Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Golden Tide battle hard, but run out of gas against Coyotes in CCBC semi-finals

Published

5 years ago

October 11, 2021

Dugout Wire Service

Story and Photos by Christian J. Stewart

October 10, 2021, Kelowna, BC – The new kids on the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC) block, the Victoria Golden Tide, battled hard, but eventually dropped an 11-5 decision to the Okanagan College (OC) Coyotes in semi-final action Sunday night at the CCBC Fall Championship Tournament at Elks Field in Kelowna.

Tide starting pitcher Triston Seitz would have a tough first inning, but then settle down to hold the Coyotes scoreless in the rest of his five inning outing Sunday.

The scrappy Tide, who earlier in the day ousted Thompson Rivers from the tournament with a 13-4 win, actually took a 5-4 lead into the bottom half of the seventh inning against the Coyotes, but then ran out of gas, and watched as the host squad would score two in the bottom of the seventh and another five in the bottom of the eighth to cruise to what appeared to be an easy win.

Victoria second baseman Alex MacLauchlan looks for the call but doesn’t get it as the OC’s Ryan Doucette slides in safely on this play.

That was anything but the case, as the tide battled back from an early 3-0 deficit with two runs in the third and another in the fourth to tie the game and then after Okanagan plated a run in the bottom of the sixth to re-take the lead, the Tide scored another two in the top of the seventh to vault into a 5-4 lead.

Coyote third baseman Nolan Rivard prepares to throw over the head of pitcher Adam Sarafinchin on a ground ball from the Tide’s Will Podmoroff.

The Tide would also outhit the Coyotes 8-5 on the day, but seven Victoria errors, combined with 12 passed balls and five wild pitches, would be the ultimate undoing for Victoria, as the Coyotes scored five of their final seven runs, including the tying and go-ahead runs in the seventh, courtesy of passed balls and wild pitches.

Victoria’s Tyler Burton (12) is congratulated by Jordan Bond (33) after scoring a run for the Tide.

McCoy Pearce, who had an RBI single as part of a Coyotes three-run first inning, would be the offensive catalyst for OC, finishing with three hits, including a triple, two RBI and a pair of runs scored. Nolan King would also have a hit, two walks and a pair of runs scored.

The Tides’ Brendan Morrison would get around the tag of Coyotes catcher Caleb Lumbard to score one of Victoria’s runs Sunday evening.

For Victoria, leadoff hitter Tyler Burton led the way with a pair of singles, a walk and two runs scored, while Brendan Morrison continued his hot streak with a hit and pair of RBI. Will Podmoroff also had a single, walk and run scored in the losing effort.

Victoria’s Zeke Holt slides into third safely under the tag of Coyotes third baseman Nolan Rivard.

On the mound OC’s Aiden Mordecai gets the win in relief of starter Adam Sarafinchin. Jesse Poniewozik pitched the ninth inning to close out the win.

For the Tide, starter Triston Seitz would settle down after a tough first inning and not allow another run after that in his five innings of work, walking five and striking out six. Nick Lee, who pitched 1.2 innings in relief gets tagged with the loss, while Wyatt Mohr-Royer and Ben Havelock also saw work on the hill.

The Tide’s Will Podmoroff gets high fives after scoring against Okanagan College Sunday evening.

The Coyotes will now move on to the finals at 12 Noon on Monday where they will play the winner of the game between the Prairie Baseball Academy and the University of the Fraser Valley. That game was in progress at press time with PBA leading UFV 1-0 in the fourth inning.

Victoria shortstop Brandon Green makes a throw to first during Sunday’s game.

The Tide will now head home to Victoria and continue their fall season this Saturday, October 16th, with a Black vs Gold intersquad doubleheader and then Sunday, the top college baseball program in Canada, the UBC Thunderbirds come to town for a pair.

Victoria’s Chase Thompson celebrates after scoring the tying run in the seventh inning of Sunday’s game.

All games Saturday and Sunday will be at Wilson’s Group Stadium with both doubleheaders scheduled to start at 1:00 pm. Tickets are $5.00 and $10.00 and will be available at the gate. Children 12 and under get in free!

Victoria’s Tyler Burton slides home safely with what would be the go-ahead run in the seventh inning Sunday.

The Coyotes celebrate their 11-4 semi-final win over Victoria.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Defeated by AppleSox in Game Three

Published

2 days ago

July 19, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The HarbourCats have been kept quiet in two straight games after a powerful offensive showing in game one. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Victoria, B.C. – In a winner-take-all matchup against the Wenatchee AppleSox, Victoria’s bats came up short, falling 3-1 to the visiting AppleSox and losing the series.

The AppleSox claimed the first advantage in game three of this head-to-head series, rocking a rare double off of Erik Rico (Fresno State) and cashing in the run for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

BOX SCORE

It wasn’t until the top of the fifth when Wenatchee would add on, smashing a two-run homer with two outs in the top of the fifth. That bomb ended the outing for Rico, who gave up three runs today on five hits and notched nine strikeouts. Leif Friedrich (Concordia-Nebraska) took his place and finished off the inning

The HarbourCats finally got themselves on the board in the bottom of the eighth, with a costly Wenatchee error allowing Lukas Le Gras (Westmont) to score from second. Michael Rodda (Palomar) got on base due to the error, but ended up being stranded by a popup to end the inning.

