Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats ran out of time to complete their comeback in a Friday night matchup against the Kamloops NorthPaws, falling 9-5 to the visitors.

BOX SCORE

Contrary to how things have been going lately for the HarbourCats, it took until the fifth inning for either team to make their mark on the scoreboard. In what was otherwise an airtight start through the first four frames by Quincey Brown (UCSD), a single and two walks loaded the bases for Kamloops in the fifth. Brown plunked a batter to bring in the first run, and a single after that cleared the bases to put the NorthPaws out in front with a four-run lead.

The Cats struck back in the home half of the inning, sparked by a leadoff walk from Riley Kwak (Bossier Parish). A couple of groundouts moved Kwak over to third and Logan Shepherd (Mercer) came up with a two-out base hit to score Victoria’s first run of the game and cut into the Kamloops lead.

Cats starter Quincey Brown saw five innings of work in which he gave up four runs on three hits with four strikeouts. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Taylor Franklin (George Fox) stepped in as Brown’s replacement on the rubber, coming in for the top of the sixth and allowing an RBI double to restore a four-run lead for the NorthPaws. Franklin was back for the seventh and got to two outs before an error at first base allowed two more runs for Kamloops. The NorthPaws followed that up with the first homer of the night, a two-run bomb to left-centre that widened the lead to 9-1.

Victoria mounted the beginnings of a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with nobody out for Home Run Derby champion Logan Shepherd. Shepherd popped a ball up that miraculously dropped just fair in a sea of NorthPaws to drive in a run, and Dillon Lopez (St. Mary’s) notched a sacrifice fly soon after.

Hawaii Pacific reliever Flynn Warren took the mound in the top of the eighth and worked quickly en route to a clean inning. The bottom of the eighth brought the return of David Krahn (UBC), who wasted no time rattling off a solo moonshot to deep left to chip away at the deficit.

Victoria loaded the bases again in the bottom of the ninth, but ran out of chances before any real damage could be done. In the end, the comeback fell short and the NorthPaws come out on top in game one by a score of 9-5.

WCL STANDINGS

The HarbourCats and NorthPaws will continue to duke it out throughout the weekend, hitting the field again for game two on Saturday night.

There are only six home games remaining in the 2026 regular season including our final weekend homestand of the year against Kamloops this weekend 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.

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Nanaimo, B.C. – The HarbourCats faced the Nanaimo NightOwls for the third game of the series and erupted for 18 runs, finishing off the sweep.

In a fascinating case of déjà vu, the HarbourCats dealt some serious damage to their up-island hosts in the very first inning. After two singles by Jacob Silva (UTSA) and Rohne Klein (San Jose State) helped to load the bases, a wild pitch, a walk, and a plunked batter brought home the first three Victoria runners on base. Michael Rodda (Palomar) laced a base hit up the middle to bring home two more, and a Riley Kwak (Bossier Parish) single capped off the inning. Three outs, eleven batters, and six runs by the end of the top of the first.

BOX SCORE

Things went from bad to worse for the NightOwls and from good to better for the HarbourCats in the second inning! Once again, the bases found themselves full and, once again, Victoria put six runs on the board. Walks drawn by Aidan Rice (Portland) and Cameron Chee-Aloy (Illinois) pushed the first two to the plate. Then, with the pond full of ducks, Riley Kwak stepped up and hammered a baseball into the stratosphere for a grand slam, bringing the score to a nice even dozen.

The offence relented until the fifth, when a Rohne Klein solo homer added on further. Shortly after in the top of the sixth, the Cats loaded the bases and cashed in two runs by way of a Logan Shepherd (Mercer) double. A sacrifice fly provided the final word on inning number six, leaving Victoria holding a respectable 17-1 lead with three more innings to go.

With 18 runs in this ballgame, the Cats tied their 2026 season-high. (Photo by JPM Photography)

As he so often does, WCL All-Star Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) put together an excellent start. The Waco, Texas-born righty gave up a lone run in his six-inning outing, allowing four hits and earning three strikeouts. Carson Ackermann (Tacoma) was his successor, and he whipped his way through a clean seventh inning with two strikeouts and a popup.

The NightOwls made an effort in the bottom of the eighth, putting up four runs on Ackermann, and the right-hander continued to slip in the ninth. With the bases loaded and two outs, local catcher Jai Berezowski (Collegiate Cats) took the mound to finish it off, securing a flyout on three pitches to close out the series sweep on an 18-7 win.

WCL STANDINGS

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.

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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.

BOX SCORE

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.

WCL STANDINGS

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.

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