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Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Mid-Inning Explosion Sinks Lefties

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Ben Smedshammer (above) went four strong innings to start the game for the HarbourCats on Wednesday (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

Story and Photos by Christian J. Stewart

July 12, 2023

Victoria, BC – The Victoria HarbourCats exploded for eight runs in the fourth andfifth innings, to cruise to an easy 11-2 win over the Port Angeles Lefties on Wednesday night in West Coast League action at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park.

The win improves Victoria’s home record to an impressive 16-1 and their overall record to 24-11 (6-3 in the second half).

FULL BOX SCORE

Victoria started things off early with three runs in the bottom of the first, thanks to an RBI single from Tripp Clark and a two-RBI single from Michael Crossland.

Hudson Shupe stayed atop the WCL hitting leaderboard, going 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

They then blew the game open in the bottom of the fourth, getting to three different Lefties pitchers for six runs, keyed by a two-RBI double from Lane Brewster and RBI singles from Jack Johnson, Tyler Davis and Crossland (his third hit in three at bats).  Davis and Tripp Clark then contributed RBI singles in the fifth inning to round out the HarbourCats scoring.

Meanwhile, HarbourCats pitcher Ben Smedshammer made his firs ever West Coast League start and he was solid, giving up four hits in four innings while striking out four.  Ryan Magdic, Logan MacNeil, Russell Derbyshire and Daniel Gonzalez also saw work on the mound in relief.

For the Lefties, Trent Jackson had a pair of hits, while Chase Taylor added a home run in the losing effort. Starter Brock Mayer took the loss.

Dallas Macias heads to third en route to scoring the first of his three runs Wednesday (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

The HarbourCats and Lefties close out their series on Thursday night, another 6:35 pm star,t and then the tough Wenatchee AppleSox come to town for a three-game series beginning Friday night, our third fireworks night of the season, followed by Harvey’s Birthday Party on Saturday and then Bark in the Park, a 1:5 start Sunday, with a special gate opening at 11:30AM for all our furry friends.

Tickets for all games available at https://harbourcats.com/tickets.

 

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Bridges’ gem powers Cats to fifth straight win

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Cayden Munster’s fifth inning home run was the HarbourCats’ 21st as a team, which ranks third in the WCL (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

July 5, 2025

For immediate release

RIDGEFIELD, WA – The Victoria HarbourCats have been rolling in July and showed no signs of slowing down Saturday night, surrendering just one hit all game to the Ridgefield Raptors, cruising to a 6-0 win.

As the HarbourCats have done so often this season, they wasted no time getting on the board, scoring in the first inning through a Logan Shepherd (Mercer U) RBI single. That was the designated hitter’s 23rd RBI of the season, which leads the team.

From there, the story was all about Thomas Bridges (Northwestern U). The right-hander has been downright dominant this season, and tonight was no different, throwing a season-high six scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and striking out five. Once again, he walked zero batters and has only allowed one free pass all season in 26 innings of work. His 0.35 ERA ranks first in the WCL among qualified pitchers. He ranks sixth in the league with 29 strikeouts.

BOX SCORE

Cayden Munster (Fresno State) gave his starter some more run support with a no-doubt solo home run in the fifth inning to double the lead, making it 2-0.

Connor Ross (Cal Baptist) increased the lead to 3-0 in the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly, which was just a few feet shy of a grand slam. An error by the Raptors catcher, Jake Harvey, on the following at-bat allowed Shepherd to score. Later in the inning, Munster drove in his second run of the night with a two-out RBI single to give the Cats a 5-0 lead.

WCL STANDINGS

Victoria took a 6-0 lead in the seventh inning courtesy of a JC Allen solo home run, his fifth of the season in just 11 games. The UC San Diego junior is now hitting .412 on the season and has a slugging percentage of .854.

Austin Lindsey (Hill College) made his eighth appearance of the season out of the bullpen and threw two scoreless innings, giving up no hits, walking one, and striking out a pair. Julian Orozco (Cal Baptist) pitched a three-up-three-down ninth inning to give the HarbourCats their fifth straight win.

WATCH AWAY GAMES HERE

After a day off on Friday, Hudson Shupe (Gonzaga) was back in the lineup and had two hits, extending his hit streak to nine games. He has multi-hit efforts in six of those contests.

The Cats sit atop the North Division second-half standings with a 5-0 record. They go for their second straight series sweep tomorrow at 1:05 PM.

The HarbourCats are back home for an exciting weekend series against the Kelowna Falcons Friday, July 11 at 6:35 PM. Friday is Harvey’s Birthday, Saturday is a Fireworks night, and Sunday’s matinee is the always popular Bark in the Park game, where all dogs are welcome! Get tickets at harbourcats.com/tickets.

10 and 32-Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are on sale for all home games and “Showcase” events through the HarbourCats’ new and one-and-only ticketing partner SHOWPASS at harbourcats.com/tickets.

Tickets and merchandise can also be purchased in person at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street or by calling 778-265-0327.

For more updates, be sure to follow @HarbourCats on all social channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

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The Losing Streak Continues For the NightOwls As They Fall 14-12 To The RiverHawks

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EDMONTON, A.B. — The NightOwls bats continue to pop, but they can’t seem to outscore their opponent as they fall 14-12 to the Edmonton RiverHawks on Friday Night. Despite two home runs from Jacob Hayes and one from catcher Nathan Davis, Nanaimo drops to 12-16 on the season.

