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Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats set for first-half North Division title showdown with Bellingham

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‘Cats beat Kelowna 11-4 Wednesday to take series and stay in the hunt for the first half North Division title

Story by Christian J. Stewart

For Immediate Release

June 29, 2023

Victoria, BC – It is hard to believe, but the HarbourCats are nearly through the first half of their season, with three key games against the Bellingham Bells coming up at home this weekend, games that could be key in deciding who wins the first half West Coast League (WCL) North Division title, and along with that, the number one seed in the North Division playoffs that would begin August 8th.

As it stands, with Victoria’s 11-4 and 11-3 wins over Kelowna this week, Bellingham and Victoria are now tied with 16 wins each, while the Wenatchee AppleSox are also in the mix with 15.  The HarbourCats however, have had eight losses, to only four by Bellingham and five by Wenatchee. Plus, Bellingham and Wenatchee have one more series to play before the end of their first half, whereas the HarbourCats first half comes to an end with the three games against Bellingham.

So what does this all mean?

Well first, relative to Bellingham, the HarbourCats realistically need to sweep the Bells this weekend to finish with a 19-8 record and then hope that the Bells lose at least two more games – either to Edmonton tonight – and then one or two more to Kamloops in their three game set next week.  If Victoria and Bellingham end up tied, it would come down to head-to-head records, which if Victoria sweeps, would be the same.  The next tie-breaker then would be head-to-head run differential, which heading into the weekend, sits at 10-5 in favour of Bellingham.

As to Wenatchee, they swept Victoria earlier in the season, so hold the tie-breaker in that respect.  Thus, the HarbourCats (and the Bells for that matter) have to hope that Wenatchee loses four of their next seven games, which include a game tonight against Port Angeles, a weekend series against Edmonton and three more next week against the Lefties in Port Angeles.

Whoever comes out of that mix, then knows their playoff spot is secured, while the other teams then try to vie for the second-half title, as well as two wildcard spots that are also available to the next two teams.

WCL Playoff Procedure Details at https://westcoastleague.com/playoff-procedures/

It may sound like a tough road for Victoria, but nevertheless, with playoff possibilities on the line, Canada Day Fireworks Friday and a Canada Day and Sunday matinee on the schedule, it is going to be a fabulous weekend of baseball at Wilson’s Group Stadium.

Tickets for all games are selling fast, especially Friday’s fireworks night with some sections already sold out, so fans are urged to avoid disappointment and get their tickets on-line as soon as they can at our one and only ticketing partner Select Your Tickets at https://harbourcats.com/tickets.

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Summer Collegiate

Gutsy NightOwls edge Bells in extra innings

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BELLINGHAM, WA — With nothing but pride on the line, the Nanaimo NightOwls are showing they are full of character.

A sacrifice fly by outfielder Spencer Sullivan in the 10th inning at Joe Martin Field on Monday gave the NightOwls, who will miss the playoffs in their fourth season in the West Coast League, a 3-2 victory over the playoff-bound Bellingham Bells — who won the North Division’s first half pennant to lock up their post-season berth.

Andrew Ivy led off the game with a home run, his first of the season, crushing a 2-1 pitch out of one of the WCL’s hardest parks to clear the fence.

Dalton Hanson was strong in a short starting assignment, the Scottsdale CC product going three scoreless innings, giving up two walks and three hits. Venezuelan lefty Richtter Castillo was effective in three innings, allowing two hits and three walks, with one earned run and two strikeouts.

Jayden Gabrillo (Hawaii Pacific) struck out four batters over two innings, giving up two hits and one run. Moosa Nonomiya, fresh off helping Team Pakistan earn international standings points in a series played in Chicago against Palestine, got the win with two innings of scoreless work.

Leadoff man Ivy was 3-4 with the home run, a double, a walk and an RBI and scored two of the team’s runs, while the guy behind him, Ryder Florence, was 2-4 to raise his batting average to .210 — he’s batting .421 over his last seven games. Easton Mould was 2-4 with an RBI.

The NightOwls have two games left in the WCL season, playing in Bellingham on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, before the players head off to their respective collegiate programs. The NightOwls are 23-29 overall, and 11-14 in the second half — the team will finish fifth or sixth overall in the eight-team North Division.

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Victoria HarbourCats – Hawks blow out Cats in game one of doubleheader

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August 4, 2025

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. – In the first game of today’s doubleheader, it was the Edmonton Riverhawks who came out on top, beating the Victoria HarbourCats 10-1.

The Hawks loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the first, but Cats starter Clayton Broeder (Angelo State) struck out three in a row to escape the jam.

The game remained scoreless into the third when once again the visitors loaded the bases and this time cashed in when Broeder walked Trent Lenihan, giving the Hawks their first run of the game. Ben Hewitt (Ottawa U) replaced Broeder and was one strike away from escaping the jam and keeping the score at 1-0, but instead walked in another run. He then gave up a three-run double to Stevie Waters to give Edmonton a big 5-0 lead.

