Summer Collegiate

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

Published

3 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

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.

Tickets

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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.

WATCH GAMES HERE

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.

BUY TICKETS HERE

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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