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Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Announce 2024 West Coast League Schedule

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HarbourCats to host 32 regular season home games at Wilsons Group Stadium in 2024

November 6,  2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VICTORIA, B.C. — More meetings in the RE/MAX Island Cup with Nanaimo and a season-ending visit by the rival Corvallis Knights highlight the Victoria HarbourCats schedule for 2024, announced today by the HarbourCats and the West Coast League (WCL).

The 2024 season of HarbourCats baseball will start with a six-game road trip to the middle of BC, games in Kamloops and Kelowna starting May 31, before a rematch of last year’s first round of the playoffs with the Wenatchee AppleSox in Victoria for the home opener on Friday, June 7 at Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP.

Head Coach Todd Haney and his roster will be intent on defending home turf — last summer, a league record 25-2 record at the best park in the WCL — and making the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season under the former MLB player’s leadership.

The HarbourCats will face the island rival Nanaimo NightOwls nine times this season in an expanded Island Cup series — and in a quirk of the schedule, all nine are in the first half of the season — with six of those games at historic-and-renewed Serauxmen Stadium in Nanaimo. The first-ever weekend meeting of the teams since the NightOwls joined the league in 2022 will take place leading into the Canada Day holiday, including the traditional Fireworks Night in Victoria on Sunday night, June 30th.

Overall the ‘Cats will play 32 home games at Wilson’s Group Stadium, including five non-league games against teams like the Redmond Dudes and for the first time ever, the Seattle based Dub Sea Fish Sticks, a two-game series July 9-10 that should have HarbourCats mascot Harvey the HarbourCat and hopefully fans, drooling with anticipation.

“We are working on arranging the specific dates of our promo schedule, special events like fireworks and Odlum Brown jersey-off-our-backs, and Bark in the Park — those will be released soon so people can buy single tickets or redeem 10pks well before Christmas,” said GM Christian Stewart. “Todd will have our players ready and looking to give our fans more exciting baseball from the home opener through the playoffs, the best entertainment value on the lower island.”

HarbourCats fans will see all the Canadian teams – Nanaimo NightOwls, Kelowna Falcons, Edmonton Riverhawks and the Kamloops NorthPaws –   along with the Wenatchee AppleSox, Bellingham Bells, Port Angeles Lefties and Corvallis Knights.  Victoria will also participate in the 2024 WCL All-Star game scheduled for July 17th (location to be announced), marking the first time this event returns since 2019.

The August 5-7 match-up with the Knights, a re-match of the 2023 Championship Final, marks the first time the Knights have travelled to Victoria since 2019 and given that the plan for that series includes BC Day Fireworks, the annual Jersey Off Our Backs night and Fan Appreciation night, it is anticipated that tickets for that closing series will be in high demand.

Speaking of tickets, Season Tickets and 10-game flex packs are now on sale for the 2024 season and can be purchased at the office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street, or by calling the office at 778-265-0327.

SINGLE GAME TICKETS and flex pack voucher exchanges are not yet available.  It is anticipated that these will be available on-line for the general public starting December 1, 2023 and through our one and only ticketing partner, Select Your Tickets.  Stay tuned or more information on that.

The full HarbourCats 2024 schedule and a number of tentative promotional dates (subject to change) is presented below (Download Graphic of calendar schedule HERE):

Fri May 31 @KAMLOOPS
Sat June 1 @KAMLOOPS
Sun June 2 @KAMLOOPS
Mon June 3 @KELOWNA
Tue June 4 @KELOWNA
Wed June 5 @KELOWNA

Fri June 7 vs WENATCHEE 6:35 PM – Opening Night
Sat June 8 vs WENATCHEE 6:35 PM – FIREWORKS!
Sun June 9 vs WEN 1:05 PM – Sunday Matinee

Tue June 11 vs NANAIMO 6:35 PM
Wed June 12 @ NANAIMO
Thur June 13 vs NANAIMO 11:00 AM Matinee School Spirit Game

Fri June 14 @EDMONTON
Sat June 15 @EDMONTON
Sun June 16 @EDMONTON

Tue June 18 @NANAIMO
Wed June 19 @NANAIMO
Thur June 20 @NANAIMO

Fri June 21 vs BELLINGHAM 6:35 PM
Sat June 22 vs BELLINGHAM 6:35 PM
Sun June 23 vs BELLINGHAM 1:05 PM Sunday Matinee

