Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats bid for first WCL Championship denied by Corvallis

Published

12 months ago

August 16, 2023

Dugout Wire Service

With bonus photo coverage by Christian J. Stewart

CORVALLIS, Oregon — The 10th Anniversary season fell one agonizing game short.

For the third time since 2017 the Victoria HarbourCats lost the final playoff game of the season at the home of the Corvallis Knights, Monday’s result a 5-0 final in the WCL championship game.

Kieper Pate, Russell Young and Jack Johnson in dugout re-game

Tyler Davis works the line in re-game intros.

The HarbourCats, who set a long list of records in 2023, including an overall 27-2 record at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park, had chances to score in bunches early in Monday’s game, but couldn’t find that key hit at the right time.

Stater Davis Franklin in the dugout before Monday’s game.

Jack Johnson, steady at third all year, makes a nice play Monday,

Starting pitcher Davis Franklin, was outstanding, giving up one unearned run in four innings striking out three. Josh Berenbaum, Ryan Magdic and Brett Harvey all had strong performances in relief of Franklin, an error and a couple of tough calls added to the Corvallis lead with two runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings.

Davis Franklin was great on the mound, allowing no earned runs through four innings of work.

Hudson Shupe would get the HarbourCats started with a first inning single.

The single game final was played in Corvallis because the Knights finished a half game ahead of the HarbourCats for first overall. Monday’s game start time was also an unusual 8pm due to extreme heat conditions in Oregon.

Dallas Macias would stroke a triple playing on his home school field

Corvallis starter Merit Jones struck out eight of the first nine HarbourCats hitters he faced and pitched into the sixth inning.

Tyler Davis throws to first after fielding a bunt.

Marco Pirruccello laps over the Corvallis baserunner to make t.he catch during a stolen base attempt.

In the regular season, the HarbourCats set a league record with 150 stolen bases and lead the league in hits and batting average, but were limited to five hits on Monday. Michael Crossland also shattered the HarbourCats franchise record for longest hit streak with a 19 game streak earlier this season. The teams 25-2 home record in the regular season in 2023 is a record that likely won’t be broken, just like the 19 straight wins by the 2016 Victoria team.

Shortstop Hudson Shupe and the Corvallis baserunner look for the call.

Lefty Ryan Magdic saw some work in relief Monday.

The HarbourCats front office and ownership group would like to thank its partners and fans for so much support, and work has already begun on 2024. Season ticket renewals and new opportunities will begin on Wednesday.

TheCorvallis Knights dogpile after winning their seventh straight WCL title.

Pitching Coach Scott Anderson sums up what a crazy ride the 2023 season has been.

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Summer Collegiate

NightOwls Split Double-Dip in Edmonchuck

Published

2 days ago

July 25, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

EDMONTON, Alta. — Less smoke, more offense.

The Nanaimo NightOwls, seemingly stranded on the road toward the end a six-game road trip that started with a sweep of three games in Kamloops, ended the game action portion with a 12-1 thumping of the Edmonton Riverhawks on Wednesday night.

The NightOwls, smoked out from the planned Tuesday game — and our hearts go out to those affected by the tragic wildfire in Jasper — went an impressive 4-2 on the trip.

The first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader was a 7-1 Edmonton win, spurred by a four-run second inning. Starter Joshua Torres took the loss, while Sammy Kahler was 2-3 as part of a combined team effort of eight hits.

In the second game, Deshon Thomas was 3-4 with four runs driven in to pace the offense. The NightOwls scored seven runs in the second inning then piled on with three in the fifth and two in the sixth, bashing 10 hits and adding seven walks to set the stage for all the runs.

Noah Hata and Drew Rutter drove in two runs each, and Mitchell Middlemiss was 2-4 with three runs. Hsu He-Chieh was 2-3 with two runs scored.

Game 1 Boxscore Game 2 Boxscore

Jacob Fleury of Skagit Valley was stellar on the mound, giving up five hits and one run in five innings and improving to 3-2 on the season. Paul Montgomery and Issac Araiza pitched an inning each in relief. Araiza struck out two in the final inning for the punctuation.

Standings

The NightOwls are now 20-22 overall and 8-7 in the second half, very much in the playoff hunt for both the second half crown or one of two wildcard playoff spots in the North Division.

