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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Fastpitch makes triumphant return to Royal Athletic Park

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Story and Photos by Christian J. Stewart

May 31, 2025

Victoria, BC – It wasn’t too long ago that players like Mike Piechnik and Reg Underwood and teams like Bate Construction, Payless and Travellers Inn were roaming the field at Royal Athletic Park and playing national championship caliber fastpitch in front of packed audiences.

Some of that history came alive again on Saturday afternoon as the Sooke Loggers and Lacey A’s put on a great exhibition of men’s fastpitch in front of a healthy crowd of 1,361 fans at Wilson’s Group Stadium.

The double header, put on by the HarbourCats Foundation and main sponsor Emery Electric, was an entertaining affair that saw the host Loggers thump the A’s 12-2 in game one and then eked out a tight 5-4 win in game two.

However the game was perhaps less important than some of the past legends of the game getting together and re-living old times. PA announcer extraordinaire Cliff Lequesne was on hand to handle some of the pre-game ceremonies,  Piechnik took the mound for first pitch duties along with his son Lucas, and Doug Roberts brought an amazing collection of classic jerseys that were on display on the third base concourse.

Saturday’s fastpitch games were a warm-up for the Victoria HarbourCats home opener that will take place next Friday June 6th against the Port Angeles Lefties.  Prior to that however, the local Victoria Eagles will invade Wilson’s Group Stadium as they will play a double header against the Langley Blaze at 12 Noon on Sunday and then follow that with a game Tuesday night at 6:35 pm against the cross town rival Victoria Mariners.

Tickets for all those games are available through the HarbourCats one and only ticketing partner Showpass at http://harbourcats.com/tickets.

Here are some more photos from today’s Fastpitch Showcase, courtesy of Christian J. Stewart.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats complete comeback with walk-off win

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Owen Clyne was back in the lineup Wednesday night, going one for five (Photo: Justin P Morash)

June 18, 2025

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. – The Victoria HarbourCats take game two in dramatic fashion, coming back to walk-off the Nanaimo NightOwls and winning 4-3.

Robert Sanford (Paris JC) made his fourth appearance and third start of the season for the Cats and started brightly with a one-two-three first inning. However, Nanaimo struck first in the second inning when Talan Zenk hit into an RBI fielder’s choice after a pair of singles put runners on the corners. Zenk then stole second and came around on a Brady Morse single to give the visitors an early 2-0 lead.

BOX SCORE

Jacob Hayes made it 3-0 in the top of the third with a deep sacrifice fly to the warning track in left. Sanford threw a season-high 53 pitches over three innings of work, giving up three runs on four hits, walking two and striking out one.

Ben Hewitt (Ottawa) was the first Cat out of the bullpen, making his third appearance of the campaign, and first since picking up the win on June 11. The big right-hander pitched two shutout innings while striking out one batter. Hewitt has not allowed a hit in five innings of work this season.

WCL STANDINGS

Saanichton native and captain of the New York Sirens of the PWHL, Micah Zandee-Hart, threw out the ceremonial first pitch (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

Victoria loaded the bases in the fourth inning and got a run on a Connor Ross (Cal Baptist) RBI groundout, cutting the Owls’ lead down to 3-1. Lino Zepeda got Jacob Doyle (Nevada) to fly out to end the threat. Zepeda started the game and threw five innings, giving up one run on four hits while striking out one batter.

Shea Lake (West Texas A&M) threw three shutout innings of relief to keep the Cats within touching distance, striking out four and giving up just one hit.

WATCH GAMES HERE

In the bottom of the seventh, the HarbourCats had the bases loaded with no one out but could not score, with Owls right-hander Jaedeyn Edwards pitching his way out of the jam.

Doyle cut the deficit to one with a two-out RBI single to left field, making it 3-2 Owls. Dalton Hanson then surrendered back-to-back walks to Xander McAfee (Texas Arlington) and Curtis McKay (Niagara), with the latter scoring the tying run.

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Garrett Villa (Angelo State), who is no stranger to pitching in high-leverage situations, came in to pitch the top of the ninth and kept the game tied at 3-3 with a scoreless inning.

Jacob Silva (TCU) was hit by a pitch and Cayden Munster (Fresno State) was walked which was followed by a pickoff attempt error to put the winning run on third base. Ross then smacked a single up the middle to walk it off and complete the comeback for the HarbourCats.

