Summer Collegiate
Victoria HarbourCats – THE TIDE IS IN! College baseball arrives in Victoria
College team makes debut in Victoria, Home Opener on September 17th.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 8, 2021
Victoria, BC – College baseball has arrived in Victoria!
The Victoria Golden Tide will make their debut this Thursday at the Zack Downey Memorial Tournament at Layritz Park and will then have their home opener at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park on Friday September 17th at 6:00 pm against Thompson Rivers University.
Catcher Parker Harris (58) sets up to throw to second during infield drills Tuesday (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)
The Golden Tide are the newest entry in the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC), an eight-team domestic league that in addition to Victoria, has teams in Nanaimo (Vancouver Island University), Kelowna (Okanagan College), Kamloops (Thompson Rivers University), Chilliwack/Abbotsford (University of the Fraser Valley), Calgary (University of Calgary), Lethbridge (Prairie Baseball Academy) and Edmonton (Edmonton Collegiate Baseball Club).
48 players will be vying for playing time on the Golden Tide this fall (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)
The Tide will be Victoria’s first formal organized college baseball team. There was an attempt a number of years ago to get a college team off the ground, but it never really materialized.
Infielder Austin Wall (4) puts the tag on baserunner Ben Natingor (26) (Photos: Christian J. Stewart)
The Golden Tide roster, currently at 48 players, is comprised of student athletes from the University of Victoria and Camosun College, all of whom have played elite level baseball at the high school level, or who have previous university and college level experience. Those 48 players have already been working out at Wilson’s Group Stadium in preparation for this weekend’s tournament.
With any luck, Golden Tide Head Coach Curtis Pelletier will have his team #1 in the CCBC both in the fall and spring of 2022 (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)
The Golden Tide will play an approximate 35-game exhibition season in the fall of 2021 with at least 16 of those games at Wilson’s Group Stadium (see schedule at end of note). They will also participate in the CCBC Fall Championship in Kelowna October 8-11 and will hold their own Intersquad World Series at the end of October.
The official 32-game CCBC League season begins April 1-3 weekend in 2022 and runs until mid-May. Many of the game dates, both fall and spring, will consist of daytime double headers.
Infielder Myles Wall (2) gets set to put the tag on a baserunner during base stealing drills on Tuesday (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)
The Tide are backed by the Victoria HarbourCats of the West Coast League. Games will be played at Wilson’s Group Stadium and the players will utilize the HarbourCats Indoor Training facility on Cook Street for indoor and winter work.
Tide infielder Brandon Green (5) turns two during infield practice Tuesday (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)
Players on the Golden Tide will be eligible to play for the HarbourCats and in fact, most likely some will, especially during the start of the West Coast League season when the HarbourCats are waiting for players to arrive from U.S. schools. Others may play for the full season, should it be warranted.
Infielder Parker Swinton (39) snags an errant throw during a base stealing drill on Tuesday (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)
The Tide will be managed by Curtis Pelletier who is well known to HarbourCats fans as the Hitting Coach for the ‘Cats and the Director of the youth Players Development Club. Pelletier will be joined on the Golden Tide coaching staff by Pitching Coach Ethan Fox, Hitting Coach Kyle Orr, Assistant Coaches Shawn Loglisci, Aaron Witzke, Mike Musselwhite and Ryan Haines and Strength and Conditioning Coach Jeremy Cordle.
Golden Tide Head Coach Curtis Pelletier observes a portion of Tuesday’s team workout from up high in the stands (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)
Tickets for all Golden Tide home games are available for just $5, or $10 for seats in the Grandstand (Sec. 10)(open seating). Booster Club memberships are also available for $200, and include admission to all fall /spring games, priority seating in Diamond Club / Campbell Club sections, and a free hat and t-shirt.
Tickets are available at gate, or in advance at the HarbourCats office, 101-1814 Vancouver Street, or by calling 778-265-0327.
Infielder Myles Wall (2) leaps to catch a throw as Austin Wall (4) slides beneath him during a base stealing drill Tuesday (Photos: Christian J. Stewart)
ZACK DOWNEY TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE, LAYRITZ PARK, SAANICH
Thu Sep 9 2:30pm vs Victoria Mariners
Fri Sep 10 2:30 pm vs Saskatchewan Prep
Sat Sep 11 9:30am vs Victoria Eagles
Remaining games depend on placement but likely either 10AM or 12:30 Sunday for semis and then 3PM for Final.
