Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Ink First Players for 2025

Published

2 years ago

October 25, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

Four returnees (above L to R: Wyatt MacDonald Jake Finkelstein, Jacob Thompson Kyle Hepburn) and two Fresno State infielders first to become 2025 HarbourCats

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 24, 2024

VICTORIA, BC — With the 2025 West Coast League (WCL) schedule close to being announced, Victoria HarbourCats Head Coach Todd Haney has been busy behind the scenes, assembling a 2025 roster that will look to bring home it’s first ever WCL championship.

Looking to build on the playoff success of 2024 and previous seasons, four familiar faces will make their return to the HarbourCats, including pitchers Jake Finkelstein (Georgia Gwinnett), Jacob Thompson (Minot State) and Wyatt MacDonald (Lower Columbia) — the last two are Victoria natives — and catcher Kyle Hepburn (Southern Illinois), who hails from the Lower Mainland.

Also joining the 2025 roster are first baseman Cayden Munster and middle infielder Jett Ruby, both at Fresno State, continuing a run of solid players from that school that last year brought us WCL All Star Sky Collins and Cam Schneider, in 2023, Team MVP Tyler Davis and Marco Pirruccello and in 2022, WCL All Star Grady Morgan.

Finkelstein was with the HarbourCats in 2022 and 2023 and brings veteran leadership to the pitching corps. In his two years to date, Finkelstein has appeared in 26 games, starting two, and earning a 4-3 record with a 3.16 ERA over 48.1 innings of work. He struck out 50 batters, while walking 18.

Thompson was solid for the HarbourCats out of the bullpen in 2024, appearing in 12 games (20.2 innings pitched) and amassing a 4-1 record and an ERA of 3.48. He struck out 13 batters and walked only four holding opponents to a .211 batting average.

MacDonald was with the HarbourCats late in 2023 as a call up from the Victoria Eagles and saw limited action on the mound appearing in just one game. He is just beginning his freshman season at Lower Columbia under in part the tutelage of Assistant Coach Mike Callia, a former HarbourCat.

Hepburn was an early season call-up for the HarbourCats in 2022, appearing in just five games and then returned for the 2023 season where he appeared in 12 games, hitting .286 with one home run and 11 RBI. He is transferring to Southern Illinois from Johnson Community College where in his freshman year in 2023 he batted .308 (28-for-91) with nine doubles, a triple, a home run, 20 runs scored and 26 RBI.

Munster (6-3/235) and Ruby (6-0/185) will look to provide some pop at the plate from the left side and see key playing time in the infield. Munster was the winner of the Mountain West Scholar-Athlete Award in 2024, one of the highest academic honors bestowed by the conference. Ruby played summer baseball in the PEL for the Humboldt Crabs hitting .345 in 27 games while being named the Team MVP.

“We have a great relationship with Ryan Overland, Head Coach at Fresno State, who consistently sends us quality players and quality individuals,” said HarbourCats Head Coach Todd Haney. “I am confident that Munster and Ruby will be key offensive players for us in 2025, the same way Schneider and Collins were last year, and the players before them” added Haney. “Finkelstein, Thompson, Hepburn and MacDonald, as returning players, know the championship expectations of playing in Victoria and will be able to pass that along to new players on the 2025 team.”

The HarbourCats, who joined the WCL in 2013, will enter into their 11th season of play at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park in 2025 (with the 2020 and 2021 seasons cancelled due to COVID) and have made the playoffs in six of those 10 previous seasons including the last four in a row (2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024) with trips to the WCL Championship game(s) in 2017, 2019 and 2023.

The 2025 schedule, which will feature 27 home league games and (where possible) 2-5 non-league games, should be released in the next week. Season Tickets and 10-game Flex Packs are now on sale, with Season Tickets on at Early Bird Pricing until October 31st. Stop in to the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street to order, or call 778-265-0327. Flex packs may also be ordered on-line in the Cat Shop HERE.

For more updates, be sure to follow the Harbourcats here on our web and on all social channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats deep fry Pickles

Published

7 hours ago

May 31, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

May 30, 2026

Portland, OR – It was billed as “Wrestling Night” in Portland Saturday night and while the wrestlers in the ring on the third base concourse of Walker Stadium did their best to ensure chaos reigned there all night, the HarbourCats did the same on the field, pummelling the Pickles by a score of 15-6.

FULL BOX SCORE 

Victoria atoned for their three-hit performance in the opener on Friday by body slamming the Pickles for 19 hits in total, 14 of which came in the first four innings, allowing them to build a 13-0 lead over that same time span.

The Pickles got up off the mat briefly in the bottom of the fourth, scoring all their six runs in that frame, but never threatened again after that, shut-out the rest of the way.

