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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Manny’s hitting coach added to staff by Coach Haney

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2024 HarbourCats Coaching Staff – Front Row (L to R) Scott Anderson (Pitching Coach), Todd Haney (Head Coach), Trovin Valdez (Hitting Coach), Steve Sinclair (Bench Coach); Back Row (L to R): Ethan Fox (Bullpen Coach), Troy Birtwistle (First Base Coach).

For immediate release

April 16, 2024

VICTORIA, B.C. — An already strong coaching staff under WCL Coach of the Year Todd Haney just got stronger with the addition of Trovin Valdez, a former pro who made it to AAA in the Montreal Expos system.

Valdez, 50, was the personal hitting coach of Manny Ramirez during much of his record-setting MLB career and now works extensively with his sons Manny Jr. and Lucas, who have joined the HarbourCats for the 2024 WCL season. Valdez, who was once traded for lefthander David Wells, also works with a number of MLB players from his base in Florida, moving around the continent — and now will spend the summer exclusively in Victoria working with all HarbourCats hitters.

Haney, who has been with the HarbourCats since 2018 and Head Coach since 2019, is proud to unveil the entire staff for 2024:

  • Todd Haney, Head Coach (5th year, 4th as Head Coach)
  • Trovin Valdez, Hitting/Outfield Coach (First year)
  • Scott Anderson, Pitching Coach (Second year)
  • Troy Birtwistle, First Base Coach (Sixth year)
  • Steve Sinclair, Bench Coach (Second year)
  • Ethan Fox, Bullpen Coach (Third year, former HarbourCats player)

Under Haney, the HarbourCats led the WCL in hits, runs and stolen bases in 2023 and set a WCL record with an astounding 25-2 home record at Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP, adding two more home wins in as many dates in the playoffs. The HarbourCats reached the WCL’s final game for the third time in five seasons.

Jaxon Williams (pictured right), part of the 2023 staff, is unable to return due to career reasons and the HarbourCats thank him and wish him all the best, he will always be a part of the HarbourCats family.

“This is a tremendous staff under incredible leadership from Todd — our players will be well served in their development,” said Christian Stewart, GM of the HarbourCats. “We couldn’t be happier with the makeup of this group, and we’re excited to see Trovin go to work. Our team set multiple team and league records on the offensive side of the game last year and that exciting style of play will be on display for our fans again.”

Valdez stole more than 250 bases as a pro, spanning nine seasons, and he joins former pro players Haney (five years MLB with Expos, Cubs and Mets), Anderson (also Expos system), Sinclair (MLB lefty with Blue Jays and Mariners), and Birtwistle (Australia). Fox played college ball and is the Head Coach of the Golden Tide CCBC team.

The HarbourCats open on the road May 31 in Kamloops, the start of back-to-back series in Kamloops and Kelowna, before returning for the June 7 home opener against Wenatchee. The HarbourCats will be on the road this summer in Kamloops, Kelowna, Edmonton, Wenatchee, Ridgefield, Port Angeles, Bellingham, and six games in Nanaimo against the Island-rival NightOwls at Serauxmen Stadium. Teams visiting Victoria this year are Wenatchee, Nanaimo, Bellingham, Port Angeles, Kelowna, Edmonton (two series), Kamloops and Corvallis, along with non-league games against the Redmond Dudes, Dub Sea Fishsticks, the SIBL All-Stars, and Victoria Mavericks All-Stars.

The regular season runs until August 7, with WCL playoffs running from August 10 to August 16.

Single game tickets are now available for the HarbourCats 2024 season including the home opener on Friday, June 7, 2024 at 6:35pm against the Kamloops NorthPaws. These can be purchased online through our one and only ticketing partner, Select Your Tickets, at www.harbourcats.com/tickets or at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.

Season tickets and 10-game flex packs are also now on sale via the HarbourCats office or by calling 778-265-0327.

 

 

 

 

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Hawks blow out Cats in game one of doubleheader

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August 4, 2025

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. – In the first game of today’s doubleheader, it was the Edmonton Riverhawks who came out on top, beating the Victoria HarbourCats 10-1.

The Hawks loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the first, but Cats starter Clayton Broeder (Angelo State) struck out three in a row to escape the jam.

