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Victoria HarbourCats – Busy final home weekend full of promos for HarbourCats games

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HarbourCats head home for final weekend series of the season, with plenty of fun promotional options in store

July 27, 2023

VICTORIA, B.C. — Fireworks after a jam-packed Friday, and a free funeral — yes, a free funeral, the last prize you ever need to win.

Promotional weekends don’t get much more packed than this one, with the playoff-chasing rival Kelowna Falcons in town to face the Victoria HarbourCats for a Friday-Saturday-Sunday series, with two evening games and a Sunday matinee.

Here’s how it stacks up, with something for everyone:

FRIDAY (6:35pm, gates at 5:30pm) — It’s a Galaxy Motors FORCES FRIDAY, as all Fridays are with the HarbourCats, and it’s BC Transit Day at the Park — special giveaways, and the 50-50 benefitting Tour De Rock.

SATURDAY (6:35pm, gates at 5pm) — It’s FIREWORKS! Last one of the year, with Joan Wallace Driving School, and welcoming groups from the Victoria Royals, Red Arrow Brewing and Martha’s Delectables. This fireworks game will be a super-busy one, potential for a crowd over 5,000 making for an even better atmosphere.

SUNDAY (1pm, gates at noon) — Yes, you can win a FREE FUNERAL, with HW Wallace Cremation and Burial Centre, with a will package from Mary McManus at Stevenson Doell Law, and an insurance and financial review with Mike Reilly of Gaining Altitude Financial. It’s our highest-value giveaway of the season — and you must be in attendance to win the prize.

“This is the time of year when the playoff chase and the promotions hit a fever pitch at Wilson’s Group Stadium,” said Christian Stewart, GM of the HarbourCats. “There is a lot going on off the field, and the team is 20-1 on home field and contending for a WCL championship. People come to our games for the baseball, but also for the promotions and the food trucks — lots come by bike this time of year, with great bike racks inside the complex.”

The HarbourCats are mired in a second-half playoff battle and as of Thursday morning, sit two games back of the Wenatchee AppleSox for the second–half title.  The Cats are also in the wild card running and currently hold down the third seed in the North.  The ‘Cats are on the road Thursday night to complete a series with Kamloops, having won 2-0 on  Tuesday and then dropped a 6-3 decision Wednesday.  They will look to keep pace in the Division by winning the series tonight.

Following the weekend series with Kelowna the ‘Cats welcome the Nanaimo NightOwls to town on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the final regular season home games of the season. They then hit the road for the final series of the season in Edmonton.

PLAYOFFS:  Should the HarbourCats win the second-half title, the first home playoff game will be on Wednesday, August 9th at 6:35 pm with a potential game three in the series on Thursday August 10th.  Should the HarbourCats clinch a wild card spot, the first home playoff game will be on Tuesday August 8th at 6:35 pm.  Tickets for any potential playoff games will go on sale on Tuesday August 1st.

Tickets for the upcoming series against Kelowna and Nanaimo, as always, can be purchased on-line at https://harbourcats.com/tickets.  They can also be purchased in person in advance at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street, or at the stadium box office on game days starting one hour prior to game time.

VOUCHERS:  If you have General Admission, Premium Reserved or Grandstand Reserved ticket vouchers, or if you have Save On Foods General Admission vouchers, please note you only have the six remaining home games to exchange vouchers for game tickets.  Vouchers are not eligible for any 2023 playoff games and may not be carried forward to the 2024 season.

If you have any questions regarding ticket voucher exchanges, please contact the office at 778-265-0327.

 

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Summer Collegiate

NightOwls get the call for International Events

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Righthanded pitcher Moosa Nonomiya, a 2024 Owl from Skagit Valley College, is a Japanese resident but his grandmother was from Pakistan, so he is going to be playing for Pakistan in Dubai in November at the Baseball United Arab Classic.

The tournament features nine teams, including India, Palestine, UAE and Pakistan, and is the top competitive event in the history of the Middle East and South Asia.

Nonomiya is also an outfielder for Skagit. Last summer, he started three games and made seven appearances in his 13.2 innings of work — and he has added velocity this fall after strong developmental work with NightOwls pitching coach Gorm Heimueller.

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Nanaimo Boy Returns Home To Lead The NightOwls

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A local product is coming home to historic Serauxmen Stadium.

