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 – Offence Erupts Early in 15-5 Win

Published

2 days ago

June 22, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

David Krahn’s two-homer ballgame led the way for an offensive clinic. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Port Angeles, WA – The HarbourCats closed out the Port Angeles series in style on a sunny Sunday afternoon, racking up 17 hits in a 15-5 victory.

David Krahn (UBC) took it upon himself to spark the offence early in this one, blasting a leadoff rocket to make it 1-0 Cats in the top of the first.

BOX SCORE

The Lefties responded quickly, dropping a perfectly placed line drive into left field to bring in the tying run in the bottom of the first. Port Angeles threatened with more runners in scoring position, but an unassisted double play by David Krahn kept the game even at one.

Cats outfielder Max Bernal (Fresno Pacific) knocked a double into the gap in the next inning to push Dryden Fuoco (Hill College) up to third base. David Krahn came in clutch once again in his second trip to the plate, driving in Fuoco to snatch the lead back for Victoria. The second-inning offence wouldn’t end there for the Cats, as Matt Westley (George Mason) and Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) both singled to widen the lead to 5-1 by the end of the frame.

Matt Westley was 2/4 this afternoon with a double and 3 RBI. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Victoria didn’t let up after gaining the lead, putting some ducks on the pond in the top of the third inning for, you guessed it, David Krahn. The Langley, B.C. product pulverized his second homer of the game to further extend the lead to 8-1. The hits just kept coming in the third frame, and suddenly Victoria was up 12-1.

A bruised Lefties lineup managed to throw a counter-punch in the bottom of the third, uncorking two leadoff home runs to dead centre. A valiant effort, but the home side had a lot of work to do if they were to erase a 12-3 deficit.

The Cats kept their foot on the gas, loading the bases in the top of the fifth and bringing home a pair of runs on hits by Matt Westley and Brady Hewitt. Austin Lindsey (Hill College) came in to pitch for the bottom of the fifth, relieving Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) who allowed three runs on four hits over four innings.

Spencer Kratt (San Jose State) took over on the heels of two spotless no-hit innings from Lindsey, before Anson Stuckly (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) closed it out in the ninth with two strikeouts.

Port Angeles managed to scrape together a comeback attempt in the later innings, but Victoria’s mountainous lead stayed intact for a 15-5 win.

WCL STANDINGS

With the road trip complete, the Cats will come back to Victoria to take on the Nanaimo NightOwls at 6:30 pm on Tuesday night.

Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games and the 2026 West Coast League All-Star Game and Home Run Derby 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.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Lefties Take Game Two in Extra Innings

Published

3 days ago

June 20, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Port Angeles, WA – The Port Angeles Lefties eked out a win in an extra innings nail-biter, walking it off for an 8-7 victory,

It didn’t take long for the HarbourCats to follow up on last night’s win. Jacob Silva (UTSA) stepped into the box and crushed an RBI double to take an early lead in the top of the first.

BOX SCORE

The Lefties responded in a big way in the bottom of the second, taking advantage of hard contact and a HarbourCats error to set the stage for a three-run homer. This ended a short start for Bryson Toner (Hawaii), giving way to Daniel Tovar (Northern Kentucky) to finish the second inning down 5-1.

Lightning struck twice in the fourth inning for the HarbourCats. Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) crushed his team-leading third homer of the year, followed up by Renton, Washington’s Rohne Klein (San Jose State) sending one well over the fence as well. With two home runs in just one inning, the Cats were suddenly right back in this game.

Brady Hewitt let one fly tonight for his third homer of the season. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Momentum continued for the Cats in their next trip to the plate. David Krahn (UBC) found a gap and hustled his way to a leadoff double before returning home on a Matt Westley (George Mason) base hit later in the inning. Kade Davis (UTSA) would eventually be the man to take back the lead for Victoria, as he came through with a 2-RBI double down the right field line to push the score to 6-5 in favour of the HarbourCats.

The home team was determined not to let this outburst slide, solving Daniel Tovar for the first time and tying the game at six. Tovar exited the game after a strong outing on the bump, going 3.1 innings with two hits, one run, and three strikeouts.

Jack Clark (CSU San Marcos) was rock-solid in a four-inning relief appearance in which he gave up only one hit. The score remained deadlocked all the way until extra innings, when Rohne Klein earned a sacrifice fly to take a narrow 7-6 lead in the top of the tenth frame. The Lefties struck back once again in the bottom of the inning, laying a bunt down to move the runners over and walking it off to force a rubber match on Sunday.

WCL STANDINGS

The third and final match of the series takes place on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 pm, after which the Cats will return to Victoria to face the Nanaimo NightOwls at 6:30 pm on Tuesday night.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – 5-1 Win Secured in Port Angeles

Published

3 days ago

June 20, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria threw strikes and claimed a decisive win to begin the series.

Port Angeles, WA – The HarbourCats opened up the road series in Port Angeles on Friday night, taking a 5-1 win on the back of some excellent pitching performances.

BOX SCORE

The first outburst of the ballgame belonged to the HarbourCats this evening, doing some serious damage in the third inning. The first of three runs came on an infield single by Tristan Buehring (Whitman) to drive in Dryden Fuoco (Hill College), followed by a 2-RBI double hammered by Logan Shepherd (Mercer).

Right-hander Erik Rico (Fresno State) was back on the bump to start the game for the Cats in his fourth appearance of a sensational season thus far. It was business as usual in this outing for the Fresno State flamethrower, piling up a tidy eight strikeouts over the course of four innings and still refusing to give up a run all season.

Victoria added to their lead in the top of the fifth. Designated hitter Logan Shepherd earned a walk, stole a bag, and blazed his way around third to score on a two-bagger down the line from third baseman Matt Westley (George Mason).

Another arm was required for the Cats in the wake of Rico, and from the bullpen emerged Easton Reimers (North Dakota State). The Missoula, Montana native gave up a two-out solo blast in his first inning of work, but Victoria answered with another run the very next frame. Rohne Klein (San Jose State) showed off some heads-up baserunning and ended up coming around to score on a groundout in the top of the sixth to push the score to 5-1.

Reimers buckled down for the bottom of inning number six, setting down the side in order with a pair of strikeouts and finding his groove to pitch through two innings without giving up another run. Houston Tomlinson (Arkansas State) filled in for the eighth before giving way to Hudson Lance (Coastal Carolina), who closed out the win for Victoria in the series opener.

WCL STANDINGS

The Cats will play two more contests against the Lefties this weekend and then return home to take on the Nanaimo NightOwls at 6:30 pm on Tuesday evening.

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