Tue June 25 vs REDMOND 6:35 PM – Non-League

Wed June 26 vs PORT ANGELES 6:35 PM
Thur June 27 vs PORT ANGELES 6:35 PM
Fri June 28 vs PORT ANGELES 6:35 PM

Sat June 29 @NANAIMO
Sun June 30 vs NANAIMO, 6:35 PM CANADA DAY FIREWORKS
Mon July 1 @NANAIMO

Tue July 2 @WENATCHEE
Wed July 3 @WENATCHEE
Thur July 4 @WENATCHEE

Fri July 5 vs KELOWNA 6:35 PM
Sat July 6 vs KELOWNA 6:35 PM
Sun July 7 vs KELOWNA 1:05 PM Sunday Matinee – HARVEY’S BIRTHDAY

Tue July 9 vs DUB SEA FISHSTICKS 6:35 PM – Non-League
Wed July 10 vs DUB SEA FISHSTICKS 6:35 PM – Non-League

Fri July 12 vs EDMONTON 6:35 PM
Sat July 13 vs EDMONTON 6:35 PM FIREWORKS!
Sun July 14 vs EDMONTON 1:05 PM Sunday Matinee – BARK IN THE PARK

Tue July 16 vs SOUTH ISLAND ALL-STARS 6:35 PM – Non-League
Wed July 17 WCL ALL-STAR GAME (LOCATION TBD)
Thur July 18 vs VICTORIA MAVERICKS 6:35 PM – Non-League

 Fri Jul 19 @ RIDGEFIELD
Sat July 20 @ RIDGEFIELD
Sun July 21 @ RIDGEFIELD
Mon July 22 @PORT ANGELES
Tue July 23@PORT ANGELES
Wed July 24 @PORT ANGELES

Fri July 26 vs KAMLOOPS 6:35PM
Sat July 27 vs KAMLOOPS 6:35 PM
Sun July 28 vs KAMLOOPS 1:05 PM Sunday Matinee

Tue July 30 vs EDMONTON 6:35 PM
Wed July 31 vs EDMONTON 6:35 PM
Thur Aug 1 vs EDMONTON 6:35 PM

Fri Aug 2 @BELLINGHAM
Sat Aug 3 @BELLINGHAM
Sun Aug 4@BELLINGHAM

Mon Aug 5 vs CORVALLIS 6:35PM – BC DAY FIREWORKS!
Tue Aug 6 vs CORVALLIS 6:35 PM – JERSEY OFF OUR BACKS!
Wed Aug 7 vs CORVALLIS 6:35 PM – FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT!

August 10-12 Divisional Playoffs
Wed August 14 Championship Semi-Finals
Fri August 16 Championship Final

$10 Tuesdays  – June 11, June 25, July 9, July 16, July 30 (not Aug 6)
All General Admission and Premium Reserved seats just $10

Winning Wednesdays  – June 26, July 10, July 31, Aug 7
All Red Arrow beer products on sale for just $6

Forces Fridays – June 7, June 21, June 28, July 5, July 12, July 26
Military and first responders can get half-price General Admission seating

 

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Partner with Showpass for new ticketing system

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Single game tickets for 2025 now on sale! 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 7, 2025

Victoria, BC – The Victoria HarbourCats are thrilled to announce an exciting new partnership with Showpass, a leading event ticketing platform, to provide fans with a seamless and enhanced ticketing experience for the upcoming season.

Showpass’s innovative technology will make purchasing tickets for HarbourCats games faster and more user-friendly than ever. Fans can now buy single-game tickets, season passes, flex passes and group tickets through the Showpass platform, which offers an intuitive interface and convenient features such as mobile ticketing, easy transfers, and quick scanning at the gate.

Also being implemented in Nanaimo with the NightOwls, the Showpass platform supports real-time updates and event notifications, keeping fans informed about game-day changes, promotions, and special events.

“We’re always looking for ways to enhance the fan experience,” said HarbourCats General Manager Christian Stewart. “Showpass provides a modern, efficient solution that makes attending a HarbourCats game more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.”

Here are a few of the highlights:

Season Ticket Holders

New Season Tickets are now available to be purchased online for the first time ever at https://www.showpass.com/m/victoria-harbourcats-season-tickets/  Visit the seat map, see what is available, select your preferred ticket type, and checkout securely.