The game remained scoreless into the third when once again the visitors loaded the bases and this time cashed in when Broeder walked Trent Lenihan, giving the Hawks their first run of the game. Ben Hewitt (Ottawa U) replaced Broeder and was one strike away from escaping the jam and keeping the score at 1-0, but instead walked in another run. He then gave up a three-run double to Stevie Waters to give Edmonton a big 5-0 lead.

Broeder struck out six batters over his 2-1/3 innings of work but struggled with control, walking five.

BOX SCORE

Edmonton continued to pile on the runs, putting up four more in the fourth inning. A sac fly and wild pitch brought home a pair before Jason Green crushed a two-run home run over the right field fence to extend the lead to 9-0.

The visitors added one more in the top of the sixth inning when Green drove in his third run of the game with an RBI double, pushing the lead to 10-0.

The HarbourCats finally got on the board when Jake Butler (George Mason) drove home Garrett Brooks (St. Mary’s) with an RBI single.

Victoria native Myles Chamberlain started for the Riverhawks and went six innings, giving up one run on six hits while striking out four to record his West Coast League-leading seventh win of the campaign.

Jake Finkelstein (USAO) replaced Hewitt after the big righty gave up six runs over 1-2/3 innings. The Richmond, BC native matched his season-high, throwing three innings and giving up one run on three hits.

Lucas Webber-Kitching pitched the seventh inning for the Hawks to close out the 10-1 win.

WCL STANDINGS

The Riverhawks need one more win to clinch the second-half title. As for the HarbourCats, they will need to win the next three games in this series to earn the second-half crown and first-round home-field advantage in the playoffs that comes with it.

Game two starts shortly with Ryne Palmer (Cal Baptist) on the bump for the hosts. General admission tickets are still available at the gate!

Can’t make it today? Tomorrow is Jersey off our Backs night, sponsored by Odlum Brown, where lucky fans will receive the popular baby blues. Wednesday is the final regular-season game of the campaign and is Fan Appreciation Night, presented by Passion Sports. Get tickets at harbourcats.com/tickets.

VOUCHER REMINDER: If you have any remaining vouchers, don’t forget to redeem them as they are only eligible for the remaining regular-season games. You can do so at harbourcats.com/tickets, and if you have any questions or need help exchanging your vouchers, call the HarbourCats office at (778) 265 0327.

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Victoria HarbourCats – Cats comeback late to beat Hawks

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August 4, 2025

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VICTORIA, B.C. – The Victoria HarbourCats scored four runs in the sixth inning to comeback and beat the Edmonton Riverhawks 7-5 in game two of the doubleheader.

Shiryu Sato took the first pitch of the ball game yard to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. A Tanner Beltowski (Westmont College) error later in the inning allowed another run to score and it was 2-0 Edmonton early.

The Cats cut their lead in half immediately in the bottom half when Kamana Nahaku (Hawaii) drove in a run with a double to the wall.

BOX SCORE

Tristen Buehring (Whitman College) made his HarbourCats debut tonight and made his presence known, tying the game at 2-2 in the third inning with a two-out RBI single.

Beltowski gave Victoria their first lead of the ballgame in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly, making it 3-2.

Ryne Palmer (Cal Baptist) started for the Cats and lasted four innings giving up two runs on two hits, while walking four and striking out four.

Dustin Davidson (Freed Hardeman) replaced Palmer to start the fifth inning and gave up back-to-back doubles to Sato and Kyle Yip which tied the game up at 3-3. Later in the inning Connor Ross (Cal Baptist) made a diving grab at third to save a run and keep the game tied.

WCL STANDINGS

Edmonton took the lead in the top of the sixth and it was Sato and Yip again driving in the runs to give the visitors a 5-3 lead.

Time was running out for the Cats with this being a seven-inning game, but they started to rally in the bottom of the sixth. The bases were loaded for Jack Johnson (Tulane) who was hit by a pitch to bring home a run making it 5-4. Nahaku then hit a sacrifice fly to level things up at 5-5. That brought up Garrett Brooks (St. Mary’s) with two outs and he fouled off four pitches before hitting a bloop single that plated two runs and gave the Cats a 7-5 lead.