NightOwls TV WCL Pixellot

The next home action for the NightOwls, after a Thursday off day, is hosting the Bellingham Bells at historic Serauxmen Stadium for a Friday-Saturday-Sunday series. Every game counts with how tight the standings are for playoff positions with three spots from the North still to be determined.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats end road trip with sweep of Lefties

Published

2 days ago

July 25, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

July 24, 2024

For immediate release

PORT ANGELES, WA – Michael Crossland stayed hot increasing his hit streak to five games with a three-hit night, leading the Victoria HarbourCats to a 6-3 win against the Port Angeles Lefties.

Shea Lake started his fourth game of the season and was impressive, pitching into the fifth inning for the first time. The Hawaii Pacific right-hander went 4-1/3 innings giving up two unearned runs on one hit, while striking out three.

BOX SCORE

Lake received run support early through RBI singles from Tyrus Hall and Ny’Zaiah Thompson in the second inning to give the Cats a 2-0 lead. With that base knock, Hall increased his hit streak to six games

Crossland’s second double of the evening drove home a run in the fourth inning to make it 3-0. Gunner Antillon followed that up with a single to score Crossland giving Victoria a commanding 4-0 lead. The second baseman had two hits to increase his season average to .308 and add to his on-base streak of 20 games.

WCL STANDINGS

Nick Frers gave up one unearned run while pitching 1-2/3 innings, striking out one.

Crossland’s third hit of the game was a sixth-inning RBI single which made it 5-3 HarbourCats. Victoria added an insurance run in the ninth with Michelle Artzberger getting in on the action, hitting a two-out double to give his team a 6-3 lead. The first baseman now has a .408 batting average in 18 games.

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Garrett Villa recorded the save pitching the final three innings striking out a season-high five batters while giving up three hits and zero runs.

The sweep of the Lefties means the Cats are back to .500 on the season with a 21-21 record. In the second-half standings, they sit two and a half games back of the Wenatchee AppleSox for the North Division lead.

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The HarbourCats now return home on Friday, July 26 at 6:35 pm to begin a three-game series against the Kamloops North Paws. That game kicks off “Kids Free Weekend” where all kids 12 and under get in free thanks to Peninsula Co-op. Simply come to the gate on any of the three game days, or get your tickets for these games in advance at the HarbourCats office. The Kids Free option is NOT available online.

REMINDER: If you have HarbourCats ticket vouchers of any kind, 10-game flex packs, or season ticket equivalent vouchers, just a reminder that all vouchers must be used for any of our remaining nine home games. Should we make playoffs, vouchers are not eligible for any games no matter where they are played. You can exchange your vouchers in advance for game tickets at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.

Source

Summer Collegiate

NightOwls Lose a Tough One in Edmonton

Published

3 days ago

July 24, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

EDMONTON, Alta. — One more strike was all that was needed.

The Nanaimo NightOwls, fresh off an impressive sweep of a road series in Kamloops, were one pitch away from a fourth straight win on Monday night in Edmonton, but a clutch two-out single in the bottom of the ninth scored two runs to give the host Riverhawks a 5-4 win in West Coast League action.

The NightOwls are now 19-21 on the season and 7-6 in the second half, within grasp of top spot in the North Division lead for snaring home field advantage in the playoffs.

Boxscore

The NightOwls scored two runs in the first and sixth innings and the pitching was strong, from starter Moosa Nonomiya to relievers Tahj Orona, Kai Hanasaki, Grant Jakobson and Ryan Inouye, who was within that one pitch of another save.

Second baseman Hsu He-Chieh had two hits, a run and an RBI, and Wylie Waters had a first-inning double to lead the NightOwls on offence. Waters drove in his 34th run of the season.

Standings

The NightOwls were outhit 13-8 in warm, hazy conditions. In a rarity in today’s game, there were just four strikeouts total, three of them at the expense of Nanaimo batters.

NightOwls TV WCL Pixellot

The NightOwls are in Edmonton for a Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday battle with the Riverhawks, one of the teams Nanaimo will want to get ahead of in the very tight North Division standings.

Right-hander Joshua Torres will start the Tuesday game for Nanaimo, with Jacob Fleury slated for Wednesday night.

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