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Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats to salute local legend Cliff Lequesne on July 17

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May 13, 2025

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VICTORIA, BC — His voice, is everywhere in Victoria, in terms of sports, the signature of his presence at games and events for more than 40 years.

The Victoria HarbourCats will salute local broadcasting legend Cliff Lequesne on July 17 — as he continues to go strong as the morning news and sports icon at The Q, while handling in-house “voice of God” duties for the Royals, Grizzlies and Shamrocks.

His legendary run started at CFAX in 1972, learning from the unforgettable Ken Dobson, and he moved to The Q in 1987. He’s handled sports duties with the Pan Am Games, Commonwealth Games, the historic fastball teams that once ruled RAP, and even the Victoria Cougars — no, not the ones that won the Stanley Cup in 1925 (how old was Cliff then?), but the WHL version including the legendary 1981 run to the Memorial Cup.

“Cliff really IS sports in Victoria in so many ways, a worthy inductee into the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame this past fall,” said Jim Swanson, who oversees the HarbourCats and is also a member of the Hall of Fame board.

“He’s one of the most likeable guys in Victoria, and remembers details, maybe only Cleve Dheensaw of the Times Colonist is in his category for sports media in the city. A gentleman and we are proud to honour him.”

Cliff — and his famous Cliff’s Call — and battery mate Ed Bain can be heard mornings on The Q.

Lequesne will be on the mic for the Emery Electric Fastpitch Challenge on Saturday, May 31, helping recall events of the past and introduce some of the fastball legends of yesteryear before a doubleheader (4pm, 6pm) between the host Sooke Loggers and the Lacey A’s, the first return of fastball to Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP in decades. The games are possible because of Emery Electric and the support of the HarbourCats Foundation.

Tickets for the Emery Electric Fastpitch Challenge and the Cliff Lequesne Salute on July 17 are available at harbourcats.com/tickets.

The HarbourCats open their 2025 home schedule on Friday, June 6, with the Port Angeles Lefties visiting Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP. Season Tickets, 10 and 32-Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are now on sale for all 33 home games and four “Showcase” events through the HarbourCats new and one-and-only ticketing partner SHOWPASS at harbourcats.com/tickets.

Tickets and merchandise can also be purchased in person at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street or by calling 778-265-0327.

HOST FAMILIES NEEDED! The HarbourCats are in need to host families for the 2025 season! If you would love to host a collegiate level athlete for three months this summer and become an integral part of the HarbourCats family, please contact Host Family Coordinator Cindy Kent at hostfamily@harbourcats.com.  Compensation, grocery stipend and season tickets provided.  More details HERE

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Suffer Gruelling 18-9 Loss

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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.

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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Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Lose Control of Game Three in Edmonton

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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.

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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Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Keep it Rolling in Rainy Rout of Riverhawks

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The Cats’ bats have been hot since arriving in Edmonton, scoring a total of 12 runs in two games. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Edmonton, AB – The HarbourCats secured their second consecutive win in Edmonton on Wednesday afternoon by a score of 8-5.

Just like last night, the upper hand belonged to Victoria early in the ballgame. Lukas Le Gras (Westmont) drove a ball back up the middle into centre field, booking two Cats runners a return flight to home plate to make it 2-0.

BOX SCORE

The HarbourCats starting pitcher was utterly dominant once again, with Erik Rico (Fresno State) locking things down in this one. Rico went four innings, only allowing one hit and amassing a tidy five strikeouts while setting down ten batters in a row to finish off his outing.

David Krahn (UBC), who has been all over the scoresheet in this series, dashed home on an Edmonton error to widen the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Logan Shepherd (Mercer) cruised into second base on a double smashed to right field and would eventually score on yet another error committed by the Riverhawks infield. Tristan Buehring (Whitman) was more than happy to add on a couple more runs before inning’s end, and suddenly the Cats were out front 6-0 with four unearned runs in one frame.

Logan Shepherd (Mercer) was a force in this one, going 3-5 with a double and a run scored (Photo by JPM Photography)

Houston Tomlinson (Arkansas State) was deployed from the bullpen to take over for Erik Rico. The Riverhawks finally earned their first run of the series, but were otherwise contained by Tomlinson, who went back to the dugout leading by five runs.

After a lengthy rain delay, the Cats returned none worse for wear and batted in two more runs in the top of the seventh, extending the lead to 8-2.

The rain necessitated a pitching change, and it would be Asher Clark (Northern Colorado) who got the nod. Clark got into some hot water in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases and coughing up a couple of runs before being swapped out for the other Clark. Jack Clark (CSU San Marcos) secured a double play and struck out a batter to deftly escape the jam with the lead intact, if a little bruised.

Jack Clark returned for the eighth and ninth and was airtight, giving up just one hit over three total innings to nail down an 8-5 victory for the HarbourCats.

WCL STANDINGS

The Edmonton series will come to an end tomorrow night, and the Cats return home this weekend for three games against the Springfield Drifters!

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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