Season Tickets will be delivered to all members by e-mail (planned for April 1, 2025) with an option for printing classic paper tickets. Members can transfer tickets as needed through their accounts, and print their tickets via PDF or simply save into their mobile wallet on their phone.

Renewals are simple, with reminder emails coming from Showpass late in the season, or early fall, with details for the following season and secure, online renewal.

NOTE:  Season Ticket holders who have not yet renewed their seats for 2025 should ensure they call or visit the office to do so as soon as possible so that all relevant details are updated in the new system and so their seats are locked in for 2025.  Any seats not paid / renewed by April 1, 2025 will be released for sale to the public at that time.

10-Game and Season Ticket Flex Packs
10-game flex packs and our Season Ticket equivalent flex-packs (32 vouchers) are also now available to purchase and manage on-line in the Showpass system.

https://www.showpass.com/10-game-flex-pack/

https://www.showpass.com/32-game-flex-pack/

Once purchased, fans can skip coming to the office or box office and can easily exchange their vouchers / credits on-line for the games that they wish to attend.  Once exchanged, fans can also e-mail those tickets to someone else, if they don’t plan to attend the game themselves.

Fans with existing 10-packs or season ticket packs purchased during the off-season can come into the office and get set up properly in the new system in order  begin to exchanging vouchers on their own.

Single-Game Tickets
Single game tickets are now available on-line and can be purchased at Harbourcats.com/tickets.

Scroll down the list to find the game of interest, including three “Showcase” games being held this season, click through to the seat map, select your seats and check-out with your tickets delivered to the e-mail used to set up your account.

Group Tickets
Group tickets (10 people or more) can also now be purchased on-line in most of our seating areas and larger groups can be set up and ticket sales managed through a convenient Group Sales platform within Showpass.

The Showpass system also comes with a very easy to use Help system to guide users through the ticketing sales or exchange process and of course, fans can always come to the office or the box office on game days to order their tickets in person.

The HarbourCats begin the 2025 season with a six-game road trip starting May 30th in Kelowna and finishing in Edmonton June 5th.  They return home for the Home Opener on Friday, June 6th at 6:35pm against the Port Angeles Lefties, with the first fireworks night of the season on Saturday June 7th at 6:35pm.

As noted, tickets for all home games are now on sale at HarbourCats.com/tickets.

About Showpass
Based in Calgary, Alberta, Showpass is a cutting-edge ticketing and event management platform trusted by organizations across North America. Known for its ease of use and robust features, Showpass empowers event organizers and attendees with a superior ticketing experience.  In addition to Victoria and Nanaimo, Showpass is being used by the Bend Elks in the West Coast League, the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League, the Welland Jackfish Baseball Club in Ontario and has a large footprint in Victoria, being used by a number of smaller event venues such as Brewery and the Beast. Visit their website for more information at https://www.showpass.com/

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NightOwls Pitching Coach Fondly Recalls Time Playing with Rickey

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Every pitch Gorm Heimueller threw in the major leagues, Rickey Henderson had his back, positioned in the outfield behind him.

When news broke Saturday of the far-too-soon passing of the greatest base stealer the game has ever known — and likely will ever know — Heimueller was stunned, and saddened.

 

“I heard from a friend of Rickey’s, who had heard from (former MLB pitcher) Dave Stewart — this is a big blow for the baseball world, like Pete Rose a few months ago,” said Heimueller, who will be pitching coach again for the NightOwls again in 2025, the only pitching staff leader the West Coast League team has known since debuting at historic Serauxmen Stadium in 2022. This season will mark 49 years in the game for Heimueller, one of the most-respected people in all of baseball.

 

“I loved Rickey — but I loved everyone, I was in the big leagues. I got to play with Rickey and Joe Morgan, two Hall of Famers, it’s hard to believe they are both gone. Rickey looked like he was doing well and healthy. Very sad news.”

 

Henderson, who would’ve turned 66 on Christmas Day, passed away Friday, a surprise to everyone as he had appeared to be in good health. Initial reports indicated a bout of pneumonia claimed the Hall of Famer, who played with nine teams over 25 years and stole 1,406 bases. Canadian baseball fans will recall his short time with the Blue Jays in 1993, helping Toronto win its second consecutive World Series.

“The best part of playing with him was knowing I didn’t have to face him,” said Heimueller.

