Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats | HarbourCats and NightOwls to join other West Coast League teams in The Dugout

Published

4 years ago

February 26, 2021

Dugout Wire Service

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 26, 2021

VICTORIA, BC – The Victoria HarbourCats and Nanaimo NightOwls, their fellow Canadian teams, the Kamloops NorthPaws, Kelowna Falcons and Edmonton Riverhawks, along with the other 10 teams in the West Coast League (WCL), will now be spending a lot of time together in The Dugout.

No, this is not some huge rule change, or cost savings measure that the WCL is implementing, but rather, TheDugout.ca is a new and free, go-to website and social media news network to track grassroots and amateur baseball in Canada.

The site will provide information on all levels of the game, all amateur, from the very start of play in the game, to the elite summer collegiate leagues, including the West Coast League.

Led by talented feature writers, who love the game and telling the great stories around it, to contributed information from youth levels, TheDugout.ca will be Canada’s place to go for the latest important bulletins, for results from games and tournaments, and to see discussion of the key topics about this great game — which will emerge from the pandemic, stronger than ever.

TheDugout.ca is a free site, for content, to submit content, to share content. It’s a place for everyone, anyone, to tell their stories, to celebrate the kids and amateurs who literally play for the love of the game.

The site will be configured so as to draw information and content directly from participating organizations’ web feeds automatically, as well as to be able to accept direct contributions from individuals and authors.

For example, if you are a team with your own blog, website, etc. and simply don’t have the time to submit stories to multiple outlets, you can use The Dugout’s Wire Service to register your current website, so you only need to keep doing what you’re doing, and The Dugout can take care of the rest.

Individuals can also sign up as authors, submit stories and after a quick vetting by The Dugout editorial staff, have those articles posted under the appropriate category on the web site.

The categories of baseball related information on The Dugout will evolve over time, but the focus will be on amateur baseball in Canada.

Some of the initial categories on the site include the various Provincial baseball organizations, Baseball Canada, Canadian college baseball organizations, Summer Collegiate baseball leagues, elite high school baseball and of course local, grassroots baseball organizations.

That is not to say that TheDugout.ca will exclude professional baseball coverage from the mix. Certainly if there is a feature story about a Canadian player who signs with a pro team, or a Canadian with a strong linkage to some other aspect of professional baseball, it will be included, but the day-to-day coverage of MLB and MiLb will be left to other sites that already do that very well.

The grassroots of baseball in Canada is strong, and TheDugout.ca is new in place, and ready to grow, so we can all further develop the greatest game on earth.

Visit TheDugout.ca and please visit and follow The Dugout on our social media channels below

Web: TheDugout.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theDugoutCA
Instagram: @TheDugout.ca
Twitter: pending

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The HarbourCats are scheduled to begin their 2021 season on the road on June 1 against the expansion Edmonton Riverhawks in the first ever West Coast League game played in Alberta. They will return home for the home opener on Friday, June 4 against their rivals from across the Strait of Juan deFuca, the Port Angeles Lefties. The HarbourCats will also welcome two other expansion teams to Victoria this season, with both the Nanaimo Night Owls and Kamloops NorthPaws scheduled to make visits to Wilson’s Group Stadium.

For details and more information on the season, please visit the HarbourCats website at www.harbourcats.com and follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/harbourcats

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Tonight: Parent Information Session on U.S. College Baseball Pathways

Published

15 hours ago

July 22, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

Monday, July 21, 2025 – 7:00 PM at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre

The Victoria HarbourCats are proud to host an important evening for parents of young ballplayers looking to better understand the journey to playing college baseball in the United States.

Tonight’s session will begin at 7:00 PM, hosted in the Wilson’s Lounge at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, with a live Zoom option available for those unable to attend in person. This interactive discussion is open to all parents interested in helping their child navigate the next steps in their baseball development.

The session will be chaired by HarbourCats Managing Partner Jim Swanson, and will feature a panel of experienced parents from programs such as the Victoria Eagles and Mariners. These panelists will share firsthand insight on what families can expect—from recruiting timelines to the realities of college baseball life.

