VICTORIA, B.C. — Texas. Washington. Oregon. Big-name schools, that lure the best recruits.
With LHP Reece Usselman of the Oregon Ducks, LHP David Shaw of the Texas Longhorns, and corner infielder Max Clark of the Washington Huskies, there will be no shortage of star college baseball players for HarbourCats fans in the summer of 2023 at Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP.
Add in a catcher from the local collegiate Victoria Golden Tide, Lee Grey, and Victoria head coach Todd Haney is excited to see the roster grow with the season less than four months away.
David Shaw, here pitching for Rice, should be a dominant force from the left side for the HarbourCats in 2023.
“You always love finding and signing top pitching like Shaw and Usselman, and Clark is an exciting prospect,” said Haney, who will be at the helm for his third season, interrupted by two pandemic non-play summers. “Grey is also showing promise and developing under the Golden Tide coaches, important depth for what is a real grind at times in the West Coast League.”
The current, announced roster of the HarbourCats can be found HERE.
Another lefty, Langley’s Reece Ussleman gave the Canadian Junior National Team a number of quality innings in 2022.
Shaw is a monster at 6-7/205, a transfer from Rice where he made 18 appearances last spring. Usselman brings Team Canada Junior experience and isn’t exactly small at 6-3/185, a product of the Langley Blaze. He also played with White Rock (Team Canada) at the 2017 Little League World Series in Williamsport. Clark is one of the top-rated high school players in the state of Washington, and Grey came west at the suggestion of former MLB catcher Gregg Zaun and is expected to be a key contributor for the Golden Tide in the CCBC.
LHP David Shaw, Texas, sophomore, Houston, TX, 6-7/205
3B Max Clark, Washington, incoming freshman, Mercer Island, WA, 6-0/200
C Lee Grey, Victoria Golden Tide, freshman, Toronto, ON, 6-0/180
Oakville, Ontario’s Lee Grey will give the HarbourCats some depth at the catcher position.
The HarbourCats celebrate their 10th Anniversary in 2023 and the season kicks off with the home opener against the Kamloops NorthPaws on Friday June 2, 2023. Single game tickets for that game and all 31 HarbourCats home games in 2023 are now on sale and can be purchased on-line through our one-and-only ticketing partner, Select Your Tickets, at harbourcats.com/tickets. They can also be purchased at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street, or at the Select Your Tickets box office at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. Fans can also call 778-265-0327 to order over the phone.
Season tickets and 10-game flex packs are also now on sale. For details on all ticketing options, including our special $10.00 Tuesdays, Forces Fridays and Save-on-Food Vouchers, please visit harbourcats.com/ticketinfo.
NANAIMO, B.C. — Bring out the brooms, cause the Nanaimo Bars pulled out a 5-3 win in game three to sweep the series against the Edmonton RiverHawks. That brings the winning streak up to four and six overall, and the Nanaimo Bars are back to .500 for the season with a 12-12 record.
It didn’t take long for the Nanaimo Bars to jump out to a lead. Nathan Davis took a walk before Talan Zenk stepped up to the plate and drove an opposite two-run home run to right field over the Save-on-Foods sign. The RiverHawks would tie it up in the top of the third inning, 2-2, before taking a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning. The score would stay that way until the bottom of the eighth inning.
The Nanaimo Bars weren’t going to go away and leave the over 1000 fans at Serauxmen Stadium in attendance disappointed. An eight-inning rally saw them put three runs on the board and take a 5-3. The Bars would close out Family Fun Day with a win, and the kids ran the bases with Jacob, one of our SuperFans!
For the second night in a row, the Nanaimo Bars’ pitching was superb as they gave up just three runs on seven hits. Carter Chard-Hill got the win on the afternoon, pitching just one inning but not needing help from anyone in the field as he struck out the side. Starting pitcher Zach Horwith went three innings and gave up two earned runs on five hits. Dawson Shultz and Dillon Thompson both threw scoreless innings in relief for the Nanaimo Bars.
Sliding into third safe! (Photo credit Chad Frostad)
After the Nanaimo Bars took the lead in the bottom of the eighth, they turned to Asher De Leo. Super happy to see Asher come on to get the save for the Bars, as he was bitten on the leg by a dog yesterday. He toughed it out, came back today, and got a three-up three-down inning for the save and solidified the sweep.
Mentioned Talan Zenk had a huge two-run bomb in the first inning, and he also scored the winning run on a wild pitch. He had a good night at the plate and went two for four with a home run, two RBI, and two runs.
