The Victoria HarbourCats saved their best ball for the back half of the season – and it’s earned them another crack at the playoffs.
After stumbling to a 12-14 start, the ‘Cats came alive in July, storming to a 20-8 finish and locking up a spot in the West Coast League (WCL) post-season with a 32-22 overall record.
This marks the fourth straight year Victoria will play playoff baseball.
They’ll open the best-of-three Divisional Series against the Edmonton Riverhawks on Friday (Aug. 8) at Royal Athletic Park.
The two clubs won’t need much of a scouting report – they just wrapped up four straight games to close out the regular season and met nine times overall, with Edmonton taking six of those.
Game two is Saturday (Aug. 9) in Edmonton, with a winner-takes-all third game scheduled for Sunday (Aug. 10), if necessary.
Victoria is no stranger to deep playoff runs, reaching the WCL championship game three times (2017, 2019, 2023) since joining the league in 2013. The franchise, however, is still chasing its first title – and no Canadian team has ever lifted the WCL trophy.
First baseman Jack Johnson, of Tulane University, was one of the offensive leaders this year, hitting .281 with six homers and 32 RBI. Tanner Beltowski, of Westmont College, added a .303 average with three home runs and 27 RBI.
The pair were co-named as HarbourCats players of the year.
On the mound, Ben Hewitt from Ottawa University and Carson Burks from Hill College each posted three wins, while Thomas Bridges, of Northwestern University, led the staff with 39 innings pitched.
The winner of the Victoria–Edmonton series will face either the Wenatchee AppleSox or the Bellingham Bells in a sudden-death Divisional Final on Aug. 12.
The WCL Championship Series – also a one-game final – is set for Aug. 14.
Kamloops, Kelowna and Nanaimo all missed the playoffs, leaving Victoria and Edmonton as the lone Canadian squads standing.
Either one could become the first team from north of the border to win the league.
