HarbourCats bolster pitching staff

The Victoria HarbourCats look to be well armed for a run at the West Coast League championship in 2016.

The HarbourCats added seven pitchers to their roster Wednesday, including a righthander who should be the team’s closer.

Calvin Faucher is a 6-foot-1 righty from Chula Vista, California, who is transferring from junior college to NCAA Div. 1 powerhouse UC-Irvine where he’s expected to be head coach Mike Gillespie’s late-inning shut-down man. At Southwestern Community College, Faucher was 2-2 with two saves, while striking out 36 in 29 innings. He also had an impressive 0.93 ERA.

Faucher’s teammate on UC-Irvine, Chris Vargas, will also be joining the HarbourCats this summer. Vargas is a righthander out of Orange, California, who is expected to play a key role for Gillespie’s squad.

The HarbourCats also dipped into the UC-Davis talent pool, signing three players from the California school, including freshman right-handers Blake Hannah and Ryan Steindorf, as well as infielder Brad Pluschkell. Pluschkell emerged as the Aggies starting third baseman in his freshman season and started 37 games while hitting .227 with 11 RBIs.

Also among Wednesday’s signings by the HarbourCats are right-handers Skyler Henderson (Vernon College, Texas), Brendan Hornung (University of Hawaii) and Mason Hilty (Dixie State University, Utah), as well as left-hander Zach Cordova of Dixie State. Cordova is the nephew of former major leaguer Marty Cordova.

The HarbourCats open the 2016 WCL season June 3 in Walla Walla. Victoria’s home opener is slated for June 7 when the Wenatchee AppleSox pay a visit to Royal Athletic Park.