Connect with us

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Zack Downey Day 2: Golden Tide Remain Undefeated

Published

on

Tide play 2-0 Victoria Eagles Saturday morning to decide top seed in tournament

Story and Photos by Christian J. Stewart

September 10, 2021, Victoria, BC – After Day 2 of the Zack Downey Memorial Baseball Tournament at Layritz Park in Victoria, both the Victoria Eagles and the Victoria Golden Tide remain undefeated with perfect 2-0 records after winning their round robin games Friday.

The teams will now face each other Saturday morning at 9:30 am in a game that will decide the top seed for the tournament heading into Sunday’s semi-final games.

The Golden Tide’s Brandon Green had a triple, two singles, a walk, RBI and run scored to lead the Tide offence to their 8-1 win (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

The Eagles began the day with a tidy 5-1 win over the Parksville Royals, getting a jump early as a two-RBI triple from Jai Berezowski in the first inning gave them an early lead. They would add two more runs in the third and another in the fourth to put the game away.

Damian Cataldo led the way with a walk, base hit and two runs scored to pace the offence, while Oliver Mabee had an RBI and a run scored. Quin Valley and Noah Couch scored the other runs for the Eagles.

Nick Lee got the start for the Golden Tide against Saskatchewan (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

Jacob Thompson got the start for the Eagles and he was solid through four innings. Wyatt MacDonald also saw work in relief.

The Golden Tide kept their record clean with an 8-1 win over the visiting Saskatchewan Grizzlies High Performance team.

Brandon Green was the sparkplug for the Tide, with a pair of singles, a triple, walk, RBI and two runs scored. Chase Thomson also had a pair of hits, an RBI and run scored, while Andrew Baxter walked twice, reached on an error and scored.

Tide shortstop Brandon Green shadows a Saskatchewan baserunner (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

The Tide opened the scoring in the second, taking advantage of an error and then an RBI double from Jackson Cordle that the Grizzly outfielder lost in the sun. Cordle then scored on an RBI single from Green.

The Tide’s Colton O’Brien slides safely into second during the game against the Grizzlies (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

They would add two more in the third on RBI singles from Thomson and Colton O’Brien, and then put the game away with three more in the fourth and another in the fifth.

Chase Thomson (right) is congratulated by Brandon Green left) after scoring in the third inning Saturday (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

Nick Lee got the start on the hill for the Tide and after a shaky first inning, he re-grouped to strikeout three of the last four batters he faced in his two innings of work. Tristian Seitz and Brett Patterson also pitched two innings of relief each for the Tide.

Tide reliever Tristan Seitz delivers a pitch against Saskatchewan (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

In other games Friday, the Parksville Royals (1-1) handed the Mid-Island Pirates their second loss of the tournament, winning 2-0, while the Victoria Mariners 0-2) dropped a 4-3 decision to the Saskatchewan Grizzlies (1-1) in the final game of the day.

The Tide’s Chase Thomson had a pair of hits against Saskatchewan (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

On Saturday, the Eagles and Golden Tide game starts the day off at 9:30am. Saskatchewan then plays Parksville at 12 Noon and the Mariners will play the Mid-Island Pirates at 2:30 pm. Then at 5:00 pm, the 5th place finishing team will play the 6th place finishing game in the consolation game of the tournament.

Golden Tide reliever Brett Patterson delivers a pitch against Saskatchewan (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

On Sunday, 2nd place seed will play the 3rd place seed in the first semi-final at 10:00 am, while the 1st place seed will match up against the 4th place seed at 12:30 pm. The winners of those games will meet in the final scheduled for 3:00 pm.

The Tide’s Dexter Stoiber makes a nice catch of a sinking line drive late in Saturday’s game against Saskatchewan (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

All photos from the Zack Downey Tournament by photographer Christian J. Stewart will eventually be posted following the tournament at https://christianjstewart.zenfolio.com/f925315517

Source

Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Summer Collegiate

NightOwls get the call for International Events

Published

on

Righthanded pitcher Moosa Nonomiya, a 2024 Owl from Skagit Valley College, is a Japanese resident but his grandmother was from Pakistan, so he is going to be playing for Pakistan in Dubai in November at the Baseball United Arab Classic.

The tournament features nine teams, including India, Palestine, UAE and Pakistan, and is the top competitive event in the history of the Middle East and South Asia.

Nonomiya is also an outfielder for Skagit. Last summer, he started three games and made seven appearances in his 13.2 innings of work — and he has added velocity this fall after strong developmental work with NightOwls pitching coach Gorm Heimueller.

Source

Continue Reading

Summer Collegiate

Nanaimo Boy Returns Home To Lead The NightOwls

Published

on

A local product is coming home to historic Serauxmen Stadium.

