Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – The host family tale of Helen and her boys

Published

2 years ago

July 3, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

July 3, 2024

For immediate release

VICTORIA B.C. — It’s all about the cookies — and the boys.

Helen Edwards is known for many things, her trademark red HC hat perhaps foremost among them at Victoria HarbourCats games.

But for “her boys,” she’s known for her cookies — as a symbol of her hospitality.

Helen is the epitome of opening a home for HarbourCats baseball players, providing a host stay for a combined 14 players since the end of the pandemic. And each one of them has fallen in love with her baking — chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin, the cookie jar may just be the busiest place in her Fairfield character home.

“We also had some with mini M&M’s, they love their cookies,” said Helen, a season ticket holder with the HarbourCats since 2014, and one of the foremost experts on Victoria sports. After all, she’s literally written the book on the history of professional hockey in the city, and has a book in publishing mode chronicling the first 10 years of her beloved HarbourCats.

“They’ll eat anything I make, they like my cooking — chili, chicken wings, lasagna, and you should’ve seen the mac and cheese that disappeared last night. That would have been enough for my family for a few days, and it was gone! It’s great that they love it, and it’s nice to have someone to cook for, and see it being eaten.”

Helen has written other books, on her father-in-law’s diary during WW1, and on heritage buildings in Victoria. She’s also part of the ownership group of the HarbourCats, joining the group in 2020 and being the significant contributor to the Edwards Family Training Centre on Cook Street, the indoor facility that serves the HarbourCats, the collegiate Golden Tide, and at least a dozen local baseball and softball groups, providing a sheltered place for training.

This season, Helen has pitchers Devin Holmes, Spencer Hatch, and Cade Rusch, son of former MLB pitcher Glendon Rusch. In 2023, she had a somewhat revolving door with stalwart Jesse Brown leading a Helen-homed group that included Ben Smedshammer, Kevin Shea, Rei Kimura and Zak Johnson. In the 2022 year coming out of covid, she took in Addison Sells, Jace Walker, Walker Bordovsky, Tyler Attal, Nick Taylor and Aidan McCann.

Edwards, a former shareholder of the Vancouver Canucks who also now provides charitable help to many causes as a philanthropist, truly enjoys her interactions with the players, spoiling them with dinners at team sponsor Moxie’s — and she’s a proud advocate of the HarbourCats program, standing up for the organization at all times, in all situations.

“I’m the age of their grandparents, but it doesn’t seem to matter — because we all love baseball and we talk baseball,” said Edwards.

“They are getting me into doing fantasy baseball even, that’s what we talked about. It’s all so cool. Being able to watch them is like watching my own kids play sports, there is a connection, and the people around me always ask which guys are my players. It’s fun to know that I’m helping them, too, and one of them may make it to the Majors one day, and even if they don’t — I’m proud of them.

“The other benefit is meeting the parents, with some there’s an instant connection, and it’s like you’ve known each other forever.”

Every organization needs ambassadors, and people who will go above and beyond — Helen is such an example for not just the HarbourCats, but the West Coast League.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Stifled by Northpaws in 4-2 Loss

Published

11 hours ago

July 11, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Kamloops, B.C. – The series opener didn’t go how the HarbourCats hoped, with the Kamloops Northpaws taking a 4-2 win over the visiting Cats.

The Northpaws got a jolt to their offence early on, rocking a solo homer in the second inning to take the upper hand. Kamloops continued their production in the next frame, capitalizing on two consecutive walks from HarbourCats starting pitcher Landon Marchetti (San Jose State). A couple of stolen bases and a double, and a wild pitch later, and the visiting Cats suddenly find themselves in a four-run deficit.

BOX SCORE

Victoria made up some ground in the second half of the ballgame when infielder Riley Kwak (Bossier Parish) legged out a leadoff triple. A single from the reliable Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) brought home Kwak for the HarbourCats’ first run.

Rohne Klein (San Jose State) made a rare start at third base tonight and picked up an RBI. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Merchetti’s night was done after the opening third of the game, over which he allowed four runs on three hits and struck out five Kamloops batters. Daniel Tovar (Northern Kentucky) appeared from the bullpen and delivered the best outing you could really ask for from a reliever. His four innings featured just two hits, no walks, and a grand total of zero runs scored.

The HarbourCats mustered another run in the top of the eighth, a sacrifice fly by Rohne Klein (San Jose State). An important step, but still a ways to go if the visiting squad were to catch up. Leif Friedrich (Concordia-Nebraska) sliced through an efficient frame in the bottom of the eight inning, retiring the side on just eight pitches, but Victoria were held off by the Northpaws in a 4-2 loss.

WCL STANDINGS

The HarbourCats will look to rebound and tie the series in Kamloops tomorrow night, before coming back to Victoria for the long-awaited Showpass 2026 West Coast League All-Star Festival presented by Canadian Club!

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 – Elks Salvage a Win in Extra-Innnings Grind

Published

2 days ago

July 10, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats fought to the bitter end in a ten-inning showdown that ended in a 7-6 Bend Elks victory tonight.

