Summer Collegiate
Victoria HarbourCats – Golden Tide defeats Wolfpack, advances to CCBC semi-finals
Story and Photos by Christian J. Stewart
October 10, 2021, Kelowna, BC – Jordan Bond had a double, three-run home run and three-RBI triple to lead the Victoria Golden Tide to a come from behind 13-4 win over the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) Wolfpack Sunday morning in round robin play at the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC) Fall Championship Tournament at Boucherie Field in West Kelowna.
Jordan Bond watches his three-run home run head toward the left field fence in the seventh innng.
The win moves the Tide record to 2-1 and vaults them into the Championship semi-finals at 4:00 pm Sunday where they will face the Okanagan College Coyotes at Elks Field.
The Tide dug themselves a bit of a hole against TRU early Sunday when starter Cameron Dunn struggled off the top and an error loaded the bases for TRU’s Matt Olsen who promptly put the ball over the leftfield fence to give the Wolfpack a 4-0 lead after half an inning of play.
Matt Olsen and his TRU team celebrate his first inning Grand Slam that gave the Wolfpack an early 4-0 lead.
Dunn would settle in nicely after that and in the bottom of the fourth, his offence would reward him, as Bond led the inning off with a double to the fence. The Wolfpack would then play some sloppy defence and suddenly the Tide had tied the game 4-4 with Bond’s hit being the only ball out of the infield.
Alex MacLauchlan would then stroke and RBI-single and the Tide took a 5-4 lead into the fifth inning.
Victoria starter Cameron Dunn, had a rough first inning, but the settled in nicely, pitching into the seventh inning and getting credit for the 13-4 win.
In the top of the seventh, after cruising nicely from the second inning on, Dunn found himself in trouble with TRU runners on first and second with just one out. He would be lifted in place of reliever Brett Paterson, who promptly induced an inning ending double-play ground ball and the Tide kept their 5-4 lead intact.
Victoria Will Podmoroff is congratulated after scoring for the Golden Tide.
That seemed to motivate the offence even more and in the bottom of the seventh, Brendan Morrison laced an RBI double down the third baseline to put Victoria up 6-4. After an intentional walk to Zeke Holt, Bond crushed his home run over the leftfield fence to extend the lead to 9-4.
the Golden Tide used some good defence Sunday, turning a number of double plays to get out of trouble against TRU.
Paterson kept the Wolfpack off the board in the top of the eighth and the Tide then continued their offensive roll, scoring once to go up 10-4 and then loading the bases for Bond, who then tripled to the fence in left-centre, clearing the bases and giving the Tide the 13-4 mercy rule win.
Victoria reliever Brett Paterson reacts after getting an inning-ending double play in the seventh to preserve a 5-4 lead over TRU.
The Tide now face the OC Coyotes in the semi-finals and with a win, can advance to the Championship finals at 12 Noon on Sunday.
In the other semi-final the Fraser Valley Cascades (the number one seed in Pool B) will take on the Prairie Baseball Academy who defeated Edmonton Collegiate 10-2 Sunday morning to advance. That game will go at 7:30 pm Sunday night.
Victoria’s Brendan Morrison strokes an RBI double down the third baseline against TRU.
Tide catcher Parker Harris would snag a great throw from Tyler Burton in centerfield to nail TRU baserunner Kiesten Evans in a key defensive play in the 8th inning.
The semi-finals and finals will be streamed via the OC Coyotes You Tube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/okanagancollegebaseball
An explosive first inning paved the way for Victoria to cruise to a win. (Photo by JPM Photography)
Nanaimo, B.C. – The HarbourCats showed up in a big way with a chance to lock down a series win on Wednesday night, thrashing the Nanaimo NightOwls 16-6.
With the victory on Tuesday, the HarbourCats were looking to hit the ground running in game two, and boy, did they ever. After Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) kicked off the game with a single to centre field, the Cats simply kept the line moving around and around the bases, scoring seven runs by the time the inning came to an end.
A hit by pitch and a walk followed the Bradshaw single, loading the bases with nobody out for Rohne Klein (San Jose State), who legged out an infield hit to score Bradshaw from third. A sacrifice fly by Dillon Lopez (St. Mary’s) brought home Jacob Silva (UTSA), and Logan Shepherd (Mercer) scored from third soon after on a pitch in the dirt that got by the catcher. Michael Rodda (Palomar) got the next kick at the can and laced another single through the infield to bring in Klein. The NightOwls starter wasn’t doing himself any favours either, as a pickoff attempt that sailed over the head of the third baseman let another HarbourCat cross the plate, and a grounder back to the mound that was bafflingly thrown to third brought home run number seven. Nanaimo finally buckled down and secured the last two outs, but not before Victoria took a commanding lead with eight and a half innings still yet to come.
Though not quite at the intensity of the first inning, Victoria continued to put up runs throughout the middle innings. Riley Kwak (Bossier Parish) had an RBI single in the third to drive in the eighth run of the game, and Logan Shepherd blasted a three-run bomb in the fifth, his fourth of the summer to make it an 11-0 lead.
