Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats sweep away Edmonton, first place weekend battle with Bells up next

Published

3 years ago

June 23, 2023

Dugout Wire Service

Michael Crossland celebrates with Lane Brewster after his second inning home run Thursday. He would finish with two hits and three-RBI (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

Story and Photos by Christian J. Stewart

June 22, 2023

Victoria, BC – There may be a handful of cleaning companies calling the HarbourCats office looking for help this weekend, as the HarbourCats have proved themselves very good at sweeping.

Victoria earned it’s fourth sweep of the year Thursday night, defeating the Edmonton Riverhawks 9-7 at Wilson’s Group Stadium, moving their record to 14-4 overall (11-1 at home) and keeping them in the hunt for first in the North Division with Bellingham (12-3) and Wenatchee (13-4) who both won Thursday night.

FULL BOXSCORE

The HarbourCats will now travel to Bellingham Friday for a key first place showdown against the Bells, with Friday’s game at 4:35pm, Saturday at 6:35 and Sunday at 1:05.

Tripp Clark was solid behind the plate and scored three times in Thursday’s win over Edmonton (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

Like all three games in this series, the game was tight through the first half, tied 3-3 after four innings, but a five-run explosion by Victoria vaulted them into a lead they wold never relinquish. The Riverhawks did make it close however, scoring one in the eighth and three more in the ninth to keep it interesting.

For Victoria, Michael Crossland stayed hot, adding two more hits, including a home run and three RBI to the four hits and four RBI he had Wednesday, while newcomer Tripp Clark, had a hit, two walks an RBI and three runs scored, while also catching a good game behind the plate.

Davis Franklin got the win in relief for Victoria, pitching two innings of scoreless relief, while Edmonton starter Dallin Harrison takes the loss.

Offensively for the Riverhawks, Tom Poole had a pair of hits, including a late home run, and three RBI, while Jonny McGill had three hits, including a double in the losing effort.

Tyler Davis was sound at first base Thursday evening (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

Following the key series in Bellingham, Victoria will head to Kelowna for a three-game series with the Falcons on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and then return home on Friday June 30th for another big three-game set with Bellingham. That game on the 30th marks the start of an epic Canada Day weekend, with Fireworks on Friday night, a Canada Day matinee at 1:05pm on Saturday and another matinee Sunday at 1:05pm.

Tickets for all three of those games are going fast, especially for fireworks night , so get them while you still can at https://harbourcats.com/tickets.

Hudson Shupe bids for a base hit Thursday (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

GAME NOTES: The HarbourCats are currently leading the West Coast League in wins (14), runs (145), hits (188), home runs (14), RBI (115), triples (6), total bases (267), stolen bases (67), team batting average (.301), team slugging (.428) and on-base percentage (.410).

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Matt Westley is the Extra Innings Hero in Walk-Off Victory

Published

6 hours ago

June 14, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats battled all night to claim a walk-off win in extra innings!

Victoria pitcher Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) made his mark immediately in his Saturday night start. The big Texan struck out three batters in the top of the first inning, an early warning to the Drifters that they would need their A-game to take him down.

BOX SCORE

Springfield was not deterred, however, scoring on an error in the bottom of the second for the first run of the ballgame. Arnett kept the visiting bats quiet otherwise in the second inning, adding two more K’s to his total.

The Cats created a juicy RBI opportunity by way of a couple singles and stolen bags in the bottom of the third. The heart of the lineup took advantage, cashing in two runs to take a narrow lead by the end of the inning.

Jeremiah Arnett (Rice University) put together a solid start with eight strikeouts. (Photo by Raphael Oliveira)

The offensive production continued as Rohne Klein (San Jose State) battled with two outs and drove a base hit to right field to keep the fourth inning alive for the Cats. Inspired by his comrade’s effort, local catcher Jai Berezowski (Victoria Collegiate) blasted a triple to widen the home team’s lead to 3-1.

Springfield answered back with two runs in the top of the fifth to end Jeremiah Arnett’s night. Arnett went 4.2 innings with eight strikeouts, walking three batters and allowing two earned runs. Davis Lee (Calgary) came in to cover for the starter, securing a huge strikeout in a messy situation to preserve a tie game.

Lee kept a clean slate across his two innings of work, giving way to Hunter Daniels (Phoenix) in the top of the eighth. Daniels surrendered a solo homer to give the Drifters the lead.

