Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Tide Battle but fall short in semi-finals at Zack Downey Tournament

Published

5 years ago

September 13, 2021

Dugout Wire Service

Story and Photos by Christian J. Stewart

September 12, 2021, Victoria, BC – The Victoria Golden Tide scored eight runs in the final two innings, but it would not be enough to overcome a 10-1 deficit and the Tide fell to the Saskatchewan Grizzlies in the semi-final of the Zack Downey Memorial Tournament Sunday morning at Layritz Park in Victoria.

Despite the best efforts of Tide catcher Ryan Whelan (left), the Grizzlies Noah Newman would score one of their 10 runs Sunday on this play at the plate (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

The Grizzlies would go on to meet the Victoria Eagles in the finals, with the Eagles prevailing 7-0 to take the Premier Division title. The Eagles defeated Parksville in Sunday’s second semi-final 7-3.

Graeme Glynn got the start for the Tide and he was roughed up early, surrendering three runs to the Gizzlies in the very first inning, on three hits, two walks and an error.

The Grizzly’s Ethan Merk rounds second en route to scoring one of his two runs against the Tide (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

While the Tide would respond with a run in the bottom of the first, the Grizzlies would continue to stay hot offensively, scoring a run in the second and three more runs in each of the third and fourth innings to run their lead to 10-1.

The Tide would finally shake off the cobwebs in the fifth, taking advantage of three Grizzly walks and two errors to score four and cut the lead to 10-5. They had a chance to score more, with one out and the bases loaded, but a pop out and strikeout ended the inning.

The Tide’s Tyler Burton would reach safely on this play as the throw eludes Grizzly first baseman Jonah Kuntz (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

In the bottom of the sixth, the Tide struck again, with a big blow being a two-out, two-run double off the bat of Brendan Morrison. Morrison would then score when Austin Wall would reach on an error and the Tide had cut the lead to 10-9.

A two-out, two-RBI double from Brendan Morrison gave the Tide some hope in the final inning Sunday (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

That would be it though, as a fly out to left field ended the game and eliminated the Tide from the tournament.

The Grizzlies were led offensively by Nathan Houston who had a double, two singles, an RBI and a run scored. Brady Bye also added a two-RBI double and scored, while Noah Newman had two hits, a walk and scored twice.

The Golden Tide’s Tristian Bolger would make a great catch of this sinking line drive against the Grizzlies on Sunday morning (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

On the mound, Joe Stawarz got the start for the Grizzlies and he limited the Tide to just one run on one hit in his four innings of work. Cooper Ostlund and Adam Newton saw work in relief.

The Grizzlies Joe Stawarz would hold the Tide to one run and one hit through four innings of work (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

For the Tide, in addition to Morrisons two-RBI double, Chase Thomson had a hit, walk and run scored and Ryan Whelan singled, reached on error, had an RBI and a run scored. Tyler Burton and Ben Natingor would also score twice in the losing effort.

On the hill, Jayden Puri, Jackson Leatherman and Brett Patterson all saw work in relief, with Patterson tossing two scoreless innings over the final two frames.

Brett Patterson pitched two scoreless innings of relief against the Grizzlies on Sunday (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

In split-squad action on Sunday, the Golden Tide were also on the road to Nanaimo where they played a pair of games with Vancouver Island University. Details were not available at the time of writing this, but it sounds like it was a split with a Tide win in game one and a Mariner win in game two.

The Eagles Nick Lee would be safe on this play as Grizzly second baseman Thomas Stawarz could not hang on to the ball (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

Next action for the Tide is the fall home opener on Friday September 17th at 6:00 pm against Thompson Rivers University. Tickets are just 5.00 or 10.00 for Grandstand (covered) seating Available at the gates or in advance at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street, 778-265-0327.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats late rally comes up short in Bellingham

Published

6 hours ago

August 1, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Loss drops Victoria out of a playoff spot for now, with four games to go.

By Christian J. Stewart

August 1, 2026

Bellingham, WA – The Victoria HarbourCats erased a 7-2 sixth inning deficit with three runs in the eighth inning, but came up just short in a 7-5 loss to the Bellingham Bells in West Coast League action Saturday night at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham.

FULL BOX SCORE

The Bells got things going early in this one, as a Dominic Quiban two-RBI single off Cats starter Daniel Tovar, put the Bells on the board in the bottom of the first inning.

Tovar settled down for innings two and three, but another two-RBI single in the fourth, this time from Bellingham’s Bo Shinkle, gave the Bells a 4-0 lead.

Tovar gave way to Houston Tomlinson in the fifth and he found trouble right away, issuing a pair of leadoff walks, one of which came in to score on an RBI-single from the Bells’ Dillon Moss.

The ‘Cats would keep grinding though and in the top of the sixth a leadoff double by Logan Shepherd and a single from Jacob Silva set the table for Rhone Klein who drove in Shepherd for the ‘Cats first run of the game. Silva then scored on a ground out by Micael Rodda and the lead was cut to 5-2.

Bellingham got those runs right back in the bottom of the inning thanks to a two-RBI double from Nate Johnson, scoring Rashad Hayes (single) and Shinkle (walk) and restoring the five-run lead.

After a quiet seventh, Victoria made the game interesting in the eighth, scoring three runs thanks in part to RBI singles from Silva and Klein, his second RBI of the night. Another run would score on another Michael Rodda groundout but that would be as close as the ‘Cats would get, with Bellingham reliever Ben McKinnon throwing a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the win.

