Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Victoria Golden Tide Announce 2023 Spring Schedule

Published

1 year ago

February 22, 2023

Dugout Wire Service

2023 HarbourCats signee Brady Wilson (above) will lead the Tide into the 2023 CCBC season

February 22, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Victoria, BC – With spring training underway in Florida and Arizona, baseball fans in Victoria won’t have to wait much longer for the return of high level baseball to Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park, as the Victoria Golden Tide will begin their 2023 Spring Season on Saturday March 11th with a pre-season doubleheader against the Langley Blaze.

The Golden Tide are entering their second season of play in the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC), an eight team college level league that also includes the Vancouver Island University Mariners, Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack, University of the Fraser Valley Cascades, Okanagan College Coyotes, University of Calgary Dinos, Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs and the Edmonton Collegiate Riverhawks.

The Tide’s 2023 season will begin with some pre-season exhibition games in March against the Blaze, as well as the Victoria Eagles and Mariners, all in the BC Premier Baseball League, as well as a doubleheader against the UBC Thunderbirds.

The Tide then begins Official CCBC league play on the road when they head to Kelowna for a four game set with the Okanagan College Coyotes the weekend of March 25th and 26th. A home and home series with the Fraser Valley Cascades take up the April 1-2 weekend and then the Tide hits the road for games in Lethbridge and Edmonton respectively, before returning home for a four-game set with Thompson Rivers April 28-30.

After that the Tide stay on the Island the remainder of the season, playing eight games against Vancouver Island and hosting Calgary the weekend of May 6-8. The full home schedule is listed below, as well as a graphic version attached to this article.

Golden Tide Head Coach Curtis Pelletier is confident in the squad he has assembled for 2023 (full roster to be announced in early March), one that includes 2023 HarbourCats signees Brady Wilson as the big arm on the mound, and catcher Lee Grey, who enjoyed a strong fall season in his first year with the Tide.

Admission to all Golden Tide home games is just $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for Camosun College or UVic students with their college ID. Admission includes both games of a doubleheader when played. Kids 12 and under are free. Tickets will be available at the gate, or at the HarbourCats office in advance, at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.

Booster Club memberships for the 2023 spring season, which include admission to all games, priority seating in Diamond Club or Campbell Club seating areas and other perks, are also available for $150.00. These can be purchased at the office, or by calling Christian at 778-265-0327.

2023 Golden Tide Home Games at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park

Sat March 11 – 1PM Langley – Doubleheader
Sun March 12 – 1PM Victoria Eagles or Mariners – Single Game
Sat March 18 – 1PM UBC – Doubleheader
Sun March 19 – 1PM Victoria Eagles or Mariners – Single Game
Sun April 2 – 1PM UFV – Doubleheader
Fri April 28 – 6PM TRU – Single Game
Sat April 29 – 1PM – TRU – Doubleheader
Sun April 30 – 11AM – TRU – Single Game
Tue May 2 – 4PM – VIU – Doubleheader
Sat May 6 – 6:00PM – CAL – Single Game
Sun May 7 – 10AM – CAL – Doubleheader
Mon May 8 – 12 Noon – CAL – Single Game
Thu May 11 – 4PM – VIU – Doubleheader

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HabourCats load up on pitching in preparation for 2024 season

Published

5 hours ago

May 13, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

Preston Kelly in CCAA action for the Cal State-San Marcos Cougars (Photo: Greg Siller, Cal State-San Marcos)

May 13, 2024

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. — Local pitcher Jacob Thompson joins the HarbourCats for the 2024 season, along with four other college arms.

The HarbourCats are excited to announce the addition of five pitchers to their 2024 pitching staff, all joining the club for the first time.

Announced today:

RHP Jacob Thompson, Minot State University, 6-0/180, North Saanich, BC
RHP Preston Kelly, Cal State-San Marcos, 5-10/190, Eastvale, CA
RHP Jason Krakoski, Cal State-Fullerton, 6-3/180, Livermore, CA
LHP Payton Hawkinson, Cal State-Fullerton, 6-7/230, Turlock, CA
LHP Brandon Bertsch, University of Texas, 6-0/170, Dallas, TX

Thompson, a graduate of Lambrick Park Secondary, is a freshman at Minot State University. He has appeared in nine games for the Beavers in 2024, primarily as a reliever, and has given up one or less earned runs in seven of those appearances.

Kelly has posted a 3.96 ERA over 38.2 innings for Cal State-San Marcos during the 2024 season. The California native started the season on a tear as he did not allow an earned run until his 10th appearance. He has struck out 33 batters while limiting the walks to just eight over the course of the season so far. In 2023, Kelly finished with nine saves which was the second most in school history.