Key topics will include:

Understanding the U.S. College Baseball System:
An overview of the different levels—NCAA, NAIA, Junior College (JuCo)—as well as Canadian alternatives like UBC and the Golden Tide.
Recruitment and Exposure:
How players get noticed, including tips on recruiting windows, highlight videos, email outreach, tournaments, and showcase events.
Financing College Baseball:
A look at athletic scholarships, academic awards, NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) opportunities, and other financial options.
What Life Is Really Like in a U.S. Baseball Program:
Honest discussion on the expectations, time commitments, and lifestyle student-athletes experience once they’re enrolled.

There will also be an open Q&A period, giving attendees a chance to ask specific questions and get practical advice directly from those who’ve been through it.

Event Details:

Wilson’s Lounge, Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
Monday, July 21 – 7:00 PM
Zoom Link: Click here to join the session

Whether your child is just starting high school ball or already drawing interest from scouts, this is a valuable opportunity to learn how to support their goals and plan ahead.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Late rally falls just short for NightOwls

Published

3 days ago

July 20, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

WENATCHEE, WA — The Nanaimo NightOwls had their chances to put up a big number on the host AppleSox — plenty of them.

The hosts in Wenatchee took a 7-4 lead with three runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth and held on for an 8-6 victory on Saturday night in central Washington. Both teams are in the mix for one of four North Division playoff positions.

https://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=620371

The NightOwls scored four runs with two outs in the fourth inning, and held a 4-2 lead. Seven different Nanaimo batters had hits, and both teams committed three errors. Ryder Florence, Andrew Nykoluk and Easton Mould had RBIs.

Lino Zepeda, Cole Carmichael, Kiki Villegas, Dalton Hanson and Asher DeLeo handled the pitching duties for the NightOwls.

The NightOwls stay in Wenatchee for the weekend series, playing Sunday evening, returning home on an early ferry Monday morning. On Tuesday, the Corvallis Knights make their first ever appearance at Serauxmen Stadium with a three-game series that continues Wednesday and Thursday. Tuesday is the Christmas in July celebration at Serauxmen.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Bells walk-off ‘Cats in tense playoff-like pitching duel

Published

3 days ago

July 20, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 19, 2025

Bellingham, WA – The Bellingham Bells pushed a run across in the bottom of the ninth inning to eke out a 2-1 win over the Victoria HarbourCats in West Coast League action Saturday night at Joe Martin field in Bellingham.

FULL BOX SCORE

The game was a tense pitching duel throughout, with ‘Cats starter Tommy Bridges and Bells starter Cameron Young keeping things tight through four innings.

Young in particular retired 12 batters in a row after allowing a first-inning single to Jack Johnson. The Bells gave him a lead in the fourth, getting a run off Bridges on a sacrifice fly to hold a 1-0 lead.

Victoria then had a chance to answer in the fifth, loading the bases with one out, but Bells reliever Will Franklin came in and put out the fire to keep the Bells in the lead.

Victoria finally clawed their way on to the scoreboard in the top of the eighth thanks to an RBI-single from Johnson, his second hit of the game, scoring Connor Ross who earlier walked.

In the ninth, Victoria had another stellar chance to take the lead, loading the bases with nobody out, but a big double-play and strikeout ended the threat and sent the game to the bottom of the inning at 1-1.

In the bottom of the frame, Andrew Lamb lead off with an infield single and then advanced to second on a questionable balk call against HarbourCats reliever Garret Villa. Villa then retired the next two batters, but then a throwing error by shortstop Tanner Beltowski allowed the winning run to scamper home and give the Bells the 2-1 win.

The Bells win spoiled solid pitching performances from Bridges, as well as relievers Ryne Palmer and Garrett Brooks, who combined, allowed just two Bells hits in their eight innings of work.

The HarbourCats will now need to quickly regroup as the rubber match in the series goes Sunday afternoon in a 1:30 pm start. Logan Rumberg is the scheduled starter for Victoria.

WATCH HERE

They then return to Wilson’s Group Stadium on Tuesday for the first of a two-game set with the Dub Sea Fish Sticks, and then a return engagement with the Victoria Mavericks on Thursday. The Wenatchee AppleSox then come into town for a three game set starting Friday.

Tickets for all those games are selling fast and are available in advance at http://harbourcats.com/tickets or at the harbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.

Source