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

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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

NightOwls Split Double-Dip in Edmonchuck

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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

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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.

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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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NightOwls Lose a Tough One in Edmonton

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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.

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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