Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – ‘Cats get come from behind win over Nanaimo to keep in first place hunt

Published

12 months ago

August 2, 2023

Dugout Wire Service

HarbourCats catcher Russell Young tags out Nanaimo’s Niko Diaz on an early play at home plate.

Story and Photos by Christian J. Stewart

August 1, 2023

Victoria, BC – Marco Pirruccello scored three times and Michael Crossland had a pair of RBI as the Victoria HarbourCats erased 5-1 deficit to beat the Nanaimo Night Owls 8-6 Tuesday night in West Coast League action at Wilson’s Group Stadium in Victoria.

FULL BOX SCORE

The win moves the now 33-15 HarbourCats to within 1.5 games of Wenatchee for first place in the North Division second-half standings, as the AppleSox lost 12-1 to Bellingham.

HarbourCats starter Russell Derbyshire delves a pitch.

After jumping into a 1-0 lead, the HarbourCats found themselves down 5-1 after the top of the fifth as the Owls push 2 runs across in the top of the fourth and another three in the top of the fifth.

Victoria would respond in the bottom of that frame, taking advantage of a number of Nanaimo defensive mistakes and then getting a two-RBI single from Crossland to score four in the frame and tie the game at 5-5. More defensive miscues for Nanaimo, who finished with four errors total in the game, allowed Victoria to score three more in the bottom of the sixth and put the game out of reach.

Hudson Shupe strokes a single in front of a crowd of over 2,800 at Wilson’s Group Stadium Tuesday night

Nanaimo would score one more in the eighth and threaten in the ninth, loading the bases, but ‘Cats closer Brett Harvey got a ground out to end the threat and the game.

In addition to Pirruccello’s two hits, Jesse Brown also had a two-hit night with an RBI and a run scored. Ryan Magdic added a double and Hudson Shupe also had a hit and a run scored to contribute to the win.

For Nanaimo Elijah Ickes had a four hit evening, including a double, while Ethan Rivera had three hits and three RBI in the losing effort.

On the mound, newcomer Dustin Davidson gets credit for the win in relief, while Harvey earns the save. Russell Derbyshire started the game for Victoria and went four innings giving up a pair of runs (on earned) on four hits. Four other Victoria pitchers also saw work Tuesday evening.

For Nanaimo, reliver Carson Jones takes the loss.

Ryan Magdic watches his second inning double head to centerfield

These two teams are right back at it on Wednesday night at 6:35 for the annual Odlum Brown Jersey Off Their Backs night where lucky fans can go home with a HarbourCats jersey following the game. The series wraps up Thursday at 6:35 pm with the annual Fan Appreciation Night, with all kinds of special prizes and one fan winning a Staycation at the Rialto Hotel.

Tickets for all remaining HarbourCats games and now the first TWO playoff games, can be purchased on-line at https://harbourcats.com/tickets.

Vouchers: A reminder that all ticket vouchers must be redeemed at either of our two remaining home games and may not be used for playoffs or carried forward to 2024.

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Summer Collegiate

NightOwls Split Double-Dip in Edmonchuck

Published

2 days ago

July 25, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

EDMONTON, Alta. — Less smoke, more offense.

The Nanaimo NightOwls, seemingly stranded on the road toward the end a six-game road trip that started with a sweep of three games in Kamloops, ended the game action portion with a 12-1 thumping of the Edmonton Riverhawks on Wednesday night.

The NightOwls, smoked out from the planned Tuesday game — and our hearts go out to those affected by the tragic wildfire in Jasper — went an impressive 4-2 on the trip.

The first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader was a 7-1 Edmonton win, spurred by a four-run second inning. Starter Joshua Torres took the loss, while Sammy Kahler was 2-3 as part of a combined team effort of eight hits.

In the second game, Deshon Thomas was 3-4 with four runs driven in to pace the offense. The NightOwls scored seven runs in the second inning then piled on with three in the fifth and two in the sixth, bashing 10 hits and adding seven walks to set the stage for all the runs.

Noah Hata and Drew Rutter drove in two runs each, and Mitchell Middlemiss was 2-4 with three runs. Hsu He-Chieh was 2-3 with two runs scored.

Game 1 Boxscore Game 2 Boxscore

Jacob Fleury of Skagit Valley was stellar on the mound, giving up five hits and one run in five innings and improving to 3-2 on the season. Paul Montgomery and Issac Araiza pitched an inning each in relief. Araiza struck out two in the final inning for the punctuation.

