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 – Comeback Out of Reach in Extra Innings Loss

Published

10 hours ago

July 4, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The HarbourCats’ offence struggled tonight, failing to pull together until the late stages of the game. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Kelowna, B.C. – The Cats’ comeback attempt fell short as Victoria endured a 3-2 extra-innings loss in game one of the Kelowna series.

A leadoff double in the bottom of the third inning paid off for Kelowna when a one-out single drove in the first run of the ballgame. After a strong couple of innings top open the game, Cats starter Easton Reimers (North Dakota State) struggled to find the zone in his third frame of work.

BOX SCORE

The HarbourCats turned to Spencer Kratt (San Jose State) to pitch the fourth inning, and the right-hander proved to be unsolvable for the Falcons. Kratt allowed no runs in his solid four innings in relief, allowing only two hits alongside a pair of strikeouts.

Victoria finally cobbled together an offensive threat in the top of the fifth, with Tristan Buehring (Whitman) making his way to third after a single and two groundouts. The Cats were unable to take advantage however, squandering their first opportunity to score.

Anson Stuckly (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) was called from the bullpen in the eighth, on the heels of an airtight outing from Kratt. Stuckly made things look easy in his brief appearance, tossing ten pitches for a quick scoreless frame.

Victoria struggled to find any traction over the course of the ballgame until Logan Shepherd (Mercer) uncorked a monster solo shot in the top of the ninth, his first homer of the season to tie the game at one. That kept the game going long enough for Stuckly to pitch a scoreless bottom of the ninth and force extra innings.

The Cats battled their way to a one-run lead in extras, courtesy of a sacrifice fly from Riley Kwak (Bossier Parish) to give Victoria the advantage. Marcus Janovsky (UBC) was tagged in for extra innings duty, loading the bases and allowing two runs to score for a 3-2 Falcons win.

WCL STANDINGS

This Kelowna series continues this weekend, with the next game scheduled for 6:35 on Saturday night. Following the end of the series, the Cats will come home for a three-game set with the Bend Elks.

Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games 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.

GET YOUR ALL-STAR TICKETS BEFORE THEY ARE GONE! Tickets for the 2026 WCL All-Star Home Run Derby (featuring former Blue Jay Kevin Pillar) and the West Coast League All Star Game on July 14-15 are selling fast. Get yours today! Each event is now on sale separately, or grab the package deal for both and save a few bucks at http://harbourcats.com/tickets! Or call the office at 778-265-0327 to order by phone.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Battle to the End for 2-1 Victory

Published

1 day ago

July 3, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria, B.C. – A war of attrition ended in a win for the good guys on Thursday night, with the Cats clawing their way to the finish line to take a series win over the NightOwls.

The Cats weathered the lengthy rain delay and came to the plate ready tonight, striking first on a two-out single from Rohne Klein (San Jose State). Designated hitter Logan Shepherd (Mercer) got the wave around third and Victoria quickly took a 1-0 lead.

BOX SCORE

UCSD’s Quincey Brown added to a string of dominant starting pitchers for the Cats in this series. Brown’s nine strikeouts in his second start of the season are the second-most in a single game for Victoria this year, tied with Austin Lindsey in the previous game and just short of Jeremiah Arnett’s team-leading ten K’s on Tuesday.

In addition to a whole lot of swings and misses, Brown kept the NightOwls off the bases with just two hits across his five innings of work. Davis Lee (Calgary) came in on the heels of Brown’s start, opening up the sixth inning on the mound with a one-run lead. Lee got himself into some trouble, loading the bases with two consecutive walks and letting the game-tying run sneak by on a pitch straight to the backstop.

Will Zielinski held strong in his Cats debut, scoring important outs in the late innings. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Lee returned in the seventh for a much cleaner frame, striking out two for a scoreless inning. Will Zielinski made an impressive Cats debut in the top of the eighth. The local Victoria product secured a quick two strikeouts and a groundout to keep the score tied and bring the HarbourCats lineup back up to the dish.

Victoria rallied to finally break the tie in the bottom of the eighth, courtesy of a Marcus Nolen (Fresno State) special. The outfielder walked, stole a base, and came in to score on a throwing error from the Nanaimo shortstop to take a 2-1 lead for the Cats.

Zielinski was back for the top of the ninth, shutting it down and securing a close win for the Cats to take the series and tie up the Island Cup!

WCL STANDINGS

The HarbourCats will now hit the road to Kelowna for a three-game weekend series against the Falcons.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Bats Heat Up in 11-2 Win Over Nanaimo

Published

3 days ago

July 1, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Nanaimo, B.C. – The HarbourCats evened the series with a titanic 11-2 win over their island rivals on Wednesday night.

It was a blink-and-you’ll-mis-it start for the Cats, who scored their first run just four minutes after the first pitch. David Krahn (UBC) and Matt Westley (George Mason) found themselves on base with a single each, and a double off the wall from Logan Shepherd (Mercer) drove Krahn in from second. Westley came in to score an an extremely well-placed bunt from Jacob Silva (UTSA), and a Rohne Klein (San Jose State) single swiftly made it 3-0 Cats after the first half-inning!

BOX SCORE

Krahn touched the plate once again in the second inning, reaching base on an error and being cashed in by a Logan Shepherd base hit. Westley followed suit, pushing the score to 5-0.

Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) powered through six innings in his fifth start of the season, allowing three hits, no runs, and striking out nine. (Photo by JPM Photography)

The onslaught continued in the middle innings, highlighted by a two-run homer from infielder Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) in the fifth. A Tristan Buehring (Whitman) single brought home another before the end of the frame. Victoria followed up with another two tallies in the sixth, a result of some wild pitches and a knock from Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD). 10-0 Cats after six.

That strong start carried over to the other side of the baseball as well, with Jeremiah Arnett putting on a pitching clinic. The Rice University starter let up three hits in a scoreless six innings, striking out nine NightOwls. Daniel Tovar (Northern Kentucky) took over in relief for the seventh and eighth, keeping things clean and keeping Nanaimo off the board.

Matt Westley was on fire at the dish in Nanaimo, badgering NightOwls pitching for a four-hit game. (Photo by JPM Photography)

David Krahn stayed hot in the top of the ninth, crushing an RBI double to extend the lead to 11. Hunter Daniels (Phoenix) was sent in from the bullpen with a safe cushion to work with, giving up the first runs of the game for the NightOwls but ultimately closing out an 11-2 victory.

WCL STANDINGS

The Cats finish off the series in Victoria at 6:35 pm Thursday night before hitting the road for a weekend series in Kelowna.

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