The HarbourCats came up big in a crucial eighth inning, loading the bases and getting the game-tying run across. This paved the way for extra innings, in which reliever Pierce Stone (Regis) came up huge with two strikeouts in the top of the tenth to keep the score tied. In the bottom of the tenth inning, with the bases loaded, Matt Westley (George Mason) stepped up to the plate and mashed a line drive to centre field for a HarbourCats walk-off win!

WCL STANDINGS

Catch the Cats back on the field tomorrow at 1:05 pm for the rubber match of the series.

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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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Suffer Gruelling 18-9 Loss

Published

1 day ago

June 12, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Cats pitching struggled to keep runners off the bases on the way to a 18-9 loss. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats hosted the Springfield Drifters on Friday night, failing to keep the visiting team in check and dropping the first game of the series 18-9.

The Drifters’ lineup spelled trouble from the beginning for Schuyler Fairchild (Wenatchee Valley). The visitors filled up the bases and drove in two runs in the top of the first before the starter locked down a couple of K’s to vacate the mound.

BOX SCORE

Determined not to fall behind, the Cats fought back during their turn at the plate. A 94 mph screamer off the lumber of Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) brought home a run and set up another to score on a sacrifice fly in the next at bat. Even Steven after the initial frame.

Springfield ran up the opener’s pitch count in the first inning, making room for a relief appearance from Austin Lindsey (Hill College) to begin the second. The Drifters gave Lindsey some difficulty as well, ending the inning with three more runs across to make it 5-2.

Schuyler Fairchild saw a shortened outing, battling through a long first inning. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Outfielder Marcus Nolen (Fresno State) was sharp in the bottom of the third inning, drawing a walk, stealing a base, and coming around to score on a Kade Davis (UTSA) single.

The next arrival from the bullpen was Landon Marchetti (San Jose State), who threw two clean innings in the fourth and fifth to earn a much-needed respite for the Cats defence.

Things drew even once again in the bottom of the fifth thanks to Rohne Klein (San Jose State). The first baseman muscled a ball out to centre field to drive in a pair and tie the game at five runs each.

Rohne Klein (San Jose State) snapped his slump tonight with a clutch base hit. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Flynn Warren (Hawaii Pacific) inherited the mound from Marchetti for the top of the seventh inning. Marchetti was lights out over three innings, allowing only a single hit and shredding through the Drifters’ lineup for five strikeouts. Warren found himself in a jam, loading the bases and letting four runs slip by to give the lead back to Springfield.

A grand slam for the Drifters in the top of the eighth broke the game wide open, bestowing a 14-5 lead upon the visitors. The Cats showed some life in the back half of inning the eighth, highlighted by a Logan Shepherd (Mercer) RBI triple, but the deficit proved insurmountable as Victoria eventually fell 18-9 in the series opener.

WCL STANDINGS

The Springfield series continues at 6:35 pm on Saturday night and concludes with a 1:05 pm Sunday matinee.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Lose Control of Game Three in Edmonton

Published

2 days ago

June 11, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria made four costly errors in this one to give Edmonton an advantage (Photo by JPM Photography)

Edmonton, AB – The HarbourCats were unable to complete the sweep, falling 9-5 to the Riverhawks on Thursday night.

Edmonton knocked Bryson Toner (Hawaii) around a little in the first three innings, but the right-hander stayed locked in and only let one run slip by on six hits.

BOX SCORE

The Cats returned fire in the top of the fourth, putting pressure on the Riverhawks defence to load the bases and score a run off the bat of Kade Davis (UTSA).

Easton Reimers (North Dakota State) entered the game with the score tied at one apiece, striking out two batters in the fourth inning to keep Victoria’s momentum going.

The Riverhawks made some noise in the fifth to take back control of the game, shaking down Reimers for four more runs and ending the inning with a 5-1 lead over the HarbourCats.

Tate Collins (Arkansas State) took the field for the Cats in the bottom of the sixth and wasted no time getting the job done, tossing a clean inning out of the pen.

The Cats were stricken with the error bug in inning number seven, coughing up a handful of runs as a result of some less-than-stellar defensive play.

Victoria loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the eighth and closed the distance with four more runs before inning’s end, but the comeback was unsuccessful en route to a 9-5 Edmonton victory.

With this series complete, the HarbourCats will be back in Victoria starting Friday night for a three-game series versus the Springfield Drifters.

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