The two teams went back and forth all game, and the NightOwls had a late lead in the eighth inning but couldn’t hold on, and the RiverHawks were able to get a late lead. Nanaimo has a chance at redemption tomorrow at Re/Max Field as the two teams are back at it at 7:05 MST. That’s 6:05 our time in Nanaimo, and the game can be streamed on the link below.

https://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=622688

Leading the way at the plate was first baseman Jacob Hayes, who went yard twice on the night for his fifth and sixth Home Runs on the season for the NightOwls. Catcher Nathan Davis also went deep for his first home run of the year. Jacob Hayes spoke on his recent hot streak.

“This game has a lot of ups and downs, so making adjustments is crucial. I definitely have felt more confident at the plate. I think using a whole field approach at the dish has given me that. Cody has been talking a lot about that recently, and just trusting him with his advice has also allowed me to feel freer up at bat.”

Asher De Leo came in relief for the Nanaimo Night Owls and was the only pitcher not to allow a hit or run in this very offensive game against the Edmonton RiverHawks. Starting pitcher Aidan Boice had three strikeouts in his five innings pitched and didn’t factor into the decision on the night.

https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv/

I spoke to the manager of the Nanaimo NightOwls, Cody Andreychuk after the game about the play of Jacob Hayes and how they could balance the pitching and hitting, “Hayes has been on a tear in the last little bit there’s a lot to like about how he drives the ball out of the ballpark , Talan Zenk has also been swinging a hot bat . As far as the balance between pitching and hitting the pitchers won us the series against Edmonton earlier in the year we are going through a rough patch and I’m confident they will respond and bounce back.”

The Losing Streak Continues For the NightOwls As They Fall 14-12 To The RiverHawks

Talan Zenk went one for three with a single, walk and RBI, and three runs as he was also hit by a pitch. Nathan Davis had a great stat line going three for four with three RBI, a HR, two singles, three runs, a walk, and a stolen base. Shortstop Andrew Nykoluk also had a nice day at the plate with two hits, an RBI and a walk.

http://Nanaimonightowls.com/tickets

The series continues on Saturday and Sunday July 5th, and 6th in Edmonton against the RiverHawks. Note the start times as Saturday is a 6:05 first pitch PST and Sunday is an afternoon affair that goes at 12:05 PST.

Then the team will have a well deserved day off after 10 straight days of games. The NightOwls return home with a three game series against the Kelowna Falcons in a mid week matchup. That starts Tuesday July 8th at 6:35pm and continues Wednesday and Thursday at the same time. Make sure to follow us on social media for the latest NightOwls news and use the hashtag #IlluminateTheDark!

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Victoria HarbourCats – Cats crush Raptors in 20-5 rout

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July 4, 2025

For immediate release

RIDGEFIELD, WA – On the Fourth of July, the Victoria HarbourCats scored four times as many runs as the Ridgefield Raptors, winning the series opener 20-5.

The fun started in the top of the third inning when the HarbourCats brought 13 batters to the plate and put up nine runs in the frame. Xander “Boogie” McAfee (Texas Arlington) opened up the scoring with an RBI single to make it 1-0. Boogie also had an RBI double later in the inning.

Logan Shepherd (Mercer U) and Dillon Lopez (St Mary’s) drove in one run each with singles, while Tanner Beltowski (Westmont) and Connor Ross (Cal Baptist) each hit two-run singles in the inning. Garrett Brooks (St Mary’s) drove in his first run of the season with a double.

BOX SCORE

The Victoria offence was relentless this afternoon as they put up five more runs in the fourth inning to extend their advantage to 14-0. Shepherd’s RBI single was followed by a Jack Johnson (Baylor) sacrifice fly. Boogie McAfee then hit his second RBI double of the game, and Beltowski smacked a triple to the wall to score another run.

Johnson has reached base in all 24 games he has played this season.

Shea Lake (West Texas A&M) started the game for Victoria and was fantastic through his first four innings of work, surrendering just two hits. He retired the first two batters in the fifth but then pitched into trouble. After the next two Raptors reached base, Taylor Takata hit an RBI single to get the home team on the board. Andrew Estrella then hit a three-run home run to the opposite field to make it 14-4 and put an end to Lake’s outing.

WCL STANDINGS

Marcus Janovsky (UBC) pitched the next 2-1/3 innings and gave up one run on three hits while striking out a pair.

If you thought that complacency would become an issue for the HarbourCats’ offence after 14 runs, you would be sorely mistaken. The visitors tacked on another five runs in the seventh inning through a two-run single by Johnson and a three-run home run from Ross.

Ross had four hits, five RBIs, and scored three runs.

WATCH GAMES HERE

Shepherd drove in his third run of the game in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly, pushing the lead to 20-5. The designated hitter, along with McAfee and Lopez, recorded three hits in the game. Beltowski drove in four runs and had two hits, increasing his season average to .342. The shortstop has two or more hits in five of his last seven games.

Dustin Davidson (Brookhaven) completed the final two innings, facing the minimum, giving up just one hit.

Thomas Bridges (Northwestern U) is the projected HarbourCats starter for game two tomorrow against the Raptors at 6:35 PM. The right-hander will enter the game with a 0.45 ERA in 20 innings of work this season.

The HarbourCats are back home for an exciting weekend series against the Kelowna Falcons Friday, July 11 at 6:35 PM. Friday is Harvey’s Birthday, Saturday is a Fireworks night, and Sunday’s matinee is the always popular Bark in the Park game, where all dogs are welcome! Get tickets at harbourcats.com/tickets.

Season Tickets, 10 and 32-Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are now on sale for all 33 home games and four “Showcase” events through the HarbourCats’ new and one-and-only ticketing partner SHOWPASS at harbourcats.com/tickets.

Tickets and merchandise can also be purchased in person at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street or by calling 778-265-0327.

For more updates, be sure to follow @HarbourCats on all social channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

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