The HarbourCats offence was led by leadoff hitter David Krahn, who had four hits, including a double, four RBI and four runs scored. Right behind him was Dryden Fuoco with three hits, including a double and the first HarbourCats home run of the season. Max Bernal, Jax Heid, Lukas Le Gras, Matthew Westley, Rhone Klein and Kade Davis also contributed two hits each to the winning effort.

Victoria starter Erik Rico was flat out brilliant in his HarbourCats debut, going three shut-out innings, and allowing just two hits and one walk, while striking out six, including the first three Portland batters of the game. Relievers Bryson Toner, Hunter Daniels, Easton Reimers and Anson Stuckly were also solid, combing for 5.1 innings of scoreless relief with eight strikeouts.

WCL STANDINGS

The HarbourCats and Pickles will complete the rubber match of the series on Sunday night wth a 6:05 PM start. Victoria then travels home for their opener against the Edmonton Riverhawks on Tuesday, June 2 at 6:35. Tickets for that are selling fast and are available at http://harbourcats.com/tickets.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Raptors edge NightOwls on Saturday evening

Published

12 hours ago

May 31, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

RIDGEFIELD, WA — Nearly, another comeback win for the Nanaimo NightOwls.

Nanaimo has the go-head runner on base in the ninth but fell just short in a 4-3 setback Saturday against the tough Ridgefield Raptors, the NightOwls falling to 1-1 on this young West Coast League season. Nanaimo opened the summer with a 7-6 come-from-behind win on Friday.

Runners were on first and second in the ninth but a pair of strikeouts ended the Nanaimo threat.

BOXSCORE LINK — https://wclstats.com/sports/bsb/2026/boxscores/20260530_0fwy.xml

Jacob Hayes, one of the top hitters in the WCL dating back to a year ago, got the NightOwls out to a lead on Saturday with an RBI single. Ridgefield scored two in the third, one in the fifth and one more in the sixth to go ahead 4-1.

Carter Cathers drove a ball to right in the eighth and an error led to Easton Mould and Tyler Clementz crossing the plate, cutting the score to 4-3.

STANDINGS AND STATS LINK — https://wclstats.com/sports/bsb/2026/standings

Starter Caleb Morrison, Parker King, Cesar Corrales and Moosa Nonomiya handled the pitching chores for Nanaimo. Ridgefield made two errors to just one for Nanaimo, and the Raptors outhit the NightOwls 7-5.

WCL PIXELLOT VIDEO LINK — West Coast League Live

The NightOwls play one more game in Ridgefield before returning home for the home opener, which is on Tuesday against the Kelowna Falcons at historic Serauxmen Stadium. The game in Ridgefield on Sunday, a 1:05 PM start, will feature former all-star Adison Mattix as the starting pitcher for Nanaimo.

Tickets for the home opener are going fast — nanaimonightowls.com/tickets for the official Showpass ticketing site, do not be fooled by googling and ending up at a third-party offshore ticketing website.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Drop Season Opener in Portland

Published

1 day ago

May 30, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The Cats fought hard but fell short in the first game of 2026

Portland, OR – The HarbourCats began the 2026 season tonight, falling 8-2 in the first game of the year to the Portland Pickles.

The Cats struck first in the season opener, as Kade Davis (UTSA) scored from third in the first inning on a Dryden Fuoco (Hill College) groundout. Portland returned fire in the bottom of the first, cashing in a run on a base knock to right field and tying the ballgame at 1-1.

BOX SCORE

HarbourCats starter Daniel Tovar (Northern Kentucky) saw his night come to an end following an action-packed second inning where he fielded all three outs. The Los Angeles product went two innings, giving up a pair of hits, one earned run, one walk, and a strikeout. Caden Shoul (Wenatchee Valley) kicked off the bottom of the third inning on the mound for the Cats, and the Pickles would break through with three more runs to claim a 4-1 lead.

A fruitful eighth inning broke the game open for Portland

Victoria got back on the board in the top of the fifth with Frankie Rutigliano (Portland) taking first on a dropped third strike and later scoring from third on a groundout from Jai Berezowski (Victoria Collegiate Cats).

Pierce Stone (Regis) worked the fourth and fifth innings for the Cats, refusing to surrender any runs on a pair of hits and a walk. Flynn Warren (Hawaii Pacific) took over for the sixth and seventh, and kept the lid on the Pickles through two hitless innings.

Portland added on in the eighth, as Cats reliever Marcus Janovsky (UBC) gave up four runs on three walks and a hit.

Victoria managed to load the bases in the ninth, but the runners were left on and Portland came away with the 8-2 win.

WCL STANDINGS

The HarbourCats will be in Portland all weekend, with 6:30 pm games on May 30 and 31, before returning home on June 2 for the Home Opener.

Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games and the 2026 West Coast League All-Star Game and Home Run Derby 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.

Source