Standings

The NightOwls are now 20-22 overall and 8-7 in the second half, very much in the playoff hunt for both the second half crown or one of two wildcard playoff spots in the North Division.

NightOwls TV WCL Pixellot

The next home action for the NightOwls, after a Thursday off day, is hosting the Bellingham Bells at historic Serauxmen Stadium for a Friday-Saturday-Sunday series. Every game counts with how tight the standings are for playoff positions with three spots from the North still to be determined.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats end road trip with sweep of Lefties

Published

2 days ago

July 25, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

July 24, 2024

For immediate release

PORT ANGELES, WA – Michael Crossland stayed hot increasing his hit streak to five games with a three-hit night, leading the Victoria HarbourCats to a 6-3 win against the Port Angeles Lefties.

Shea Lake started his fourth game of the season and was impressive, pitching into the fifth inning for the first time. The Hawaii Pacific right-hander went 4-1/3 innings giving up two unearned runs on one hit, while striking out three.

BOX SCORE

Lake received run support early through RBI singles from Tyrus Hall and Ny’Zaiah Thompson in the second inning to give the Cats a 2-0 lead. With that base knock, Hall increased his hit streak to six games

Crossland’s second double of the evening drove home a run in the fourth inning to make it 3-0. Gunner Antillon followed that up with a single to score Crossland giving Victoria a commanding 4-0 lead. The second baseman had two hits to increase his season average to .308 and add to his on-base streak of 20 games.

WCL STANDINGS

Nick Frers gave up one unearned run while pitching 1-2/3 innings, striking out one.

Crossland’s third hit of the game was a sixth-inning RBI single which made it 5-3 HarbourCats. Victoria added an insurance run in the ninth with Michelle Artzberger getting in on the action, hitting a two-out double to give his team a 6-3 lead. The first baseman now has a .408 batting average in 18 games.

WATCH GAMES HERE

Garrett Villa recorded the save pitching the final three innings striking out a season-high five batters while giving up three hits and zero runs.

The sweep of the Lefties means the Cats are back to .500 on the season with a 21-21 record. In the second-half standings, they sit two and a half games back of the Wenatchee AppleSox for the North Division lead.

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The HarbourCats now return home on Friday, July 26 at 6:35 pm to begin a three-game series against the Kamloops North Paws. That game kicks off “Kids Free Weekend” where all kids 12 and under get in free thanks to Peninsula Co-op. Simply come to the gate on any of the three game days, or get your tickets for these games in advance at the HarbourCats office. The Kids Free option is NOT available online.

REMINDER: If you have HarbourCats ticket vouchers of any kind, 10-game flex packs, or season ticket equivalent vouchers, just a reminder that all vouchers must be used for any of our remaining nine 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

NightOwls Lose a Tough One in Edmonton

Published

3 days ago

July 24, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

EDMONTON, Alta. — One more strike was all that was needed.

The Nanaimo NightOwls, fresh off an impressive sweep of a road series in Kamloops, were one pitch away from a fourth straight win on Monday night in Edmonton, but a clutch two-out single in the bottom of the ninth scored two runs to give the host Riverhawks a 5-4 win in West Coast League action.

The NightOwls are now 19-21 on the season and 7-6 in the second half, within grasp of top spot in the North Division lead for snaring home field advantage in the playoffs.

Boxscore

The NightOwls scored two runs in the first and sixth innings and the pitching was strong, from starter Moosa Nonomiya to relievers Tahj Orona, Kai Hanasaki, Grant Jakobson and Ryan Inouye, who was within that one pitch of another save.

Second baseman Hsu He-Chieh had two hits, a run and an RBI, and Wylie Waters had a first-inning double to lead the NightOwls on offence. Waters drove in his 34th run of the season.

Standings

The NightOwls were outhit 13-8 in warm, hazy conditions. In a rarity in today’s game, there were just four strikeouts total, three of them at the expense of Nanaimo batters.

NightOwls TV WCL Pixellot

The NightOwls are in Edmonton for a Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday battle with the Riverhawks, one of the teams Nanaimo will want to get ahead of in the very tight North Division standings.

Right-hander Joshua Torres will start the Tuesday game for Nanaimo, with Jacob Fleury slated for Wednesday night.

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