— PNW College Baseball Report (@PNW_CBR) June 30, 2025
I spoke with Talan Zenk after the game about his home run, ” The count was 2-0 and I was just looking for something to drive, saw a fastball outer half and was able to do damage.”
I also wanted to know about the NightOwls celebration on base, “The celebration is just something we do to fire up our team, we are looking to keep the energy and continue attacking the other team.”
Nanaimo Bars win 5-3 and sweep the series (Photo Credit Chad Frostad)
It was another all around effort from the Nanaimo Bars. Seven of the Nine starters had a base hit in the 5-3 victory. Raoul Fabian Jr, Jaisen Abner both had hits and RBIs on the day for the Nanaimo Bars.
Monday the NightOwls have an exhibition game on June 30th against the Nanaimo Selects before our big Canada Day festivities against Island rivals, the Victoria HarbourCats. Make sure to get out early for that one as we are going to be packed. We have fireworks presented by the Kwumut Lelum Foundation.
Then the team heads off to Victoria for the rest of the three game series on July 2nd and 3rd. After that the NightOwls are on the road to Edmonton for three games for a rematch with the RiverHawks July, 4th, 5th and 6th!
Make sure to check the live stream in the link above to catch you NightOwls on the road. Tag us in your social media and use the Hashtag #IlluminateTheDark! Go NightOwls Go!!
The Sox scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 4-1 lead, including a Bates two-run single. Logan Rumberg (George Mason) made his third start of the season for the Cats and went 2-2/3 innings, giving up four runs on five hits, while walking three and striking out one.
Dustin Davidson (Brookhaven) was first out of the bullpen and hit the first batter he faced, and followed that up with a bases-loaded walk. The lefty faced nine hitters over 1-1/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits.
Afework drove in his second and third runs of the game in the top of the fourth, powering a ball to the wall in centre for a two-run double.
The Sox restored their three-run lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when Ethan Thomas hit a two-run home run off Davidson, making it 6-3 Wenatchee.
JC Allen (UC San Diego) brought the visitors within one run of the hosts with a two-run homer in the top of the seventh, making it 6-5 Sox.
Cade Rusch (Bellarmine) threw three shutout innings, giving up one hit, walking three, and striking out three, including a big strikeout with the bases loaded to end the threat in the bottom of the seventh.
Afework led off the eighth with his second double of the night, but was stranded there as Joe Thornton retired the next three Cats in order, keeping hold of their slim lead.
Austin Lindsey (Hill College) pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out one batter.
Thornton was back out for the ninth and recorded three straight outs to clinch the 6-5 win and the sweep.
Hudson Shupe (Gonzaga) went two for five Sunday night with his first hit being his 100th career regular season hit as a HarbourCat.
Tomorrow is Fireworks night! Doors open at 5:00 PM, and first pitch is at 6:35 PM, as the Cats take on the Redmond Dudes. General admission tickets are still available and can be purchased at harbourcats.com/tickets.
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.
The Kamloops NorthPaws have lost their first series at home this season following a 9-1 defeat against the Bellingham Bells. Despite out-hitting Bellingham, the NorthPaws couldn’t come up with a big inning.
The Bells got off to another quick start, scoring two in the top of the first. Bellingham’s first run came from two walks, a past ball, and a sacrifice ground ball. A base hit would score the second run.
The NorthPaws got off to another slow start at the plate, registering their first hit in the third inning. The Bells took advantage in the top of the fourth when they had two runners on with two outs. A double that turned into a triple via an error put two more runs on the board. The next Bells hitter sent a two-run home run over the wall in left field, making it 6-0.
In the bottom half, Drew Schmidt and Tanner Hornback hit back-to-back singles and would later advance 90 feet on a balk call. Left fielder Joey Rico sent a ball to center field that was deep enough to score Schmidt. Fans felt optimistic, given last night’s comeback effort, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the inning.
That would be the first and only run scored for the NorthPaws as they left five runners on base through the following five innings. Kamloops couldn’t get a rally going despite having runners on and getting hits.
“We had hits pretty much every inning and had guys on, but just no follow-up,” said first baseman Jared Hall.
The NorthPaws couldn’t string together a big inning on Saturday night. The Bells staff walked just three batters, while the NorthPaws issued seven walks. The Bells hitters took advantage and gave Kamloops no hope of a comeback effort.
“We just have to flush tonight and put together a full team effort tomorrow and save the series,” said Hall.
The NorthPaws will conclude the series on Sunday afternoon for a matinée game beginning at 12:05.
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