Shepherd’s fifth-inning homer strengthened the lead. (Photo by JPM Photography)
While the offence was doing their thing, Cats pitcher Spencer Kratt (San Jose State) put together a solid outing of his own. Kratt allowed no runs on two hits across his four innings, striking out five NightOwls before giving way to Tate Collins (Arkansas State) in the fifth. The NightOwls rallied to score their first two runs of the ballgame off of Collins in the sixth inning, although with a nine-run deficit staring them down, they had just reached the base camp of a long climb.
Victoria continued to add on after Nanaimo’s resurgence, pushing the score to 13-2 on an error and a groundout before the NightOwls responded by knocking in another run on back-to-back doubles.
A fielder’s choice, an error, and a sacrifice fly led to three more runs in the top of the eighth to increase the HarbourCats’ buffer in the late stages, just in case of emergency. Hunter Daniels (Phoenix) appeared to pitch the bottom of the ninth, giving up three runs but ultimately closing out a 16-6 thrashing to win the 2026 Island Cup.
With the series win secured, the Cats will go for the sweep on Thursday night before returning to Victoria.
There are only seven home games remaining in the 2026 regular season including our final weekend homestand of the year against Kamloops this Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then a mid-week set against the Port Angeles Lefties next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday! Then on August 3rd, we end the season with a bang! Our final fireworks show and Fan Appreciation Night! Don’t miss your chance to catch a game in 2026! Get your tickets now at http://Harbourcats.com/tickets.
ATTENTION VOUCHER HOLDERS: Just a reminder that all ticket vouchers must be exchanged for one of our remaining regular season games! They are not eligible for playoffs, nor can they be carried over to 2027.
Solid offence in the early stages of the game led to an important game one win. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)
Nanaimo, B.C. – The HarbourCats kicked off the Nanaimo series the right way with a 5-2 win over their hosts, the Nanaimo NightOwls.
It didn’t take long for the HarbourCats to put themselves in front, battling with two outs to take the lead in the top of the first. Two walks and a single loaded the bases with two away, and a couple of passed balls opened the door for both Logan Shepherd (Mercer) and Rohne Klein (San Jose State) to score. The Cats came back and tacked on another in the second inning with a Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) sac fly and would then load the bases up again in the third, scoring another run by way of a walk from Cameron Chee-Aloy (Illinois).
While the bats were heating up, starting pitcher Shea Lake (West Texas A&M) held up his end of the bargain and then some. In the four innings he oversaw, Lake notched seven strikeouts and denied Nanaimo any hits at all, putting up a zero in the run column. Houston Tomlinson of Arkansas State covered for Lake in the fifth and continued his legacy, striking out two in a clean inning on the mound.
Dillon Lopez was active on the scoresheet in this one, going 2/4 with a walk. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)
Jacob Silva (UTSA) began the top of the sixth frame with a display of power, slinging a ball over the right field wall to extend the lead. The NightOwls had no answer in the home half of the inning, as Tomlinson continued to shut them down.
Nanaimo finally found their first hit of the ballgame in the top of the seventh inning, a double socked over the centre fielder Chee-Aloy to leadoff the bottom of the frame. Tomlinson got himself into a bit of a pickle with the bases loaded, which Nanaimo capitalized on to score their first two runs. Shea Lake’s West Texas A&M teammate Tristin Thomas was next out of the bullpen with the bases full. Unfazed by the pressure, Thomas struck out both batters he faced to preserve the lead.
Nathan Mueller (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) was summoned to finish the job in the ninth inning and did just that, locking in after a leadoff single and getting a double play and a strikeout to end the game.
The HarbourCats and NightOwls will gear up for a rematch on Wednesday night, with Victoria gunning for the series win.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Win Island Cup with Thorough 16-6 Victory
Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Smother NightOwls for 5-2 Win
Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Defeated by AppleSox in Game Three
-
Summer Collegiate1 week agoVictoria HarbourCats – Team HarbourCats Reign Victorious in 2026 WCL Home Run Derby
-
Summer Collegiate2 weeks ago
Victoria HarbourCats – Four HarbourCats Representing Victoria at WCL All-Star Game
-
Summer Collegiate1 week ago
Victoria HarbourCats – Five HarbourCats Selected in 2026 MLB Draft
-
Summer Collegiate2 weeks ago
Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Stifled by Northpaws in 4-2 Loss
-
Summer Collegiate2 weeks ago
Victoria HarbourCats – Elks Salvage a Win in Extra-Innnings Grind
-
Summer Collegiate2 weeks ago
Victoria HarbourCats – Team Effort Leads to Series Win in Kamloops
-
Summer Collegiate2 weeks ago
Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Shake Down Northpaws for 13 Runs to Tie Series
-
Summer Collegiate1 week ago
Victoria HarbourCats – South Division All-Stars Hold On for All-Star Game Win
You must be logged in to post a comment Login