Summer Collegiate

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

Published

1 year ago

June 29, 2023

Dugout Wire Service

‘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

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.

WATCH GAMES HERE

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.

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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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