PLAYOFF WATCH
Things did not go well on the out of town scoreboard for the HarbourCats, as the Nanaimo NightOwls thumped the Port Angeles Lefties 16-1 to move into the third-fourth playoff seed position (tied with Edmonton at 27-23), a full game up on the HarbourCats. In addition, the Kelowna Falcons staged a late comeback to defeat Edmonton 7-4 and are now tied with the HarbourCats (both 26-24), but by virtue of Kelowna holding the tie break over Victoria, the HarbourCats are now effectively in sixth place.

With four games remaining and four teams vying for the final two playoff positions, anything can happen.

PLAYOFF TICKETS: Should the HarbourCats clinch a playoff spot, they would host Game 1 of the best of three Divisional Series on Friday August 7th at 6:35 PM. Tickets for that series will NOT go on sale until a playoff position is confirmed. Season Ticket holders will be e-mailed their tickets (if we clinch) on Thursday August 6th.

BC DAY FIREWORKS & FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT APPROACHING CAPACITY CROWD!
Just a note that all reserved seating is effectively sold out for Monday’s fireworks and Fan Appreciation night, the final home game of the regular season. Select single reserved seats, general admission and some VIP area tickets are still available at harbourcats.com/tickets. If you are holding general admission tickets for this game, gates open at 5:00 pm and you are advised to arrive early to get your best choice of seating.

VOUCHER HOLDERS
With all reserved seating sold out, ALL voucher holders wishing to attend Monday’s game will be issued general admission tickets. Vouchers must be used Monday and can not be used for playoffs, or carried over into next season.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Bells bust the ‘Cats in game one of crucial series

Published

20 hours ago

August 1, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Playoff position still in play despite the loss

Story by Christian J. Stewart

July 31, 2026

Bellingham, WA – The Bellingham Bells broke out for 11 hits en route to a 7-2 victory over the Victoria HarbourCats in West Coast League action Friday night at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham.

FULL BOX SCORE

Holding a 2-0 lead on Victoria starter Shea Lake, thanks in part by a solo home run from Jaden Jackson, the Bells broke things open in the fourth inning, scoring three runs on the strength of RBI singles from Nate Johnson and Rominic Quiban and a throwing error by ‘Cats shortstop Riley Kwak.

The Bells would add two more runs in the fifth, both off reliever Leif Friedrich and that was all they would need as Bells pitching, including starter Robby Zimmerman (5IP, 1R, 3H), would hold the ‘Cats to just six hits on the night.

Two of those hits came from Bryan Bradshaw, who also scored one of the HarbourCats runs to lead the Victoria offence.

Another bright spot for the HarbourCats was reliever Tobi Salzmann, who made his WCL debut, pitching the seventh and eighth innings and keeping the Bells off the board in those frames, allowing just one hit.

PLAYOFF WATCH
With the Edmonton Riverhawks defeating Kelowna 8-1, Wenatchee beating Kamloops 6-5 and Port Angeles defeating Nanaimo 8-2, were the playoffs to start tomorrow, Bellingham would hold the second seed in the North, the Riverhawks would hold the third seed and Nanaimo and Victoria would be tied for the fourth seed. However, with their 6-3 record over Nanaimo this year, the HarbourCats would prevail on the tie-breaker and then have a first round match-up with the #1 seed Wenatchee.

There are still five games remaining in the season and anything can happen! Strap in and enjoy the ride!

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Send Lefties Packing with Series Sweep

Published

2 days ago

July 31, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

David Krahn (UBC) has hit a franchise record nine home runs this season on the way to a well-deserved Player of the Year Award. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Victoria, B.C. – It was all HarbourCats in this Thursday night showdown between Victoria and Port Angeles, with the Cats putting on a pitching clinic for a 5-1 win and a series sweep.

Port Angeles drew first blood in this one, rallying with two outs and scoring on a bloop single to take an early lead in the top of the second. The Cats responded quickly, however, sparked by a leadoff double that Michael Rodda (Palomar) smashed over the head of the centre fielder. A walk and a bunt then loaded the bases, and a free pass taken by Aidan Rice (Portland) brought in the first run for Victoria. Riley Kwak (Bossier Parish) put enough distance on a fly ball to drive in another from third, turning the tables and giving the HarbourCats a 2-1 lead after two innings.

BOX SCORE

The Lefties loaded the bases in the top of the third in an attempt to regain control, but Taylor Franklin (George Fox) escaped the jam to end his third inning of work without allowing another run. Flynn Warren (Hawaii Pacific) took over for the fourth inning, keeping Port Angeles at bay with another scoreless frame.

Community Involvement Award winner Flynn Warren tossed four shutout innings in tonight’s win. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Victoria made some noise once again in the bottom of the sixth! With two outs and two runners on, Riley Kwak hammered a base knock through the infield to bring home one run, followed by another RBI single from Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) to widen the lead to 4-1.

Flynn Warren’s night was done after four stellar innings in which he allowed no runs and picked up six strikeouts. Taking his place was Carson Ackermann (Tacoma), who worked his way through a scoreless eighth inning. David Krahn ripped an RBI single into centre field for the cherry on top before Ackermann closed out a decisive 5-1 win to complete the series sweep.

Jeremiah Arnett holds a sparkling 1.74 ERA and 62 strikeouts and was crowned this year’s HarbourCats Pitcher of the Year. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

The Cats will now hit the road for a weekend series in Bellingham to continue the fight for a playoff spot.

WCL STANDINGS

There is only one home game left in the 2026 season! On August 3rd, we end the season with a bang with our final fireworks show and Fan Appreciation Night! Don’t miss your chance to catch a game in 2026! Get your tickets now at http://Harbourcats.com/tickets.

ATTENTION VOUCHER HOLDERS: Just a reminder that all ticket vouchers must be exchanged for one of our remaining regular season games! They are not eligible for playoffs, nor can they be carried over to 2027.

Source