Summer Collegiate
Victoria HarbourCats – Golden Tide battle hard, but run out of gas against Coyotes in CCBC semi-finals
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.
Summer Collegiate
Victoria HarbourCats – Team HarbourCats Reign Victorious in 2026 WCL Home Run Derby
Victoria, B.C. – In an electrifying back-and-forth competition, Team HarbourCats, a trio of Logan Shepherd, Michael Rodda, and the great Kevin Pillar, claimed a resounding victory in tonight’s home run derby.
Game one of the round robin got things started with a bang! The first matchup featured Team North taking on Team HarbourCats, and the action began right off the bat with Kevin Pillar making a spectacular catch to rob a home run. Superman doing Superman things.
Team North took an early lead, with Sam Kane (Walla Walla), Zach Wadas (Ridgefield), and Martin Serrano (Marion) clubbing the ball with passion. The home team stormed back in their second turn at the plate, however! Michael Rodda kicked things off and, after an absolute surge of homers, tagged in Logan Shepherd with 40 seconds remaining to finish the round. Shepherd and Rodda combined for a huge round to storm back and take a 35-33 lead.
Serrano began the top of the third, switching out halfway for Wadas. The two sluggers put together a strong inning and pushed Team South’s score to 52 points, no doubt a tough challenge for Team HarbourCats to overcome. Shepherd and Rodda gave it their all, but in the end came up just short with a 56-49 loss in game one.
Superman sends one deep to left. (Photo by JPM Photography)
Team HarbourCats took the field once again in game two, this time to face a North Division trio of Noah Cassie (Bellingham), Kade Crawford (Kamloops), and Ethan Reynolds (Nanaimo) – a band of sluggers about as fearsome as can be found in the WCL. The score was tied at 15 each after a first round that featured a tag-team effort from Kevin Pillar and Logan Shepherd.
Crawford and Reynolds squared off against a duo of Michael Rodda and Pillar in the second inning, resulting in the score remaining close at 29-26 in favour of the Cats. Team North’s final push in the top of the third gave them a 45-33 lead, meaning team HarbourCats needed just 13 points to walk it off. Logan Shepherd took that responsibility head on. The Mercer University slugger stepped up and hammered a steady stream of homers, walking off game two and giving the Cats a 1-1 record in the round robin.
The third and final round robin game was decided by a significantly wider margin. The powerhouse trio that is Team South combined raw power with quick defence, jumping out to a 48-38 lead after the first two innings.
Pillar’s mix of powerful offence and sturdy defence was a serious asset for Team HarbourCats. (Photo by JPM Photography)
Inning number three is where this third game really opened up, with Zach Wadas and Sam Kane combining for 24 points. If Team North wanted to salvage this game, they would need to make up a lot of ground. 31 points of ground to be exact.
Noah Cassie stepped in and made it respectable, but Team North suffered their second defeat of the round robin with a final score of 79-56, leaving Team South and Team HarbourCats to face off in the finals.
Before the finals began, a special surprise took the field! Nanaimo NightOwls head coach Cody Andreychuk duked it out in a head-to head derby with Cats assistant skipper Carson Myers. Andreychuk was lucky enough to catch the fearsome Coach Myers on a bad day, taking the Coaches’ Challenge 9-0.
The finals were next up, and it proved to be a legendary matchup indeed. Kevin Pillar kicked it off for Team HarbourCats and had clearly saved his best for the big moment. An early hot streak activation and a hefty handful of homers gave the Cats a solid lead out of the gate.
From then on, Team HarbourCats and Team South battled back in forth in a titanic tug-of-war. Walla Walla’s Sam Kane did his worst with a typhoon of long balls in the South Division’s turn at the dish, followed by a monstrous counterattack from second-year Cat Logan Shepherd to retake the lead.
Cats slugger Logan Shepherd delivered the winning blow. (Photo by JPM Photography)
Team South tried valiantly to make up the ground they needed, but in the end the clock ran out and victory for the home team was sealed. Logan Shepherd, Michael Rodda, and Kevin Pillar would be crowned Home Run Derby champions.
Don’t miss the 2026 West Coast League All-Star Game tomorrow night at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic park! Get your tickets at http://harbourcats.com/tickets to secure your seats!
Kamloops B.C. – The HarbourCats brought the house down in a 12-run victory over the Kamloops Northpaws, putting up a dozen runs for the second time in a row and taking the series for themselves.
WCL All-Star Erik Rico (Fresno State) was back on the bump for another successful start on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The California native powered through a three-inning stalemate in which both sides were held scoreless, allowing just two hits and picking up six strikeouts.
Though held hitless in the first third of the ballgame, the HarbourCats found their stride in the top of the fourth inning. San Jose State slugger Rohne Klein delivered the first blow in the form of an RBI double, before he and teammate Logan Shepherd (Mercer) bounded home on a triple by the speedy Dillon Lopez (St. Mary’s).
Victoria took advantage of the Northpaws’ lack of a counterattack with another swift strike in the fifth. Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) hit his second single of the game to drive in Cameron Chee-Aloy (Illinois), followed by RBI knocks from both Logan Shepherd and Jacob Silva (UTSA).
Bryan Bradshaw has been a strong all-around contributor for the Cats since arriving from UCSD, and notched three hits in today’s win. (Photo by JPM Photography)
Spencer Kratt (San Jose State) took up the torch from Rico in the fourth, holding off Kamloops until the lower half of inning six when a solo homer provided the first run for the Northpaws. Unfazed by this minor blemish in the face of a strong Victoria advantage, Kratt secured three groundouts in a row to end the inning.
The Cats, in retaliation to the home crew’s sting in the sixth, roared back with the power of teamwork. A few patient walks set the stage for a pair of singles from Michael Rodda (Palomar) and Cameron Chee-Aloy, who swiftly turned a 6-1 lead into a 9-1 lead with three frames left to be played.
When the Northpaws conceded another scoreless attempt at the plate, Victoria returned hungry for more. A plethora of baserunners confounded the Kamloops pitching staff, and another three runs crossed the plate before inning’s end. After all, why not make it an even dozen?
Tate Collins (Arkansas State) ran into some trouble in the bottom of the eighth when a walk and a single amplified the ensuing home run into a three-bagger. Nathan Mueller (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) was summoned to finish off the inning, and ended up holding on through the ninth to bring the game to a triumphant close.
With this series win under their belts, the HarbourCats will return to Vancouver Island to enjoy the Showpass 2026 West Coast League All-Star Festival presented by Canadian Club. You should too!
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.
GET YOUR ALL-STAR TICKETS BEFORE THEY ARE GONE! Tickets for the 2026 WCL All-Star Home Run Derby (featuring former Blue Jay Kevin Pillar) and the West Coast League All Star Game on July 14-15 are selling fast. Get yours today! Each event is now on sale separately, or grab the package deal for both and save a few bucks at http://harbourcats.com/tickets! Or call the office at 778-265-0327 to order by phone.
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