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Summer Collegiate

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

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats deep fry Pickles

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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.

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Raptors edge NightOwls on Saturday evening

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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.

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Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Drop Season Opener in Portland

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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.

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