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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Silence NightOwls 9-5; Inch Closer To Home Field Advantage

Published

9 months ago

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Photos by: Christian J. Stewart

Story by: Micah Collins

Victoria, BC – The Victoria HarbourCats defeated the Nanaimo NightOwls 9-5 in front of a packed house Wednesday night at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park.

With the victory, the ‘Cats now sit half a game behind the Wenatchee AppleSox for the second seed in the North Division, inching closer to home field advantage in the first round of the 2023 West Coast League playoffs.

Victoria also improves their home record to 24-2, claiming the most regular season home wins in West Coast League history.

The HarbourCats were in familiar territory early on as Nanaimo got off to a hot start in the top of the second as Bryce Johnson hit an RBI double, sending outfielder Brandon Hupe to home plate.  The NightOwls would then add two more runs in the top of the third, including a sac-fly from Hupe.

The ‘Cats, as like the previous game, would start their comeback in the middle of the game, including a three run bottom of the fourth inning, thanks to some timely at bats from outfielder Lane Brewster and infielder Marco Pirruccello.

Victoria would then pack on three more runs within the next two innings, including a two run shot to left-centre field from Angelo State University prospect, Tripp Clark.  The NightOwls could not begin a comeback and ultimately being eliminated from playoff contention.

HarbourCats infielder Marco Pirruccello had an impressive outing Wednesday night, hitting 3 for 5, including a triple in the bottom of the fourth inning.

UC Santa Barbara prospect Jed Decooman was on the mound for Victoria; pitching two innings, striking out four batters.  Relief pitchers Logan MacNiel, Jack Finn, Cody Howard, Jake Finkelstein, and Davis Franklin shut down Nanaimo’s bats, allowing only two runs in the next seven innings.

Despite the loss, Nanaimo’s designated hitter Wylie Waters continues to swing that bat well, going 2 for 4 and bumping his batting average up to .302, top 25 in the West Coast League.

The NightOwls will try to avoid the series sweep Thursday night, a 6:35PM start at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park.  The HarbourCats will be hosting their annual Fan Appreciation Night presented by Passion Sports, with lots of contests and giveaways to celebrate their last home game of the regular season.

The ‘Cats will then hit the road Friday to face the Edmonton RiverHawks for a three-game series before preparing for the 2023 West Coast League playoffs either hosting a game Tuesday August 8th, or Wednesday August 9th.

Playoff tickets are now available and tickets for all remaining HarbourCats games can be bought as always at harbourcats.com/tickets or at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.

VOUCHERS:  Reminder that all ticket vouchers must be exchanged for Thursday night’s game only. They are NOT eligible for playoffs and may not be carried over to 2024.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats 2024 Summer Kids Camps now open for registration

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18 hours ago

on

April 27, 2024

By

April 27, 2024

VICTORIA, BC – The Victoria HarbourCats are pleased to announce that their always popular summer baseball camps are now open for registration.

Catering to kids in the 8-11 and 12-15 year-old age groups, a series of half-day camps will take place both outdoors at Royal Athletic Park – the home of the HarbourCats, and indoors at the Edwards Family Training Centre, the official off-field training facility of the HarbourCats and the Victoria Golden Tide.

Camps are set up as half-day sessions and by two age groups: 8-11 and 12-15. For Outdoor camps only, you may register your child for both the morning and afternoon camps according to age, but you must add both the morning camp and afternoon camp to your cart when registering. This option is NOT available for INDOOR camps.

Spaces in each session are limited and sessions may be cancelled if there are not enough participants.

Camps schedule and pricing as follows:

July 2-5th  INDOOR – $200.00 (four half-day sessions per age group)
July 8-12th OUTDOOR – $300.00 (five half-day sessions per age group)
July 15-19th OUTDOOR – $300.00 (five half-day sessions per age group)
July 22-26th OUTDOOR – $300.00 (five half-day sessions per age group)
July 29-August 2 OUTDOOR – $300.00 (five half-day sessions per age group)
August 6- August 9th INDOOR – $200.00 (four half-day sessions per age group)
August 12-16th INDOOR – $250.00 (five half-day sessions per age group)

All camps will be run by Victoria Golden Tide College Baseball coaches and players and/or HarbourCats players when available pending their schedule.

TO REGISTER, please head to The Cat Shop at https://victoria-harbourcats-official.myshopify.com/collections/harbourcats-youth-camps

 

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Summer Collegiate

Japanese pitcher, Hawaiian speedster, big bat from VIU among eight added by NightOwls

Published

6 days ago

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April 22, 2024

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The pitching staff, it is growing — and adding interesting storylines.

Japanese pitcher Moosa Nonomiya, who is at Skagit Valley College in Washington, will add more to the international flavor of the Nanaimo NightOwls for 2024 — already with players from Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Taiwan

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Not all are far flung — lefty-hitting DH/1B Brayden McClary of the VIU Mariners and returning lefty arm Hayden Cuthbertson are islanders who know Serauxmen Stadium well.

Hata can fly — he started 40 games as a freshman and will top that this spring, piling up 28 stolen bases over two seasons. He’s not just speed, he hit a game-winning grand slam in extra innings earlier this month and has three home runs and 25 runs driven in, batting .320 with a low strikeout rate.

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Cuthbertson has had a breakout year with a 3-1 record and four saves, striking out 27 in 17 innings and earning a Division1 spot with Miami-Ohio. McClary, also an Islander, will be the first married player on the NightOwls — he’s a key offensive force in the middle of the VIU lineup, hitting a ball out of Serauxmen this weekend against TRU.

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Felix is a young star catcher with position versatility— and he’s big at 6-2/200 as he goes to Cal Poly this fall. Jakobson is a righthander who will have ample innings available for the summer, a oower arm with bullpen potential.

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Ariaza is a great mix of power and strikes, and he’s the biggest NightOwl to date at 6-5/270. He didn’t walk a batter in 10 outings as a freshman and has 25 strikeouts in 18 innings, along with a save, this spring.

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Hanning has had success at the junior college level and has proven to be a workhorse, including 61 innings already this season, tops on his staff.

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Nonomiya has moved into a starting role in the NWAC conference and is now over 30 innings for a team that has NightOwls assistant Sean FitzGerald on the staff.

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Summer Collegiate

Three returning players, one a WCL all-star, and local infielder highlight eight NightOwls signings

Published

2 weeks ago

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April 17, 2024

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Those announced today:

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OF/LHP Riley Paulino, University of Pikeville, 5-11/180, Fife, WA (returning player)

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C Sammy Torres, University of Pikeville, 5-9/200, Yuaco, Puerto Rico (returning player)

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LHP Richtter Castillo, University of Pikeville, 6-0/215, Maracay, Venezuela

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IF Lucas Laukkanen, Cloud County commit, 6-0/190, Nanaimo

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LHP Carson Jones, St. Martins, 6-0/180, Walla Walla, WA (returning player)

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RHP Christian Lucero, Arizona Christian, 6-1/190, Sacramento

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OF Sammy Kahler, San Diego State, 6-0/185, Stockton, CA

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OF Drew Rutter, San Diego State, 6-1/190, Trabuco Canyon, CA

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