Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – THE TIDE IS IN! College baseball arrives in Victoria

Published

5 years ago

September 8, 2021

Dugout Wire Service

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

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Matt Westley is the Extra Innings Hero in Walk-Off Victory

Published

6 hours ago

June 14, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats battled all night to claim a walk-off win in extra innings!

Victoria pitcher Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) made his mark immediately in his Saturday night start. The big Texan struck out three batters in the top of the first inning, an early warning to the Drifters that they would need their A-game to take him down.

BOX SCORE

Springfield was not deterred, however, scoring on an error in the bottom of the second for the first run of the ballgame. Arnett kept the visiting bats quiet otherwise in the second inning, adding two more K’s to his total.

The Cats created a juicy RBI opportunity by way of a couple singles and stolen bags in the bottom of the third. The heart of the lineup took advantage, cashing in two runs to take a narrow lead by the end of the inning.

Jeremiah Arnett (Rice University) put together a solid start with eight strikeouts. (Photo by Raphael Oliveira)

The offensive production continued as Rohne Klein (San Jose State) battled with two outs and drove a base hit to right field to keep the fourth inning alive for the Cats. Inspired by his comrade’s effort, local catcher Jai Berezowski (Victoria Collegiate) blasted a triple to widen the home team’s lead to 3-1.

Springfield answered back with two runs in the top of the fifth to end Jeremiah Arnett’s night. Arnett went 4.2 innings with eight strikeouts, walking three batters and allowing two earned runs. Davis Lee (Calgary) came in to cover for the starter, securing a huge strikeout in a messy situation to preserve a tie game.

Lee kept a clean slate across his two innings of work, giving way to Hunter Daniels (Phoenix) in the top of the eighth. Daniels surrendered a solo homer to give the Drifters the lead.

The HarbourCats came up big in a crucial eighth inning, loading the bases and getting the game-tying run across. This paved the way for extra innings, in which reliever Pierce Stone (Regis) came up huge with two strikeouts in the top of the tenth to keep the score tied. In the bottom of the tenth inning, with the bases loaded, Matt Westley (George Mason) stepped up to the plate and mashed a line drive to centre field for a HarbourCats walk-off win!

WCL STANDINGS

Catch the Cats back on the field tomorrow at 1:05 pm for the rubber match of the series.

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.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Suffer Gruelling 18-9 Loss

Published

1 day ago

June 12, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

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.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Lose Control of Game Three in Edmonton

Published

2 days ago

June 11, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

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.

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