Victoria look for the sweep tomorrow at 11:00 AM. It is the second School Spirit Game of the season, presented by Kidsport. Be part of the one-of-a-kind atmosphere and buy tickets 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.

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Summer Collegiate

Nanaimo NightOwls Lay An Egg Against Island Rivals

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VICTORIA, B.C. — On a beautiful Tuesday night from Royal Athletic Park, the Nanaimo NightOwls couldn’t get anything going and dropped game one of the series 9-0 against their Island rival, Victoria HarbourCats. Victoria jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning before putting 6 on the board in the fourth. Nanaimo was hitting the ball hard all night, but it was at an opposing player every time.

Royal Athletic Park, Victoria, B.C.

The NightOwls had no runs on 5 hits and two errors, while the HarbourCats had nine runs on seven hits with zero errors. Nanaimo had a hard time finding the strike zone on the evening, but they look to rebound on Wednesday in game two. Check out the complete box score below.

https://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=620550

There were some bright spots on the night as Jacob Hayes added another hit and brought his hit streak up to 11 games. He also leads the team with 14 RBI.

Tyler Arnold and Jacob Hayes

Centerfielder Andrew Ivy had a solid day at the plate, going two for four, beating out a ground ball for an infield hit in the first inning and doubling in the fifth. Caden Petrey and Spencer Sullivan also added a hit each.

https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv/

Reliever Jakin Rohne, from Courtney, B.C., pitched very well to end the game for the Nanaimo NightOwls. The University of Victoria product threw three scoreless innings, giving up no hits and striking out one batter.

http://Nanaimonightowls.com/tickets

The Nanaimo NightOwls continue their three-game series with the Victoria HarbourCats June 18th and 19th. The team returns home on June 20th for a weekend series against the Port Angeles Lefties. That goes Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, June 20th, 21st, and 22nd at Serauxemen Stadium.

The team is on a 10-game homestand starting on the 20th of June. We have some great promotional days coming up, including Indigenous Peoples Day and Halloween in June. Make sure to get your tickets and follow the team on our website and social media when they are on the road for the latest information and updates!

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Summer Collegiate

Seven strong innings from Chien help NorthPaws win series opener

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The Kamloops NorthPaws defeated the Walla Walla Sweets in Washington 6-1 as the Sweets lost their first series opener at home this season. The NorthPaws have won back-to-back games and moved into sole possession of third place in the North Division, winning their 10th game of the season.

Righty Mason Chien was on the mound to start the week for the NorthPaws and pitched a gem, going seven innings, giving up one earned run on five hits, striking out eight batters. Chien’s lone troublesome inning was in the third when he gave up a walk and a single with one out. The second out was a fielder’s choice, leaving runners on the corners. Chien gave up a base hit, bringing home the only run of the game for the Sweets. That was the only inning Chien where gave up multiple hits.

At the plate, for the NorthPaws, the middle of the order was once again getting it done, with Drew Schmidt, Joey Rico and Jared Hall combining eight of the NorthPaws thirteenth hits. At the bottom of the order, the NorthPaws newest player, a second baseman from UT Tyler Tanner Hornback, had a pair of hits, including an RBI. Center fielder Ethan Kodama also had a pair of hits and scored twice as well.

In the second inning, the game would no longer be scoreless as Tanner Hornback, in his first at-bat as a NorthPaw, drove in Hall with a single. This would start a stretch of three consecutive innings, with Kamloops scoring a run. In the fourth, Joey Rico singled and brought home Kodama to make it 2-0. Kamloops made it three nothing with Kodama singling, scoring Hornback.

From there, it was all about Mason Chien. After the run scored in the third, he would only give up one more hit, and three of his final four innings were 1-2-3 innings, including striking out the side in order in the sixth. The Sweets had no answer, prompting Walla Walla Play-by-play broadcaster Drew Albaugh to say, “The NorthPaws are up by two right now, but it feels like way more the way Chein has pitched tonight.”

In the top of the eighth, Jared Hall singled, scoring Schmidt to give the NorthPaws some breathing room. The lead would be extended in the ninth courtesy of Schmidt, whose fourth hit of the night scored a pair, making it 6-1.

Lefty Kaden Douglas-Pluff came on in the eighth and cruised through the final two innings, securing the 10th win of the season for Kamloops. The NorthPaws and Sweets will be back at it tomorrow night at 6:35 as the NorthPaws look for their second road series victory of the season and third win in a row. You can find all the action on West Coast League TV.

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