Pitcher Cameron Dunn (44) gets his work in on the mound Tuesday (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)
GOLDEN TIDE FALL HOME SCHEDULE
SEP. 17, 6PM – TRU WOLFPACK
SEP. 19, 1PM – VAN.ISLE UNIV. (DH*)
SEP. 25, 1PM – FRASER VALLEY (DH)
SEP. 26, 3PM – MID-ISLE PIRATES (DH)
OCT. 2, 6PM – VICTORIA MARINERS
OCT. 16, 1PM – VAN. ISLE PREP (DH)
OCT. 17, 1PM – UBC (DH)
OCT. 23, 1PM – TBA (DH)
OCT. 24, 1PM – PARKSVILLE ROYALS (DH)
OCT. 26-31 INTERSQUAD WORLD SERIES
*DH = Double Header
Dillon Lopez celebrates his walk-off base hit that gave Victoria a 10-9 win over the Kelowna Falcons last July 12 (Photo: Justin Morash)
April 7, 2026
Story by Norm LeBus
Photos by Justin Morash
At 11 years old, I was five foot seven and almost as wide, so catcher or right field was the best guess in Little League. A late growth spurt and affinity for Gram’s baking meant I didn’t move very quickly, but I did take up a lot of space.
Squatting with a cage on my head, I closed my eyes when I saw a club swing overhead. Then a ball hit me right in the chest protector.
“Maybe join the outfielders,” coach said.
That was 1970.
I’ve always had a respect for catchers. A crouched blend of courage and mule stubbornness, donning and shedding protective amour between innings. Kind of a point guard in the summer heat, bending to a kneel then standing dozens of times a game, guiding eight on-field players into place and counseling shaky pitchers.
So, it’s validating to hear catching feels exactly like it looks.
“When I started, I’d be sore for a couple days after catching games,” Dillon Lopez says.
“I guess over time you kind of get used to hurting all the time. You get used to your body feeling not one hundred percent and you kind of roll with it.”
Lopez, 21, is currently a junior at NCAA Div 1 program St Mary’s University in San Antonio, his hometown. Lopez joined the Cats late in 2025, arriving July 1 after the team’s starting catcher, Jacob Silva, injured his toe sliding into a base in Kelowna.
“If Dillon had arrived earlier, he no doubt would have been one of our all-star selections,” Harbourcats GM Christian Stewart contends. “He’s just a guy you can send up to the plate with confidence and put behind the dish with confidence to handle any of our pitchers.”
Lopez, 5-10 and about 200 pounds, is kind of built for the job.
Dillon Lopez salutes the crowd after his walk-off base hit gave the Cats a dramatic 10-9 win over the Kelowna Falcons last July 12th (Photo: Justin Morash).
In the WCL, you’re crouched behind home plate in about seven pounds of armour, in what amounts to the engine room. Two opposing forces are trying to collide: a hickory or birch bat whirls past your ear at almost 100 miles an hour as a ball’s incoming at close to the same velocity. When the two intersect, it’s game action: foul ball or in-play on the diamond.
But most of the game, the ball lands in the catcher’s mitt for balls and strikes.
“It doesn’t come too close to my head,” Lopez says of the bat. “But it does come pretty close to my glove. All I try to do is focus on catching the ball.”
Every inch of the catcher is protected, including their throat. It’s kind of a dangerous place. And catchers need to keep it calm in the eye of the storm.
“We’re more of a coach on the field,” Lopez says. “We see everything and we keep everybody in check and remind everybody what they have to do.”
My right field recollections were a lot of daydreaming punctuated by one or maybe two fly balls a game and less grounders.
Not so if you play catcher.
“I love catching because I’m always in the game and helps me stay locked in on what ‘s going on,” Lopez says. “If definitely takes a lot of focus and some homework, understanding batters’ swings and their tendencies.
Lopez is also an outstanding hitter. Arriving July 1 last season, he played 24 games and hit .350 with four doubles, three home runs and 18 RBI.