 

Cody Andreychuk, currently the Head Coach of the University of Pikeville (NAIA, Pikeville, Kentucky), has been named the new top coach with the West Coast League’s Nanaimo NightOwls. He assumes the post immediately.

 

“Cody is a perfect fit in so many ways to fill the role with Greg Frady stepping down last week,” said General Manager Tina Cornett. “We obviously love that he’s from Nanaimo and will connect with the community very well, but he has a track record of developing players and winning games and will bring that local pride to the NightOwls.”

 

Andreychuk, who has a degree in Sports Management and a Masters in Business Administration, resides in Pikeville with his daughter Harper.

 

“I’m grateful and humbled for the opportunity to be the next baseball coach for the Nanaimo NightOwls, and I’d like to thank Jim Swanson and the ownership group for believing in a local guy to come in and lead this program at historic Serauxmen Stadium,” said Andreychuk, 32.

 

“My daughter and I are excited to be back home on the island for the summer and I look forward to meeting all the fans throughout the season.”

 

Andreychuk has been head coach at UPike since July of 2021, and his Bears team posted a 30-19 record this past spring. Prior to that, he was at Lindsey Wilson College as both assistant and head coach, and served as an assistant at UPike in 2016 and 2017.

Andreychuk knows summer collegiate baseball well — he was hitting coach and camps coordinator for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod League, the top collegiate summer baseball league.

 

“Growing up in Nanaimo and playing baseball through the Nanaimo Minor Baseball Association still to this day are some of the most special memories I cherish. I hope we can impact the youth the same way I was impacted growing up playing baseball in Nanaimo.”

 

Andreychuk is certainly not a stranger to the WCL. In addition to supplying strong UPike players to WCL teams — Riley Paulino and Richtter Castillo among those to be NightOwls — he played for the Kelowna Falcons in 2013, posting a .298 average in 33 games, driving in 17 runs. He played collegiately for the VIU Mariners, and with Tusculum Pioneers of the South Atlantic College before embarking on his coaching career. He batted .437 over 29 games in his first year at Tusculum, with two home runs and 29 RBIs. With VIU, he set records for batting average and triples.

 

His younger brother Griffin was a star with the Victoria HarbourCats, playing three seasons and having his number retired at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park. He helped lead the HarbourCats to a then-league record 40-14 record in 2016, a team that set a WCL mark with 19 straight victories.

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Summer Collegiate

Frady steps down as NightOwls Head Coach

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It will be more than a little odd to not see Greg Frady in the Nanaimo NightOwls dugout next summer.

The veteran college and international coach has stepped down as Head Coach of the West Coast League team after three seasons of dedication to setting a strong culture with the Nanaimo NightOwls.

 

The search for a new Head Coach is expected to be completed shortly and even announced this coming week.

 

“Greg was our first coach, and his classy way of interacting with the community and leading our players and coaches will never be forgotten,” said Jim Swanson, Managing Partner.

 

“He set the tone for teams that performed well on the field, and handled themselves with tremendous class on and off the field — he set a professional tone for the NightOwls and was respected by the players and people around the league. We have been blessed to have someone I consider a close friend as our head coach.”

 

Frady, 61, and his wife Rhonda spent three summers in the Harbour City, enjoying the perfect weather and endless scenery. Frady, a US Open pickleball champion, gave back in many ways but one of them was to hold skills clinics with Nanaimo pickleball players, where he was always smiling and teaching.

Frady had the team in playoff contention all three years, alive for a spot the final week of the expansion 2022 season, and within a couple games of the top eight playoff spots in 2023 and 2024. The last two seasons, the NightOwls finished ninth overall in the 16-team WCL — and eight teams advance. Players selected in the MLB draft from those teams include Elijah Ickes (2023) and Connor Caskenette (2024).

 

Frady led the expansion edition to a 22-32 record, with a late shot to win the North Division second half, and then posted identical 26-28 marks in 2023 and 2024, for an overall mark of 74-88.

 

The Fradys have endured some exciting times in the last three years, including the wedding of daughter Bailey, and engagement of son Riley. They also, like all Floridians, have seen hurricanes make a mess of their lives and homes the last few years — Hurricane Ian did damage to their Port Charlotte home two years ago, and Hurricane Milton was a direct hit this past week, leaving the Fradys to deal with damage over the next while, and leading to the decision to let the NightOwls install a new Head Coach.

“We thank Greg and Rhonda — they are tremendous people, and they will always have so many friends in the mid-Island area,” said Swanson.

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