Broeder struck out six batters over his 2-1/3 innings of work but struggled with control, walking five.

BOX SCORE

Edmonton continued to pile on the runs, putting up four more in the fourth inning. A sac fly and wild pitch brought home a pair before Jason Green crushed a two-run home run over the right field fence to extend the lead to 9-0.

The visitors added one more in the top of the sixth inning when Green drove in his third run of the game with an RBI double, pushing the lead to 10-0.

The HarbourCats finally got on the board when Jake Butler (George Mason) drove home Garrett Brooks (St. Mary’s) with an RBI single.

Victoria native Myles Chamberlain started for the Riverhawks and went six innings, giving up one run on six hits while striking out four to record his West Coast League-leading seventh win of the campaign.

Jake Finkelstein (USAO) replaced Hewitt after the big righty gave up six runs over 1-2/3 innings. The Richmond, BC native matched his season-high, throwing three innings and giving up one run on three hits.

Lucas Webber-Kitching pitched the seventh inning for the Hawks to close out the 10-1 win.

WCL STANDINGS

The Riverhawks need one more win to clinch the second-half title. As for the HarbourCats, they will need to win the next three games in this series to earn the second-half crown and first-round home-field advantage in the playoffs that comes with it.

Game two starts shortly with Ryne Palmer (Cal Baptist) on the bump for the hosts. General admission tickets are still available at the gate!

Can’t make it today? Tomorrow is Jersey off our Backs night, sponsored by Odlum Brown, where lucky fans will receive the popular baby blues. Wednesday is the final regular-season game of the campaign and is Fan Appreciation Night, presented by Passion Sports. Get tickets at harbourcats.com/tickets.

VOUCHER REMINDER: If you have any remaining vouchers, don’t forget to redeem them as they are only eligible for the remaining regular-season games. You can do so at harbourcats.com/tickets, and if you have any questions or need help exchanging your vouchers, call the HarbourCats office at (778) 265 0327.

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Victoria HarbourCats – Cats comeback late to beat Hawks

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August 4, 2025

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VICTORIA, B.C. – The Victoria HarbourCats scored four runs in the sixth inning to comeback and beat the Edmonton Riverhawks 7-5 in game two of the doubleheader.

Shiryu Sato took the first pitch of the ball game yard to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. A Tanner Beltowski (Westmont College) error later in the inning allowed another run to score and it was 2-0 Edmonton early.

The Cats cut their lead in half immediately in the bottom half when Kamana Nahaku (Hawaii) drove in a run with a double to the wall.

BOX SCORE

Tristen Buehring (Whitman College) made his HarbourCats debut tonight and made his presence known, tying the game at 2-2 in the third inning with a two-out RBI single.

Beltowski gave Victoria their first lead of the ballgame in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly, making it 3-2.

Ryne Palmer (Cal Baptist) started for the Cats and lasted four innings giving up two runs on two hits, while walking four and striking out four.

Dustin Davidson (Freed Hardeman) replaced Palmer to start the fifth inning and gave up back-to-back doubles to Sato and Kyle Yip which tied the game up at 3-3. Later in the inning Connor Ross (Cal Baptist) made a diving grab at third to save a run and keep the game tied.

WCL STANDINGS

Edmonton took the lead in the top of the sixth and it was Sato and Yip again driving in the runs to give the visitors a 5-3 lead.

Time was running out for the Cats with this being a seven-inning game, but they started to rally in the bottom of the sixth. The bases were loaded for Jack Johnson (Tulane) who was hit by a pitch to bring home a run making it 5-4. Nahaku then hit a sacrifice fly to level things up at 5-5. That brought up Garrett Brooks (St. Mary’s) with two outs and he fouled off four pitches before hitting a bloop single that plated two runs and gave the Cats a 7-5 lead.

More than 3000 fans were on their feet in to watch Austin Lindsey (Hill College) get the final three outs as he induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the ball game.

WATCH GAMES HERE

Each team winning one game of the doubleheader keeps them tied for first place in the North Division second half standings. With Edmonton holding the tiebreaker the math is simple, one more win for Edmonton and they will clinch the second half title, while the Cats need to win the remaining two games to finish above the Hawks and earn home field advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

Tomorrow is Jersey off our Backs night, sponsored by Odlum Brown, where lucky fans will receive the popular baby blues. Wednesday is the final regular-season game of the campaign and is Fan Appreciation Night, presented by Passion Sports. Get tickets at harbourcats.com/tickets.

BUY TICKETS HERE

VOUCHER REMINDER: If you have any remaining vouchers, don’t forget to redeem them as they are only eligible for the remaining regular-season games. You can do so at harbourcats.com/tickets, and if you have any questions or need help exchanging your vouchers, call the HarbourCats office at (778) 265 0327.

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