Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Team Black prevails in Game 1 of Golden Tide Intersquad World Series

Published

3 years ago

October 28, 2021

Dugout Wire Service

Above: Team Black’s Zeke Holt celebrates scoring one of six runs in the second inning against Team Gold Wednesday.

Story and Photos by Christian J. Stewart

October 28, 2021, Victoria, BC – Team Black jumped out to an early 6-0 lead but then had to hang on for an exciting 14-13 win over Team Gold in Game 1 of the Victoria Golden Tide Inter-squad Wold Series on Wednesday afternoon at Wilson’s Group Stadium in Victoria.

Team Black shortstop Brandon Green puts the tag on Team Gold baserunner Tyler Burton during this first inning rundown on Wednesday.

The World Series, the first for the inaugural year of Golden Tide baseball, pits Team Gold (coached by Ethan Fox) against Team Black (coached by Kyle Orr) in a best of three series. The winning team not only gets bragging rights, but will be awarded with a night in the Wilson’s Transportation Group suite at a Victoria Royals game.

Team Gold’s Brody Alexandre had two hits, a walk and two runs scored in the loss to Team Black Wednesday.

The Series is being played under some unique rules, designed to speed up game play and keep the games exciting, as due to other events scheduled in the evenings at the stadium, games have to be completed by 6:30pm.

As such, pitchers are required to pitch within 10 seconds and teams have to hustle on and off the field between innings. Any delays or infractions will warrant a warning from Head Coach Curtis Pelletier and if a team is notified a second time, a run is granted to their opponents.

Team Black left-handed slugger Ryan Deagle had two singles, a double a walk and two RBI to lead the Team Black offence Wednesday.

Batters are also not allowed to call time outs, or a strike will be called, catchers have pinch runners at all times and in all the even numbered innings, teams begin the inning with a runner on second base.

While there were a few warnings in Wednesday’s game, there were no penalty runs awarded under the rules, however the runner at second in the even innings had a dramatic impact on the game, with seven of those eight runners ultimately scoring.

Team Gold’s Daniel Sawchyn, here celebrating a score, would have three hits and two RBI to pace the Team Gold offence.

This aspect came into effect immediately Wednesday, as Team Black would jump on Gold starter Brady Wilson for six runs in the top of the second inning, thanks to five five consecutive base hits, one of which, by high schooler Ryan Deagle, scored Alex Mclauchlan, the special runner, with the first run of the game.

Team Black’s Brett Paterson would be credited with the win in relief on Wednesday.

Team Gold would get one of those runs back in the second, when special runner Brody Alexandre scored despite a 1-2-3 inning and then they would jump into a brief 7-6 lead in the third, when they finally got to Black starter Ethan Dean for six runs on the strength of six hits.

A three-run fourth inning, keyed by an RBI single from Jaxson Cordle, would put Team Black back in front 9-6 and they would extend that lead to 14-9 heading to the bottom of the eighth (the agreed upon final inning due to curfew).

Team Black’s Jaxson Cordle slides safely into second base ahead of the throw to Team Gold second baseman Myles Wall.

Team Gold would not go down without a fight however and after a pair of walks and singles from Parker Harris, Daniel Sawchyn and Alexandre, they had closed the gap to 14-13 with the tying run sitting on second base. Reliever Haldon Craig would not be fazed however and struck out Jordan Bond to end the game and preserve the crucial game one win.

Team Gold’s Will Podmoroff hustles to third base during action Wednesday against Team Black.

For Team Black at the plate, Parksville Royal product Deagle had a great night, slashing two singles, a double, two RBI and scoring twice. Zeke Holt also had a three hit night with two runs scored, while Cordle, Ryan Whelan and Witt Nevins all had RBI base hits.

On the hill, Dean was picked up with some solid middle-inning relief by Brett Paterson, who gets credit for the win, going three innings and surrendering two runs on one hit and two walks. Nate Major pitched the seventh and part of the eighth innings and Craig would get the save.

Team Gold’s Jayden Puri would provide four innings of solid relief in Wednesday’s game.

For Team Gold, Sawchyn would lead the offence with three hits, two RBI and a run scored, while Alexandre would chip in with two hits a walk and two runs scored. Tyler Burton was his usual instigator in the leadoff spot, with a single, walking three times and scoring twice, while Victoria Eagle product Ryder Green would single, walk and score three times in the losing effort.

Team Black’s Zeke Holt would make a valiant effort to catch this foul pop-up in Wednesday’s game.

On the mound, Wilson would pitch through the fourth, taking the loss. Jayden Puri would take over in relief, finishing the game and giving up five runs on five hits and three walks in his four innings of work.

Game two in the series was scheduled for 4:00 pm on Thursday afternoon, but has now been cancelled because of extreme rain and weather. It will now be played Friday at 4:00 pm. Game three then (if needed), would likely then be held Sunday afternoon, with a time to be determined.

Tam Gold’s Jordan Bond slides safely into second, ahead of the throw to Team Black second baseman Austin Gurney.

The Golden Tide will also be in action on Saturday for their last formal game of the fall season, when they take on the Ontario Giants at 3:00 pm at Wilson’s Group Stadium in a single nine-inning game. Tickets are available at the gate. That game will be preceded by a game at 12 noon between the HarbourCats Players Development Club and the Giants U16 club. That game is included with the ticket for the Tide game at 3:00pm.

Team Black catcher Andrew Baxter puts the tag on Team Gold’s Jordan Bond on this play at the plate Wednesday.

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Summer Collegiate

NightOwls Split Double-Dip in Edmonchuck

Published

2 days ago

July 25, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

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

Published

2 days ago

July 25, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

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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Summer Collegiate

NightOwls Lose a Tough One in Edmonton

Published

3 days ago

July 24, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

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.

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