HarbourCats to open 2019 WCL season on the road in Wenatchee

The Victoria HarbourCats will open the 2019 West Coast League baseball season with a three-game set beginning June 4 in Wenatchee, Washington, against the AppleSox. The home opener at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park is June 7, to begin a three-game set against the defending WCL champion Corvallis Knights from Oregon.

There will again be 54 league games in the season for each team, 27 at home.

The WCL’s newest team, the expansion Ridgefield Raptors from near Vancouver, Washington, will play in the South Division. The Raptors addition allows the league to have a balanced divisional alignment, featuring two six-team divisions.

The HarbourCats are in the North Division with the Bellingham Bells, Kelowna Falcons, Port Angeles Lefties, Wenatchee and Yakima Valley Pippins.

The WCL all-star game will be hosted by the Bend, Oregon, Elks on July 23.

The HarbourCats’ schedule features a 12-game, 17-day home stand at the end of June and beginning of July, highlighted by the Canada Day weekend against division rival Kelowna. The HarbourCats and Falcons are the lone Canadian franchises in the 12-team WCL, which features U.S. NCAA Div. 1 and collegiate players in summer play.

The South Division is composed of the Bend Elks, Corvallis, Cowlitz Black Bears, Walla Walla Sweets, Portland Pickles and Ridgefield Raptors

The HarbourCats will close out the 2019 regular season with six consecutive games against the Port Angeles Lefties, three at Civic Field in Port Angeles on Aug. 6-8, and then a closing home stand in Victoria starting Aug. 9.

The playoff structure remains the same, with two halves, and the winners of each half in each division advancing to the WCL post-season. Should the HarbourCats make the playoffs, the divisional series would take place Aug. 13-15, while the championship final would run Aug. 17-20.

The HarbourCats are also planning to take their show on the road again, with exhibition games in Nanaimo, as well as games in both Duncan and either Ladysmith or Port Alberni.