Ben Smedshammer (above) went four strong innings to start the game for the HarbourCats on Wednesday (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

Story and Photos by Christian J. Stewart

July 12, 2023

Victoria, BC – The Victoria HarbourCats exploded for eight runs in the fourth and fifth innings, to cruise to an easy 11-2 win over the Port Angeles Lefties on Wednesday night in West Coast League action at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park.

The win improves Victoria’s home record to an impressive 16-1 and their overall record to 24-11 (6-3 in the second half).

FULL BOX SCORE

Victoria started things off early with three runs in the bottom of the first, thanks to an RBI single from Tripp Clark and a two-RBI single from Michael Crossland.

Hudson Shupe stayed atop the WCL hitting leaderboard, going 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

They then blew the game open in the bottom of the fourth, getting to three different Lefties pitchers for six runs, keyed by a two-RBI double from Lane Brewster and RBI singles from Jack Johnson, Tyler Davis and Crossland (his third hit in three at bats).  Davis and Tripp Clark then contributed RBI singles in the fifth inning to round out the HarbourCats scoring.

Meanwhile, HarbourCats pitcher Ben Smedshammer made his firs ever West Coast League start and he was solid, giving up four hits in four innings while striking out four.  Ryan Magdic, Logan MacNeil, Russell Derbyshire and Daniel Gonzalez also saw work on the mound in relief.

For the Lefties, Trent Jackson had a pair of hits, while Chase Taylor added a home run in the losing effort. Starter Brock Mayer took the loss.

Dallas Macias heads to third en route to scoring the first of his three runs Wednesday (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

The HarbourCats and Lefties close out their series on Thursday night, another 6:35 pm start and then the tough Wenatchee AppleSox come to town for a three-game series beginning Friday night, our third fireworks night of the season, followed by Harvey’s Birthday Party on Saturday and then Bark in the Park, a 1:05 start Sunday, with a special gate opening at 11:30AM for all our furry friends.

Tickets for all games available at http://harbourcats.com/tickets.