 

Cody Andreychuk, currently the Head Coach of the University of Pikeville (NAIA, Pikeville, Kentucky), has been named the new top coach with the West Coast League’s Nanaimo NightOwls. He assumes the post immediately.

 

“Cody is a perfect fit in so many ways to fill the role with Greg Frady stepping down last week,” said General Manager Tina Cornett. “We obviously love that he’s from Nanaimo and will connect with the community very well, but he has a track record of developing players and winning games and will bring that local pride to the NightOwls.”

 

Andreychuk, who has a degree in Sports Management and a Masters in Business Administration, resides in Pikeville with his daughter Harper.

 

“I’m grateful and humbled for the opportunity to be the next baseball coach for the Nanaimo NightOwls, and I’d like to thank Jim Swanson and the ownership group for believing in a local guy to come in and lead this program at historic Serauxmen Stadium,” said Andreychuk, 32.

 

“My daughter and I are excited to be back home on the island for the summer and I look forward to meeting all the fans throughout the season.”

 

Andreychuk has been head coach at UPike since July of 2021, and his Bears team posted a 30-19 record this past spring. Prior to that, he was at Lindsey Wilson College as both assistant and head coach, and served as an assistant at UPike in 2016 and 2017.

Andreychuk knows summer collegiate baseball well — he was hitting coach and camps coordinator for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod League, the top collegiate summer baseball league.

 

“Growing up in Nanaimo and playing baseball through the Nanaimo Minor Baseball Association still to this day are some of the most special memories I cherish. I hope we can impact the youth the same way I was impacted growing up playing baseball in Nanaimo.”

 

Andreychuk is certainly not a stranger to the WCL. In addition to supplying strong UPike players to WCL teams — Riley Paulino and Richtter Castillo among those to be NightOwls — he played for the Kelowna Falcons in 2013, posting a .298 average in 33 games, driving in 17 runs. He played collegiately for the VIU Mariners, and with Tusculum Pioneers of the South Atlantic College before embarking on his coaching career. He batted .437 over 29 games in his first year at Tusculum, with two home runs and 29 RBIs. With VIU, he set records for batting average and triples.

 

His younger brother Griffin was a star with the Victoria HarbourCats, playing three seasons and having his number retired at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park. He helped lead the HarbourCats to a then-league record 40-14 record in 2016, a team that set a WCL mark with 19 straight victories.

Source

Continue Reading

Summer Collegiate

Frady steps down as NightOwls Head Coach

Published

on

It will be more than a little odd to not see Greg Frady in the Nanaimo NightOwls dugout next summer.

The veteran college and international coach has stepped down as Head Coach of the West Coast League team after three seasons of dedication to setting a strong culture with the Nanaimo NightOwls.

 

The search for a new Head Coach is expected to be completed shortly and even announced this coming week.

 

“Greg was our first coach, and his classy way of interacting with the community and leading our players and coaches will never be forgotten,” said Jim Swanson, Managing Partner.

 

“He set the tone for teams that performed well on the field, and handled themselves with tremendous class on and off the field — he set a professional tone for the NightOwls and was respected by the players and people around the league. We have been blessed to have someone I consider a close friend as our head coach.”

 

Frady, 61, and his wife Rhonda spent three summers in the Harbour City, enjoying the perfect weather and endless scenery. Frady, a US Open pickleball champion, gave back in many ways but one of them was to hold skills clinics with Nanaimo pickleball players, where he was always smiling and teaching.

Frady had the team in playoff contention all three years, alive for a spot the final week of the expansion 2022 season, and within a couple games of the top eight playoff spots in 2023 and 2024. The last two seasons, the NightOwls finished ninth overall in the 16-team WCL — and eight teams advance. Players selected in the MLB draft from those teams include Elijah Ickes (2023) and Connor Caskenette (2024).

 

Frady led the expansion edition to a 22-32 record, with a late shot to win the North Division second half, and then posted identical 26-28 marks in 2023 and 2024, for an overall mark of 74-88.

 

The Fradys have endured some exciting times in the last three years, including the wedding of daughter Bailey, and engagement of son Riley. They also, like all Floridians, have seen hurricanes make a mess of their lives and homes the last few years — Hurricane Ian did damage to their Port Charlotte home two years ago, and Hurricane Milton was a direct hit this past week, leaving the Fradys to deal with damage over the next while, and leading to the decision to let the NightOwls install a new Head Coach.

“We thank Greg and Rhonda — they are tremendous people, and they will always have so many friends in the mid-Island area,” said Swanson.

Source

Continue Reading

Trending