Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Three returnees highlight first HarbourCats players signed for 2023 season

Published

1 month ago

November 3, 2022

Dugout Wire Service

(Above): Returning middle-infielder Hudson Shupe highlights a list of four players signed for the HarbourCats 2023 season.

November 3, 2022

VICTORIA, B.C. — Loyalty matters — and loyal fans of the Victoria HarbourCats will be happy with the first signed players for the 2023 West Coast League season.

Versatile infielder Hudson Shupe, catcher Russell Young, local pitcher/infielder Ryder Green and stocky lefty Jake Finkelstein, the only new player of the bunch, will be part of Head Coach Todd Haney’s attack when WCL baseball returns to Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP in June — with the potential home opener on Friday, June 2.

“Hudson and Russell were warriors for us last year, and it’s great to have them back and establish the culture we value in Victoria,” said Haney, who will lead the coaching staff for a third season, a HarbourCats longevity record. “Ryder came on and helped us late this last season, and Jake is the kind of southpaw that eats valuable innings in a competitive league like the WCL.”

Russell Young hitting his first career WCL home run in 2022 (Photo: Christian J Stewart)

Shupe, a middle infielder from West Richland, Washington and Seattle University was solid for the HarbourCats from start to finish in 2022, appearing in 38 regular season games and both playoff games and hitting a respectable .270 on the regular season. He also showed his versatility on the mound, pitching 13.1 innings and amassing an ERA of 4.05.

Productive and durable, Young, from Surrey and a Langley Blaze product, and with the HarbourCats from start to finish in 2023, hit .290 with two home runs (including a dramatic, game-winning, bottom of the eighth inning grand slam against Yakima last July 17) and 20 runs driven in over 29 regular season games. He then went 5-7 in the two playoff games. Young is a former national junior team catcher who started his college career at Gonzaga, moved to Johnson County CC, and is now playing for Chris Pritchett at UBC.

Finkelstein is a 6-0/190 left-handed pitching product of Richmond, BC who moved from Spokane Falls CC to Montana State this fall, and has two years of summer experience with the Sylvan Lake Gulls of the Western Canada Baseball League, where in 2022 he had a 2-0 record and struck out 21 batters in 17 innings of work.

Green, a former HarbourCats batboy now with the Victoria Golden Tide (CCBC), joined the ‘Cats after completing his high school season with the Victoria Eagles. He appeared in non-league games, but also saw four innings in league action and was eligible for playoffs. He picked up a save in a win at Port Angeles. Green can play infield, outfield, and even catch — adding to his value.

Ryder Green, playing here this past fall for the Victoria Golden Tide, will be a useful utility player for the ‘Cats in 2023 (Photo Christian J. Stewart)

2023 Season Tickets
Season ticket renewals and new season ticket sales are now underway for 2023, the HarbourCats 10th season! Lock in the best seats in the house by the end of November prior to single-game tickets going on sale. Contact chris@harbourcats.com or call the office at 778-265-0327 for details or to renew your existing seats!

2023 Flex-Packs
2023 10-Game and Season Ticket Equivalent Flex Pack vouchers are also now on sale! These can be purchased at the office in-person or by phone and can also be ordered on-line via The Cat Shop at https://victoria-harbourcats-official.myshopify.com/products/10-game-flex-pack-general-admission

2023 Single Game Tickets
The 2023 West Coast League schedule is currently in draft mode and a final schedule is anticipated in the next week or two. As such, we anticipate that single-game ticket sales for 2023 will be available in person and on-line in early December.

Stay tuned to all of our social media for updates and details as they become available.

Web: www.harbourcats.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harbourcats
Facebook Fan Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/harbourcats
Twitter: https://twitter.com/harbourcats
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harbourcats

Source

Summer Collegiate

Veteran outfielder returning for 2023 season

Published

7 hours ago

December 8, 2022

Dugout Wire Service

For Brandon Hupe, it felt like unfinished business — and he has a chance to fix that.

The outfielder from Vancouver and the UBC Thunderbirds saw his 2022 summer season cut short following a collision during a game in Port Angeles. But the 6-2/200 pounder, a junior at UBC, will get one last shot to star for Head Coach Greg Frady as the Nanaimo NightOwls are excited to announce his return to the WCL.

The NightOwls are announcing the additions of four players today, the others being infielder Jimmy Legg of Pomona Pitzer, and pitchers Tyson Willis and Ethan Hubbell from Everett CC (NWAC) for Pitching Coach Gorm Heimueller to work with.

