begin the second. The Drifters gave Lindsey some difficulty as well, ending the inning with three more runs across to make it 5-2.

Schuyler Fairchild saw a shortened outing, battling through a long first inning. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Outfielder Marcus Nolen (Fresno State) was sharp in the bottom of the third inning, drawing a walk, stealing a base, and coming around to score on a Kade Davis (UTSA) single.

The next arrival from the bullpen was Landon Marchetti (San Jose State), who threw two clean innings in the fourth and fifth to earn a much-needed respite for the Cats defence.

Things drew even once again in the bottom of the fifth thanks to Rohne Klein (San Jose State). The first baseman muscled a ball out to centre field to drive in a pair and tie the game at five runs each.

Rohne Klein (San Jose State) snapped his slump tonight with a clutch base hit. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Flynn Warren (Hawaii Pacific) inherited the mound from Marchetti for the top of the seventh inning. Marchetti was lights out over three innings, allowing only a single hit and shredding through the Drifters’ lineup for five strikeouts. Warren found himself in a jam, loading the bases and letting four runs slip by to give the lead back to Springfield.

A grand slam for the Drifters in the top of the eighth broke the game wide open, bestowing a 14-5 lead upon the visitors. The Cats showed some life in the back half of inning the eighth, highlighted by a Logan Shepherd (Mercer) RBI triple, but the deficit proved insurmountable as Victoria eventually fell 18-9 in the series opener.

WCL STANDINGS

The Springfield series continues at 6:35 pm on Saturday night and concludes with a 1:05 pm Sunday matinee.

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.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Lose Control of Game Three in Edmonton

Published

1 day ago

June 11, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria made four costly errors in this one to give Edmonton an advantage (Photo by JPM Photography)

Edmonton, AB – The HarbourCats were unable to complete the sweep, falling 9-5 to the Riverhawks on Thursday night.

Edmonton knocked Bryson Toner (Hawaii) around a little in the first three innings, but the right-hander stayed locked in and only let one run slip by on six hits.

BOX SCORE

The Cats returned fire in the top of the fourth, putting pressure on the Riverhawks defence to load the bases and score a run off the bat of Kade Davis (UTSA).

Easton Reimers (North Dakota State) entered the game with the score tied at one apiece, striking out two batters in the fourth inning to keep Victoria’s momentum going.

The Riverhawks made some noise in the fifth to take back control of the game, shaking down Reimers for four more runs and ending the inning with a 5-1 lead over the HarbourCats.

Tate Collins (Arkansas State) took the field for the Cats in the bottom of the sixth and wasted no time getting the job done, tossing a clean inning out of the pen.

The Cats were stricken with the error bug in inning number seven, coughing up a handful of runs as a result of some less-than-stellar defensive play.

Victoria loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the eighth and closed the distance with four more runs before inning’s end, but the comeback was unsuccessful en route to a 9-5 Edmonton victory.

With this series complete, the HarbourCats will be back in Victoria starting Friday night for a three-game series versus the Springfield Drifters.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Keep it Rolling in Rainy Rout of Riverhawks

Published

2 days ago

June 10, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The Cats’ bats have been hot since arriving in Edmonton, scoring a total of 12 runs in two games. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Edmonton, AB – The HarbourCats secured their second consecutive win in Edmonton on Wednesday afternoon by a score of 8-5.

Just like last night, the upper hand belonged to Victoria early in the ballgame. Lukas Le Gras (Westmont) drove a ball back up the middle into centre field, booking two Cats runners a return flight to home plate to make it 2-0.

BOX SCORE

The HarbourCats starting pitcher was utterly dominant once again, with Erik Rico (Fresno State) locking things down in this one. Rico went four innings, only allowing one hit and amassing a tidy five strikeouts while setting down ten batters in a row to finish off his outing.

David Krahn (UBC), who has been all over the scoresheet in this series, dashed home on an Edmonton error to widen the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Logan Shepherd (Mercer) cruised into second base on a double smashed to right field and would eventually score on yet another error committed by the Riverhawks infield. Tristan Buehring (Whitman) was more than happy to add on a couple more runs before inning’s end, and suddenly the Cats were out front 6-0 with four unearned runs in one frame.

Logan Shepherd (Mercer) was a force in this one, going 3-5 with a double and a run scored (Photo by JPM Photography)

Houston Tomlinson (Arkansas State) was deployed from the bullpen to take over for Erik Rico. The Riverhawks finally earned their first run of the series, but were otherwise contained by Tomlinson, who went back to the dugout leading by five runs.

After a lengthy rain delay, the Cats returned none worse for wear and batted in two more runs in the top of the seventh, extending the lead to 8-2.

The rain necessitated a pitching change, and it would be Asher Clark (Northern Colorado) who got the nod. Clark got into some hot water in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases and coughing up a couple of runs before being swapped out for the other Clark. Jack Clark (CSU San Marcos) secured a double play and struck out a batter to deftly escape the jam with the lead intact, if a little bruised.

Jack Clark returned for the eighth and ninth and was airtight, giving up just one hit over three total innings to nail down an 8-5 victory for the HarbourCats.

WCL STANDINGS

The Edmonton series will come to an end tomorrow night, and the Cats return home this weekend for three games against the Springfield Drifters!

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