Above Photo: HarbourCats first base coach, Troy Birtwistle, on the field with his beloved dog “Beckett” during Victoria’s annual “Bark in the Park” promotion “(Photo: Christian J Stewart)

Victoria, BC ~ The Victoria HarbourCats used a grand slam by Russell Young in the bottom of the eighth inning to come from behind and win the final game of a three game series against the Yakima Valley Pippins, 6-3 on Sunday afternoon in WCL action at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park.

Boxscore

The Victoria faithful did not have much to cheer for during the majority of the game, as the Cats fell behind early after an error helped give the Pippins two early runs on HarbourCats starter, Loreto Siniscalchi. Victoria’s bats fell relatively silent for the first seven innings and trailed 3-1 going into the eighth.

HarbourCats starter Loreto Siniscalchi pitched 4.1 very solid innings on Sunday Afternoon (Photo: Christian J Stewart)

Hudson Shupe started the rally in the eighth by singling to right field, his third time reaching base in the contest, after walking twice beforehand. After going to second on a passed ball, Hudson would head to third on a single off the bat of Josh Walker to put runners on the corners with one out. Grady Morgan then got the nod off the bench to pinch hit and proceeded to walk on five pitches to load the bases.

Hudson Shupe throws a ball across the diamond from short Sunday afternoon (Photo: Christian J Stewart)

Jesse Brown was then also called upon from the dugout to pinch hit with the bases loaded and that proved to be a smart managerial move from Todd Haney. Jesse singled to left field to put the Cats within one and kept the bases loaded for Russell Young. Russell then took a high 2-2 count fastball well over the left field fence to break the game open 6-3 and bring a crowd of over 2,000 attendees to their feet for a loud standing ovation. 

HarbourCats teammates mob Russell Young at the plate after his dramatic grand slam in the bottom of the eighth (Photo: Christian J Stewart)

Jack Seward had come into the game in the eighth inning for the Cats and stayed for the ninth as well to shut down the Pippins once and for all, handing the HarbourCats the victory and continuing his unbelievable stretch of pitching performances. Jack now has gone 11 innings without surrendering a run, while giving up just three hits and striking out 10 over that span.

Loreto Siniscalchi started for Victoria and would end up going four and a third innings of six hit and three earned run ball. A solid performance that in all honesty saw some serious bad luck, including multiple infield hits and bloop singles. On the other hand Tyler Frieders was lights out over six innings for the Pippins. He only saw six HarbourCats players reach base over those six innings while allowing just one earned run. 

Tyler Frieders was fantastic Sunday afternoon (Photo: Christian J Stewart)

Standings Watch

With this thrilling victory on Sunday afternoon, Victoria now sits at 7-6 in the second half of the season. That puts them in second place in the North Division, just barely behind Wenatchee who has just played less games while also winning just one more game than they have lost (5-4). 

HarbourCats outfielder Grady Morgan snags a picture with the games “Play Ball Kid” before Sunday’s Action (Photo: Christian J Stewart)

What’s Next?

Victoria will get a breather tomorrow (Monday) before welcoming the Bellingham Bells into town for a three game set. Bellingham lost on Sunday afternoon to Nanaimo, placing them in 4th in the North Division second half of play standings. Bellingham won the first half of the season, meaning that this series could be a huge one for Victoria down the stretch in their bid to qualify for the playoffs. Get your tickets now and don’t miss a moment by visiting harbourcats.com/tickets.