Hupe (pronounced who-PAY) was a veteran influence on a young NightOwls team, hitting .283 with two home runs and nine runs driven in over 17 games — coming off a UBC season that yielded 12 home runs and 48 RBIs in 49 games at the NAIA level.

“We missed Brandon when he got hurt, there was a change in our team,” said Frady. “Brandon was one of our key leaders, he knew the caliber and nuances of the league (previously played in the WCL with Kelowna), and he helped us as coaches, along with leading our younger players.”

In Legg, the NightOwls are getting a 5-11/185 scrappy, switch-hitting shortstop who can also move to second or third — known as a guy who always seems to be on base, comes through in the clutch and runs well. At Pomona Pitzer, he is a glue guy because of how much he loves to play the game.

The two Everett CC arms include Willis, a Snohomish, WA product who pitched in the WCL for Springfield in 2022. The right-hander is touching 90 with a true hard curveball and developing changeup from a 6-4/220 frame. Hubbell, from Camas, WA, is even bigger at 6-5, another righty with upper-80s velocity and command of four pitches and a workhorse mentality.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – ‘Cats sign four, bring back Seward and Luchies

Published

1 day ago

December 7, 2022

Dugout Wire Service

December 7, 2022

For Immediate Release

VICTORIA, B.C. — It’s the old baseball adage — you can never have enough arms.

The Victoria HarbourCats have added three arms, two of them returning and one a local product, as part of four more players who have signed on for the 2023 West Coast League season. The fourth player on the roster comes from a dependable source of quality players — Cal Baptist.

Pitchers Jack Seward and Owen Luchies, both parts of the 2022 HarbourCats team that reached the WCL post-season, and Victoria Golden Tide ace Brady Wilson lead the latest signings, with versatile outfielder/second baseman Nick Dumesnil, a right-handed hitter from Huntington Beach, CA, a bat the team will look to for key offensive production. Dumesnil is 6-2/205 freshman and is known for a mix of speed and power that will be welcomed by Head Coach Todd Haney.

“We’ve spent even more time on pitching this year, it’s always a premium but it’s never easy to get that right mix for the staff — it’s the one area we are constantly looking to get better,” said Haney. “We’ve been known as a strong offensive team since even before I got here, and we know the best arms make all the difference.”

Vancouver product Jack Seward, now at Central Arizona, was 1-0 with three saves and a 1.15 ERA in 14 outings last summer, giving up earned runs in only two outings. He surrendered just 10 hits in 23 innings. Luchies, from Victoria, is a 6-2/195 pound freshman at Lower Columbia (NWAC) who started five games and threw 36 innings for the HarbourCats in 2022. He had 25 strikeouts, notched one save, was 2-2 with a 6.44 ERA and earned road wins in Port Angeles and Nanaimo.

Wilson, 6-1/175 from Calgary, was the workhorse for the Victoria collegiate Golden Tide in the spring of 2022, going a combined 3-4 with a 4.06 ERA in nine starts. He then spent the summer in the Western Canada Baseball League with the Fort McMurray Giants, where he was 5-5/4.94.

The HarbourCats celebrate their 10th Anniversary in 2023 and the season kicks off with the home opener against the Kamloops NorthPaws on Friday June 2, 2023. Single game tickets for that game and all 31 HarbourCats home games in 2023 are now on sale and can be purchased on-line through our one-and-only ticketing partner, Select Your Tickets, at harbourcats.com/tickets. They can also be purchased at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street, or at the Select Your Tickets box office at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. Fans can also call 778-265-0327 to order over the phone.

Season tickets and 10-game flex packs are also now on sale. For details on all ticketing options, including our special $10.00 Tuesdays, Forces Fridays and Save-on-Food Vouchers, please visit harbourcats.com/ticketinfo

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – You’re Invited!

Published

1 week ago

November 29, 2022

Dugout Wire Service

Please join us at the office on Thursday, December 1, 2022 from 12 Noon to 7:00 pm for our annual Christmas Open House!

Join us for some Christmas cheer and to grab Christmas gifts for all the HarbourCats fans on your Christmas list! Renew or purchase 2023 season tickets, grab some 10-game flex packs, or purchase single-game tickets for 2023 which also go on sale that day too! Plus ALL MERCHANDISE on sale for 40% off – ONE DAY ONLY!