Krakoski is the first of two pitchers joining Victoria from Cal State-Fullerton. He has struck out 20 batters over 21.2 innings in 2024 and has limited the long ball by only giving up one home run all season. In high school, he captained his team to the NCS playoff semi-finals in back-to-back years. The freshman comes from a family of athletes as both his grandfather and uncle played professional football – his grandfather played for the Oakland Raiders from 1963-1966 and his uncle was a linebacker in the NFL for Washington in 1986.

Hawkinson (pictured right), another California native, is a big lefty standing at 6-7/230. The freshman has pitched in seven games this year for the Titans and has given up one or less earned runs in six of those appearances. In his junior year of high school he earned first-team all-conference and conference pitcher-of-the-year awards as he led his team to conference championship.

Bertsch is a freshman right-hander from Dallas. He starred in high school becoming just the second player in school history with more than 100 strikeouts in a season. He will add a lot of swing and miss potential to an already formidable HarbourCats pitching staff.

The HarbourCats are looking forward to seeing these young arms in action against West Coast League batters.

The HarbourCats open on the road May 31 in Kamloops, the start of back-to-back series in Kamloops and Kelowna, before returning for the June 7 home opener against Wenatchee. The HarbourCats will be on the road this summer in Kamloops, Kelowna, Edmonton, Wenatchee, Ridgefield, Port Angeles, Bellingham, and six games in Nanaimo against the Island-rival NightOwls at Serauxmen Stadium. Teams visiting Victoria this year are Wenatchee, Nanaimo, Bellingham, Port Angeles, Kelowna, Edmonton (two series), Kamloops and Corvallis, along with non-league games against the Redmond Dudes, Dub Sea Fish Sticks, the SIBL All-Stars, and Victoria Mavericks All-Stars.

The regular season runs until August 7, with WCL playoffs running from August 10 to August 16.

Single game tickets are now available for the HarbourCats 2024 season including the home opener on Friday, June 7, 2024 at 6:35pm against the Kamloops NorthPaws. These can be purchased online through our one and only ticketing partner, Select Your Tickets, at www.harbourcats.com/tickets or at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.

Season tickets and 10-game flex packs are also now on sale via the HarbourCats office or by calling 778-265-0327.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Fresno State bats and two returning pitchers part of next six signed by HarbourCats

Published

1 week ago

May 4, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

2023 pitcher Flynn Ridley will return to the HarbourCats for 2024, along with 2023 teammate Brett Harvey and four other new players announced today (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

May 4, 2024

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. — On a strong pitching staff, Flynn Ridley and Brett Harvey were standouts for the 2023 Victoria HarbourCats.

The HarbourCats are excited to announce the return of the two right-handers, along with excitement at adding two quality hitters from a school that has long provided great players, Fresno State.

Ridley and Harvey, along with Sky Collins and Cam Schneider from Fresno State, highlight a new signing group that includes a huge right-hander from TCU in Carson Cormier, and a star catcher from Texas A&M in Kyle Micklus, a lefty hitter with power.

Announced today:

RHP Flynn Ridley, Ottawa (AZ), 6-4/200, Burnaby, BC
RHP Brett Harvey, Puget Sound, 6-2/190, Auburn, WA
C Kyle Micklus, West Texas A&M, 5-9/190, Waller, TX
OF Sky Collins, Fresno State, 6-1/180, Fresno, CA
IF/OF Cam Schneider, Fresno State, 6-3/190, Fresno, CA
RHP Carson Cormier, TCU, 6-5/225, Westford, MA

Harvey (pictured right) posted a combined 1.90 ERA over 15 regular season and playoff games for the ‘Cats in 2023, giving up 20 hits in 23.2 innings. Ridley started four games among his nine appearances and was 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA, striking out 28 in 24 innings. Take away his last start, and he was 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA, limiting opposing hitters to a .132 average.

Micklus, an energy guy behind the dish, is hitting .421 with six homers for West Texas A&M, after starring at Lassen College in California. He’s also stolen 11 bases, adding 15 doubles and two triples, and will give the catching staff an older presence.

Collins and Schneider are both from Fresno, and bring size to the lineup. Schneider is hitting .273 as a freshman this season, while Collins joined the Bulldogs off a strong two years at Fresno City College, winning a gold glove and being named second team all-conference.

Cormier is big, 6-5 and 225. From just outside of Boston, the freshman has won numerous academic and leadership awards and was on the Dodgers scout team before landing at TCU as a top prospect who will get valuable innings in the summer with the HarbourCats.

The regular season runs until August 7, with WCL playoffs running from August 10 to August 16.

Season tickets and 10-game flex packs are also now on sale via the HarbourCats office or by calling 778-265-0327.