Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Big seventh inning leads Cats to fourth straight win

Published

2 years ago

July 27, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

Gunner Antillon extended his on-base streak to 21 games (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

July 26, 2024

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. – The Victoria HarbourCats came from behind to win the series opener against the Kamloops NorthPaws 11-6, their fourth win in a row.

NorthPaws lefty Shane Brinham made his WCL debut for Kamloops and was lights out. The Vancouver native threw five no-hit innings while striking out five batters. He walked six but consistently pitched his way out of trouble.

BOX SCORE

Michelle Artzberger’s two hits increased his batting average to .413 on the season (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

The HarbourCats had a southpaw of their own on the mound with Spencer Hatch (Tarleton State) starting his third game of the season. The NorthPaws hitters were seeing the ball well scoring two runs in the second and three runs in the third. Hatch went 2-1/3 innings giving up five runs on six hits while striking out four.

Thanks to Brinham’s strong outing, Kamloops had a 5-0 lead after five innings. The NorthPaws turned to Noah Del Rosario in the sixth but he struggled with his control, walking four batters, including two with the bases loaded which gave the Cats their first two runs of the ballgame. A Michael Crossland (UC San Diego) sacrifice fly followed to make it a 5-3 game.

WCL STANDINGS

Jake Finkelstein (Montana State) was excellent out of the bullpen for Victoria, pitching 2-2/3 of scoreless ball, and striking out the last five batters he faced.

The NorthPaws increased their lead to 6-3 through an error by HarbourCats catcher Jake Vrlak (Miami University) in the top of the seventh.

Cam Schneider reached base three times including a double in the seventh inning (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

The HarbourCats only had one hit through six innings but the offence finally exploded in the seventh. The Cats loaded the bases with zero outs to lead off the inning and Tyrus Hall (Bossier Parish) extended his hit streak to seven games with an RBI single, making it 6-4 Kamloops. That was followed by Vrlak’s first RBI of the season as he hit a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one. Later in the inning, Crossland hit a clutch two-out single with the bases loaded to score two runs and give his team their first lead of the game. After Gunner Antillon (Bowling Green) was hit by a pitch to load the bases once again, Michelle Artzbeger (ULM) cleared the bases with a double to give the Cats a 10-6 lead, capping off the seven-run frame.

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In the eighth inning, Kamana Hakanu (University of Hawaii) made his HarbourCats debut pinch-hitting for Vrlak and hit the third pitch he saw over the Wilson’s Group Stadium sign in left field giving Victoria an 11-6 lead.

Willem Heilker (Everett CC) and Jack Finn (Illinois State) pitched two innings each to close out the win for the HarbourCats.

The HarbourCats hit season highs in walks drawn with 14, and stolen bases with nine. Victoria leads the WCL in steals with 138.

Tomorrow at 6:35 PM is game two of Kids Free Weekend, thanks to Peninsula Co-op. You can get tickets at the HarbourCats office or at the gate on game day. The kid’s free offer is not available online.

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REMINDER: If you have HarbourCats ticket vouchers of any kind, 10-game flex packs, or season ticket equivalent vouchers, all vouchers must be used for any of our remaining eight home games. Should we make playoffs, vouchers are not eligible for any games no matter where they are played. You can exchange your vouchers in advance for game tickets at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Suffer Gruelling 18-9 Loss

Published

4 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.

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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.

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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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