The first run of the game belonged to the visitors this time. A couple of walks in the first inning came back to bite Quincey Brown (UCSD) when they were moved over and cashed in by a two-out single. 2-0 Elks in the early going, putting the Cats on their back foot. Victoria retaliated in their first turn at the plate, bringing home David Krahn (UBC) on a Logan Shepherd (Mercer) fly ball to cut the lead in half.

BOX SCORE

The HarbourCats surged back to reclaim the lead in the second inning, taking advantage of some heads-up baserunning, a single from Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD), and a handful of wild pitches. Two frames down, and it’s suddenly 3-2 for the home team.

Quincey Brown was relieved after two innings where he wasn’t at his sharpest. The Seattle-born righty tightened it up in the second inning, but his command wavered in the first, leading to two runs allowed. Davis Lee (Calgary) took his place in the third and quickly turned two strikeouts before his control began to slip and the free passes became an issue. All of a sudden, what looked like a quick one-two-three turned into a three-run inning to give Bend a 5-3 lead.

Tacoma reliever Carson Ackermann was summoned from the bullpen to close out a long top half of the third and did just that, securing a quick out to change sides and give Victoria another chance on offence. Ackermann wasn’t quite so efficient in his second inning of work, loading the bases and letting up another run for the Elks before getting out of it.

Matt Westley was one of two HarbourCats to register a hit on Thursday night, bashing a homer in the fourth inning. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Bryan Bradshaw has displayed some great aggressive baserunning since arriving in Victoria, and this game was no different. The UCSD outfielder got on base with a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth, and proceeded to steal two bases before coming home on a wild pitch. WCL All-Star Matt Westley (George Mason) further cut into the lead later in the inning, pulverizing his fourth homer of the summer to pull the Cats back within one.

The HarbourCats clawed their way back to a tie ballgame in the bottom of the fifth with a sacrifice fly from returning catcher Dillon Lopez (St. Mary’s) bringing the score to an even 6-6. Victoria threatened with more runners in scoring position in the bottom of the fifth but were unable to take advantage, leaving them stranded on second and third.

Taylor Franklin (George Fox) entered the game in Ackermann’s wake in the top of the seventh and had no trouble at all, striking out the side on 12 pitches to preserve that tie.

The deadlock lasted all the way into extra innings, when a wild pitch by Anson Stuckly (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) allowed an Elk to cross the plate and take the lead in the top of the tenth. Despite a bases loaded opportunity, the Cats were unable to climb back, and fell in the third game of the series by a score of 7-6.

WCL STANDINGS

The Cats are back on the road this weekend in Kamloops, and will return next week for the Showpass 2026 West Coast League All-Star Festival presented by Canadian Club!

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Four HarbourCats Representing Victoria at WCL All-Star Game

Published

2 days ago

July 9, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria, B.C. – We’re less than a week out from the Showpass 2026 West Coast League All-Star Festival presented by Canadian Club, and four ballplayers have been selected to represent the HarbourCats among the league’s best. David Krahn, Matt Westley, Erik Rico, and Jeremiah Arnett have all been crucial parts of the HarbourCats roster this year, and the four of them will suit up for the North Division in the 2026 WCL All-Star Game.

David Krahn is in the midst of an impressive debut season with the HarbourCats, and his stats show exactly why he’s been named an All-Star. The UBC second-baseman has showed consistent contact and crackling power at the plate this season, ranking third league-wide in hits (43) and second in home runs (7). Krahn brings more than just a reliable bat to the Cats, though – he’s a spark plug for the team as well.

“Energy and talent,” is head coach Todd Haney’s simple reply when asked about what Krahn brings to the table. “You need a guy with that kind of energy, and he brings that every night.”

Matt Westley, hailing from Manassas, Virginia, has been the other half of a lethal one-two punch at the top of the lineup, alongside David Krahn. Westley’s contact ability is undeniable – he has the second-most hits in the entire WCL this year with 46, and has been a mainstay at the number two spot in the lineup in recent weeks. The third-baseman also shows off flashes of brilliance in the hot corner, making those long throws across the infield look easy and making some spectacular diving plays that leave Cats fans stunned.

Jeremiah Arnett is arguably the toughest pitcher to face in the entire WCL this summer. The calm, cool, and collected Texan has allowed just seven runs in 29 innings, and leads the league in strikeouts with 41. Clearly some excellent stuff on display, but Arnett is entirely focused on improving further.

“He’s an All-Star for a reason,” says Haney on the Rice University starter, “He’s here to get better and work on his craft. Obviously he has talent, there’s no doubt about it, but he’s here for all the right reasons.

Erik Rico has been the stuff of hitters’ nightmares this season. The Fresno State right-hander is just one strikeout behind his teammate Arnett for the league lead, but he’s amassed 40 K’s in just 22 innings. That strikeout prowess combined with a staggering 1.23 makes for little mystery why Rico was an easy choice for the All-Star roster.

Don’t miss these four superstars and the rest of the WCL’s brightest when the Showpass 2026 West Coast League All-Star Festival comes to town next week!

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