Currently back in San Antonio for his junior year at St Mary’s University, Lopez is hitting .362 with eight dingers and 43 RBI in 35 games this spring.
Lopez is also outstanding in the classroom as a three-time conference honour roll student in his field of sport science.
And he’s a student of the game, studying both his swing and his catching form on video most nights during the season, ensuring his fundamentals don’t stray.
“Your swing can change slightly during the season,” he explains. “There’s mental fatigue and body fatigue and you have to push through the fog, stay true to fundamentals and not chase little fixes that up end altering the foundation.”
The last year has been a huge challenge for Lopez outside the lines. Three months before he joined the Cats in 2025, Lopez lost a family member after a lengthy illness.
Dillon Lopez should be a steady influence behind the plate for the HarbourCats again in 2026 (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)
His St Mary’s teammate, Garret Brooks, who also arrived in Victoria at the beginning of July, was instrumental at the start.
“He definitely helped me out with getting in there and getting situated,” Lopez recalls. “We hung out with a lot of the guys and kind of got to fit in a little bit, especially when it’s the middle of summer and everybody’s already used to each other.”
It didn’t hurt that both players made immediate impacts: Brooks hit .343 with six doubles and 13 RBI in 20 games; Lopez homered three times with 18 RBI, four doubles and hit .350 in 21 games.
Through 30 games in the current NCAA season that began in February, both players are rolling at St Mary’s: both are hitting well above .300 with a combined 12 homers and 63 RBI.
And when the calendar hits June, Lopez plans to be behind home plate for the first pitch.
“I feel like it should be much better transition wise,” Lopez says. “I get to experience opening day and get the fans to kind of know me a bit more than a new face.
“It’s exciting. I’m looking forward to winning a lot of games.”
Lopez and the HarbourCats begin their 2026 season on May 29th with a visit to Portland and then return to Victoria for the Home Opener against the Edmonton Riverhawks on Tuesday, June 2, 6:30 pm.
Season tickets, single-game tickets, 12 and 32-game flex packs and 2026 All-Star Game ticket packages are now on sale at harbourcats.com/tickets or at the HarbourCats office at 1814 Vancouver Street.
NightOwls go California Dreaming — more arms for Coach Gorm
– Pitching coach Gorm Heimueller, going into his 50th year in the game, will have a lot to work with for mound duties this season.
The Nanaimo NightOwls are pleased to announce the signing of some top-end pitching for the 2026 WCL campaign, and all of those locked in on paperwork today hail from the State of California — which happens to be where Gorm is originally from.
To help Heimueller have a memorable 50th year in baseball, the NightOwls are proud to add these pitchers to his 2026 meeting room:
RHP Jacob Badillo, Cal State-LA, 6-0/180, Lancaster CA
RHP Anthony Cosme, Cal Poly-Pomona, 6-0/208, Inglewood CA
RHP Jacob Alvarez, Orange Coast College, 61-/215, Bellflower CA
RHP Chase Cummins, Cerra Coso CC, 6-0/168, Santa Maria CA
Badillo comes from the same school that provided 2025 starter Lino Zepeda, an effective starter for Heimueller’s staff. As a freshman, Badillo has made five appearances including three starts for Cal State LA so far this spring, posting his first collegiate win.
Cosme has spent time as the Friday Night Starter for Cal Poly, a physical pitcher who runs his fastball up to 93. He was the opening game starter for Cal Poly as a freshman, and went on to make 11 starts and was named the school’s freshman male athlete of the year, walking only 17 batters in nearly 60 innings pitched.
Alvarez is at junior college powerhouse program Orange Coast College, on the same team as recent signee Alan Choo (1B/DH, son of former MLB all-star Shin-Soo Choo). Alvarez already has six appearances this spring, including a start, an innings-eater for Orange Coast with nearly a strikeout per inning.
Cummins is a submariner, a whippy arm and a useful bullpen tool to mix things up — a sophomore who has given up just one hit in his last two outings and is striking out a batter per inning. He had 24 innings of work last summer for Swift Current in the WCBL, so this will be his second summer spent north of the border.
Summer Collegiate
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Victoria HarbourCats – Vancouver Island Brewing Named Official Craft Beer Partner of the Victoria HarbourCats
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