 

“My first game, he made a catch up against the wall — really good catch. People think of the stolen bases but look at all the home runs he hit. He was also unique as not many guys are right-handed hitters and then throw left-handed, very rare in the game. He was one of the more confident players I ever played with — and Rickey talked about Rickey, he had his ways about him that you never forget, that was the way he talked.

 

“That first game, in Baltimore, he’s leading off — I’m thinking this is pretty cool, and I’m the starting pitcher. I knew I was in the big leagues right there.”

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Victoria HarbourCats – Five guys returning as Haney announces six more for 2025 season

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Five return and Cal Baptist pipeline provides another key player for 2025 (Above L to R: Josh Cunnigan, Connor Ross, Spencer Hatch, Cade Rusch, Garrett Villa, Connor Sims)

Dec. 17, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VICTORIA, B.C. — One thing is sure, collegiate baseball players love playing in Victoria.

The highly-competitive, pro-style environment fostered by the organization, and coaching staff led by veteran Todd Haney, has helped the Victoria HarbourCats bring back returning players year after year, creating a foundation for success. With today’s announcement of six players, the 2025 roster will have four more returning pitchers and a catcher who was with Victoria for much of the 2024 season.

“It helps with building the culture we have in Victoria, that starts at the top, and gives this team the best chance at being a contender every year,” said GM Christian Stewart. “Players want to play for Todd, and our coaching staff. Having guys who have been through the travel and pace of a West Coast League season helps in building the right atmosphere from the start of the season — and our seasons go by fast, it seems, so there’s no time to waste.”

Announced today by Head Coach Haney:

  • RHP Garrett Villa, Angelo State, 5-10/150, Laporte, Texas (returning pitcher)
  • RHP Cade Rusch, Indiana University Southeast, 6-4, 185, Prospect, Kentucky (returning pitcher)
  • LHP Spencer Hatch, Tarleton State, 6-0/198, Las Vegas (returning pitcher)
  • RHP Connor Sims, Indiana University Southeast, 6-2/190, Greenfield, Indiana (returning pitcher)
  • C Josh Cunnigan, Seattle U, 6-0/195, Corona, California (returning player)
  • 3B Connor Ross, Cal Baptist, 6-0/190, Fairfield, California

Villa was a workhorse who took on the end of game role for pitching coach Scott Anderson, pitching in 13 games and giving up just one run in his last 10 appearances, ending with four saves in 19.1 innings of work.

Hatch, a lefty from Vegas, made eight appearances and started four games, finishing 2-2 with 15 strikeouts. He went four innings twice in strong road starts in the middle of the season.

Rusch, the son of former Major League star pitcher Glendon Rusch, will be a workhorse at IUS this spring after working in five games for the HarbourCats last summer. Sims had a short but dominant stint in Victoria, striking out nine hitters and recording one save in 5.2 innings of work, giving up just two hits.

Before getting hurt, Cunnigan played in 12 games at hit .273 and struck out just twice while doing a good job behind the plate.

Ross is the lone non-returning player being announced today. He is a transfer to D-1 Cal Baptist from Solano JC, where he was conference player of the year as a sophomore, and freshman of the year the season prior to that. He can play third or short, and his spring numbers in 2024 are eye-popping — a .433 average, eight home runs, 58 driven in, in 40 games.

Season tickets and 10-Game Flex Packs are now on sale for the 2025 season at the HarbourCats office.  Christmas sales are on as well with a wide range of merchandise available!   And don’t miss our last minute sale special THIS SATURDAY, December 21st, from 10 am to 5 pm, with 50% off all regular priced merchandise at the store only.

Single game tickets and 10-Game Flex Pack exchanges are NOT YET AVAILABLE for the 2025 season as we are transitioning to a new ticketing system.  Both will be available in January of 2025.

Holiday Hours at The Cat Shop

This week Monday to Friday 10am t0 5pm
Saturday December 21, 10am to 5 pm (special 50% off sale!)
Sunday December 22,  12 noon to 4pm
Monday December 23, 10am to 5pm
Tuesday December 24, 10am to 2pm
CLOSED December 25 and 26th
Friday December 27, 10 am to 4pm (Boxing Day 20% off sale!)
CLOSED December 28 and 29th
Monday December 30 10 am to 4pm (Boxing Day 20% off sale!)
CLOSED December 31 to January 6
Office reopens January 7th 10am to 5pm

 

 

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