Lefties tame ’Cats for series sweep
Victoria returns home tonight to host Walla Walla
The cross-strait, cross-border West Coast League rivalry went to the Port Angeles Lefties, and in a big way.
The Lefties swept the visiting Victoria HarbourCats in a three-game set, topping it off with a 9-7 victory on Monday at Civic Field.
Ryan Ober, named WCL player of the week last week for going seven-for-17 with five runs, three homers and eight RBIs for the HarbourCats, continued his hot streak in a losing cause Monday. The 2018 NCAA College World Series champion with the Oregon State Beavers had two hits, including a double, and an RBI and run scored and is now batting .326 since joining Victoria just before the halfway point of the season.
The Lefties hung three hits and three runs on Victoria starter Aidan Goicovich, from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, in his lone inning of work.
The Lefties (6-9 in the second half and 18-24 overall) beat Victoria (6-9 in the second half and 20-22 overall) by an 8-6 count on Sunday, despite NCAA Div. 1 Mississippi State slugger Hunter Vansau’s third home run in the second half of the season for the HarbourCats.
The series began with a 9-6 Lefties victory on Saturday night over Victoria.
The HarbourCats will try to break the slide when they begin a three-game set against the Walla Walla Sweets (6-5 in the second half and 21-17 heading into Monday night’s game against Cowlitz) beginning tonight at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park.
DIAMOND DUST: Jim Swanson, managing partner of the Victoria HarbourCats, has been announced as the manager of the host Victoria Mavericks team when the 2018 Canadian senior men’s baseball championship tournament is held at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park from Aug. 22 to 26.
Swanson has coached in five previous national men’s tournaments with two gold medals and two bronze medals. He will be joined by coaches Troy Birtwistle at third base, Scott Thompson as bench coach and and Mike Cressey at first base. Thompson was head coach of the 2008 national championship Victoria team when the national tournament was in Brandon, Man.
Swanson was on the coaching and managing staffs of the host and 2012 national champion Prince George Axemen and 2014 national champion Langley Blaze, when the tournaament was in St. John’s, N.L., Swanson also earned bronze medals in 2002 on the coaching and management staff of the Axemen, in Kentville, N.S., and in 2007 with Team B.C. in Quebec City.
The first 10 Mavericks named to the host team were announced Monday and include three former or current HarbourCats — infielder Broden Bydeweg of VIU, pitcher Dylan Thorp, and right-hander Garrett Goodall from Embry-Riddle, the the latter the top starting pitcher for the HarbourCats this season. Also named Monday were the three Goodall brothers — Garrett, Liam and Aidan — from Nanaimo. There is also a trio of infielders from Victoria with Duncan Blades, Lanny Burrows and former MLB prospect Kyle Orr. Pitcher Josh Larsen, who was with the national champions from Burnaby last August, will also play for the host Victoria squad.