Davis Lee hit the ground running to retire the side in the top of the ninth. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Friedrich ended up going a solid 3.1 innings, allowing just two baserunners and striking out three. He was swapped out for Davis Lee (Calgary) prior to the top of the ninth, and Lee worked quickly and carefully to retire the side and get two strikeouts of his own.

The HarbourCats offence struggled tonight, coming up with only one run. Logan Shepherd (Mercer) and Declan Brown (Ottawa University) both walked in the bottom of the ninth to get the tying run on base, but Victoria was unable to capitalize with runners on and eventually dropped the rubber match of the series 3-1.

WCL STANDINGS

After an off-day tomorrow, the Cats will head up island to Nanaimo for a three-game weekday series before returning home for the weekend.

Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games 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 – AppleSox Surge Back Late to Tie Series

Published

2 days ago

July 19, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The Cats got off to a hot start but fell behind in the late stages of the game. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Victoria, B.C – The second game of this head-to-head series swung the other way, with Wenatchee taking a 7-2 victory over the HarbourCats.

BOX SCORE

It was home run derby champion Logan Shepherd that got things started tonight! The Mercer University infielder yanked a smooth line drive to the pull side to cash in Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) from second and claim a 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning.

Both sides’ bats fell silent until the home half of the fourth, which Rohne Klein (San Jose State) led off. Klein only needed to see one pitch before absolutely detonating a fastball and sending it far, far over the opposite field wall at an unofficially measured distance of about a million feet.

Quincey Brown (UCSD) exited the game after an absolute gem of a start. The Seattle-born freshman went five innings without giving up a run, and refused to even allow a single baserunner over the last four. Daniel Tovar (Northern Kentucky) took over for him in the sixth, and his first inning of work went off without a hitch as the AppleSox were felled in order.

Quincey Brown added another exquisite start to his 2026 resume. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Tovar’s next frame wasn’t so quick and easy. The AppleSox found the right pitch and blasted it over the fence for a solo shot, cutting the Cats’ lead in half in the top of the seventh. The predicament grew when a few consecutive singles loaded the bases and two more runs scored on an error and a balk. When the dust settled on a chaotic seventh inning, Wenatchee found themselves up by one.

Carson Ackermann (Tacoma) was chosen to toe the slab in the eighth inning, and he let up a sacrifice fly that put the AppleSox up by two with one inning left to go. The right-hander returned for the ninth and Wenatchee got to him once again, bashing a two-run triple for a 7-2 lead.

Rohne Klein flexed his power with an oppo homer in the fourth. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Try as they might, the HarbourCats could not recover from the AppleSox’ late-game onslaught, dropping the middle game of the three-game set by a score of 7-2.

WCL STANDINGS

The decider between Victoria and Wenatchee takes place tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 3:05 pm.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Beat AppleSox on Harvey’s Birthday

Published

3 days ago

July 18, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats took on the division-leading Wenatchee AppleSox for the first time this season, walking away with a 9-7 win to open up the series.

If one thing was evident in the early stages of tonight’s ballgame, it’s that Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) had his best stuff. Fresh off of an All-Star Game appearance, Arnett racked up six strikeouts in his first two innings! The AppleSox would finally solve the Cats starter in the third inning, however, smashing a solo homer to take the lead. Wenatchee followed up with a double and a single before the end of the inning to extend their new lead to 2-0.

BOX SCORE

Victoria retaliated in a big way in the home half of the third. It all started with Dryden Fuoco (Hill College) reaching first base on a dropped third strike. After that, two singles loaded the bases with nobody out for the red-hot Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD), who pummelled a double down the left field line to bring in two runs and tie the game. Jacob Silva (UTSA) got his piece of the pie soon after, scorching a single through the infield and snatching a two-run lead.

It wasn’t long before the HarbourCats crossed the plate again. With the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the fourth, a pitch in the dirt got away from the Wenatchee catcher and ended up allowing two runs to come home when the throw to the plate went awry. A Kwakrifice play from Riley Kwak (Bossier Parish) provided a cherry on top, and Victoria left behind the fourth inning with a comfortable 7-2 lead.

Designated hitter Logan Shepherd (Mercer) singled to leadoff the bottom of the fifth, and the AppleSox did the rest of the work for him. Three wild pitches in the inning gave Shepherd room to advance to second, third, and finally home to push that lead even further.

Arnett took his leave after five innings in which he gave up two runs on six hits, striking out an impressive nine batters along the ride. In his place appeared Spencer Kratt of San Jose State. Kratt let a couple of runners on but made up for it when a strike ’em out, throw ’em out double play brought a swift end to the inning.

Kratt vacated the mound after allowing two runs on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning, and Taylor Franklin (George Fox) was tagged in as his replacement. Franklin buckled down and fulfilled his duty, punching out a batter to finish off the inning. The Cats returned fire in the home half of the eighth inning on a Michael Rodda (Palomar) single to set up a bigger buffer for the top of the ninth, Wenatchee’s last shot.

Victoria found themselves in some trouble in the ninth, with Flynn Warren (Hawaii Pacific) letting up three runs. His replacement, Anson Stuckly (Texas A&M Corpus Christi), was able to clutch up and put the finishing touches on a 9-7 victory over the AppleSox.

WCL STANDINGS

With the upper hand in the series, the Cats have a series win in their sights when they take in Wenatchee again on Saturday night at 6:35 pm.

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