Victoria, BC – The Victoria HarbourCats defeated the Kelowna Falcons in a convincing 11-2 victory, clinching a spot in the 2023 West Coast League Playoffs Saturday night, at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park.
It was a slow start for both teams early on, scoreless for both teams through two innings. The floodgates started to open for the HarbourCats thanks to an RBI triple from who fans call “the magic man”, Ryan Magdic.
The ‘Cats then extended their lead to three with a double from second baseman Marco Pirruccello sending Russell Young and Lane Brewster to home plate.
Despite a slow offensive outing for the Falcons, outfielder Griffin Palfrey hit a solo home run to left field at the top of the fifth, the only hit for the Falcons Saturday night, extending his hits to 30 this season. Kelowna would then add another run that innings thanks to outfielder Garret Crenshaw advancing to third and home off of a couple of wild pitches.
The ‘Cats would add on three more runs in the bottom of the fifth. But took the game out of reach in the bottom of the sixth as outfielder Jesse Brown hit a no-doubter grand slam into centre field, extending the HarbourCats lead to eight runs.
Pinch hitter Brandon Green would add on to the home run show in the bottom of the seventh, hitting his second of the season, a solo home run into centre field.
The Falcons could not start another comeback as the HarbourCats extend their home record to 22-1.
HarbourCats infielder Ryan Magic had an impressive performance Saturday night, hitting two for four, which included a double and a triple.
HarbourCats starting pitcher Daniel Gonzalez from Louisiana Monroe took the start Saturday night, putting up an impressive outing, striking out eight batters in just over four innings of work.
Relief pitchers Cody Howard, Logan MacNiel, and local prospect Darius Opdam Bak took care of the latter half of the game, combining for six strikeouts.
Victoria and Kelowna will play one more game at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park tomorrow at 1:05PM, as the HarbourCats will be giving away a funeral that afternoon thanks to HW Wallace Cremation and Burial Centre. The ‘Cats will then play a crucial three game series at home starting on Tuesday night at 6:35PM, against island rivals, the Nanaimo NightOwls. Victoria will then hit the road to play the Edmonton Riverhawks to end their 2023 regular season.
Tickets for all remaining HarbourCats games can be bought as always at harbourcats.com/tickets or at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.
VOUCHERS: Reminder that all ticket vouchers must be exchanged for tickets to any of our remaining four home games. They are NOT eligible for playoffs and may not be carried over to 2024.
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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