More than 3000 fans were on their feet in to watch Austin Lindsey (Hill College) get the final three outs as he induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the ball game.

WATCH GAMES HERE

Each team winning one game of the doubleheader keeps them tied for first place in the North Division second half standings. With Edmonton holding the tiebreaker the math is simple, one more win for Edmonton and they will clinch the second half title, while the Cats need to win the remaining two games to finish above the Hawks and earn home field advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

Tomorrow is Jersey off our Backs night, sponsored by Odlum Brown, where lucky fans will receive the popular baby blues. Wednesday is the final regular-season game of the campaign and is Fan Appreciation Night, presented by Passion Sports. Get tickets at harbourcats.com/tickets.

BUY TICKETS HERE

VOUCHER REMINDER: If you have any remaining vouchers, don’t forget to redeem them as they are only eligible for the remaining regular-season games. You can do so at harbourcats.com/tickets, and if you have any questions or need help exchanging your vouchers, call the HarbourCats office at (778) 265 0327.

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Victoria HarbourCats – Cats claw past Lefties to take series

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August 3, 2025

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PORT ANGELES, WA – The Victoria HarbourCats ended their final road trip of the regular season with a hard-fought 8-6 win over the Port Angeles Lefties to win the series.

It was a back-and-forth encounter early with multiple lead changes in the first few innings. The Lefties scored two in the bottom of the first, but the Cats answered back with three runs in the top of the second to take the lead. Dillon Lopez (St. Mary’s) drove home his college teammate Garrett Brooks (St. Mary’s) with an RBI double before scoring on a Jake Butler (George Mason) single to make it 2-2. Dominic Biello (Golden Tide) continued his strong weekend with an RBI double of his own to make it 3-2.

BOX SCORE

The lead didn’t last long as Tommy Markey tied things up in the bottom half with an RBI single before Taylor Kirk’s sacrifice fly restored the Lefties’ lead, making it 4-3.

An error by Lefties’ third baseman Jett Nelson on a Lopez groundball allowed two runs to score, which gifted the visitors a 5-4 lead.

Marcus Janovsky (UBC) started for Victoria but only lasted two innings, giving up four runs on five hits while striking out a pair. He was replaced by Jack Finn (Illinois State), who was impressive through three shutout innings, striking out three.

WCL STANDINGS

While Finn shut things down on the mound, the offence went to work adding three insurance runs in the top of the sixth to extend the lead. First, Tanner Beltowski (Westmont) drove in his 25th run of the campaign with a sacrifice fly. Kamana Nahaku (Hawaii) then came up with the bases loaded and smacked a single up the middle to score a pair, extending the lead to 8-4. The Auburn, WA native has a hit in all 12 games he has suited up in this season.

Tristin Thomas (West Texas A&M) was next out of the bullpen for Todd Haney’s team and pitched the rest of the way. He surrendered a pair of runs, including one in the ninth when the Lefties were pushing for a late comeback, but was overall effective over four innings of work, striking out three and recording his second save of the season.

Victoria and the Edmonton Riverhawks continue to be tied at the top of the second-half North Division standings, as the Hawks won their sixth straight game Sunday afternoon.

Tomorrow is the start of the final series of the regular season as the Riverhawks come to town. Monday is a BC Day doubleheader starting at 4:05 PM, followed by FIREWORKS presented by Joan Wallace Driving School. Tuesday is Jersey off our Backs night, where the baby blues will be given away thanks to Odlum Brown. The regular season wraps up on Wednesday on Fan Appreciation Night, sponsored by Passion Sports.

BUY TICKETS HERE

VOUCHER REMINDER: If you have any remaining vouchers, don’t forget to redeem them as they are only eligible for the remaining regular-season games. You can do so at harbourcats.com/tickets, and if you have any questions or need help exchanging your vouchers, call the HarbourCats office at (778) 265 0327.

The HarbourCats are heading back to the playoffs! Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park will host at least one playoff game during the August 8-10 weekend. Seeding is still to be determined, with the second-half North Division title up for grabs and five games to go! For more updates, be sure to follow @HarbourCats on all social channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

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