Above Photo: Josh Rolling turns one of the prettiest double plays you will ever see (Photo: Christian J Stewart)

Victoria, BC ~ The Cats reach an all time low after the Kamloops North Paws used a three run top of the fifth inning to overcome Victoria and hand the HarbourCats their second straight loss and 8th loss in 9 games.

Boxscore

Victoria started out strong, scoring in both the bottom of the first and second innings thanks to first a single by Grady Morgan that sent Roberto Gonzalez home. In the second, an errant throw into center field from the Kamloops catcher Kade Huff allowed Hudson Shupe to meander on home and stake the Lower Island residents to a early two run lead.

Hudson Shupe (center) celebrates scoring the Cats second run of the game with his teammates (Photo: Christian J Stewart)

They would then add two more in the bottom of the fourth after the NorthPaws had cracked the scoreboard with a solo blast from Tommy Green. The bottom half of the inning saw Jesse Brown score on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Josh Rolling, before Joseph Redfield singled to send the aforementioned Rolling home for Redfield’s 19th RBI of the season and making the score 4-1 Cats at the time.

Joseph Redfield singles to bring a run home and gain his 19th RBI of the year (Photo: Christian J Stewart)

The fifth inning saw a change of scenery as Harry Delyannis had been fantastic until a three run top of the fifth, capped off by Zack Beatty’s solo home run. That got the ball rolling for the rest of the Kamloops squad who scored two more before the inning was up to tie the game at four. The NorthPaws would add another in the top of the seventh after a sacrifice fly from Tommy Green sent Tyson Heaton home for Green’s second RBI of the game.

Tommy Green lead the offensive charge for the NorthPaws with a home run and two RBIs (Photo: Christian J Stewart)

That one run lead would hang up for the remainder of the evening as Victoria went down without a fight, going three up three down in the bottom of the eighth and ninth and handing them their second straight loss. The Victoria players’ distraught body language on their walk to the clubhouse down the first base line, summed up the night and the past 10 days for that matter.

The NorthPaws celebrate Tommy Green (#11) and his long home run in the third inning (Photo: Christian J Stewart)

With tonight’s loss the HarbourCats drop to 12-19 on the season, including losing eight of their last nine. Victoria now sits dead last in the division and second last in the league overall with their .387 win%. Their only hope now is to find a serious turning point ASAP and look to compete for a wildcard berth into the WCL North Division Playoffs. The team seems unable to string together any form of consistency as well as an inability to find high leverage pitching in any way shape or form, especially late in the game.

HarbourCats head coach Todd Haney seems to be at a loss as to what do with this underachieving squad (Photo: Christian J Stewart)

What’s Next?

Victoria will look to attempt to turn their season around for the remainder of the series against Kamloops on a Saturday and Sunday jam packed with special promotions at Wilson’s Group Stadium. These include; Anawim House’s first Cats home run sock toss tomorrow evening while Sunday will see; Dodd’s Community Day, Used.ca’s Paint the Park Purple and Harvey the HarbourCats birthday celebration. Don’t miss a moment of the fun and get your tickets now at harbourcats.com/tickets.