HarbourCanucks corner

Our other two regular features have catchy names, so why not brand our periodic updates on the three Victoria natives on the HarbourCats? That sounds like a good idea to me, so here is the first official installment of "HarbourCanucks corner."

On Sunday, Nick Pivetta of the New Mexico Junior College Thunderbirds raised his record to 3-1 on the season in a 14-4 victory over Clarendon College. The game was called after five innings by the "mercy" rule. Pivetta gave up six hits and three earned runs in his five innings of work, striking out seven without walking a single batter. His ERA now stands at 4.19 for the year.

Photo of Austin Russell by ReactionImages.com

The Thunderbirds -- the second-ranked junior college team in the country -- scored 54 runs on the weekend and swept all four games against Clarendon College. Their next test is a four-game set against Midland College that starts on Friday.

As we predicted, Austin Russell has been moved up to the top of the Southern Polytechnic Hornets batting order. Russell got the start in right field and batted second in two of his team's three games last weekend. In the series against Southern Wesleyan University, he went 4-for-9 with an RBI and a run scored. His RBI on Saturday was a significant one -- he drove in the tying run in the sixth inning of a seven-inning game and the Hornets went on to win the game in extras. Russell now leads the team in both batting average (.405) and on-base percentage (.488). The Hornets, now 12-6 on the year, take on Emmanuel College in a three-game series this weekend.

The Vancouver Island Baseball Institute Mariners opened their season with four games in Yakima this past weekend. That allowed the third HarbourCanuck, Connor Russell, to finally take to the hill in a meaningful game. Unfortunately, Russell had a disappointing outing against Yakima Valley Community College, giving up eight hits and six earned runs in his eight innings of work. He struck out seven and walked three. Russell's next chance to pitch will be this weekend when the Mariners return to Yakima for a pair of games against both Clackamas and Linn-Benton.

HarbourCatNip

• Going into last weekend, five freshmen on the HarbourCats had yet to appear in any of their team's games. However, Kentucky’s 21-2 blowout over the University of Akron on Friday allowed Zach Storm to make his debut for the Wildcats. He went 0-for-1 and played three innings at second base. On Sunday, Brett Urabe got the start at DH for the UCLA Bruins and he went 0-for-2 with a run scored. David Olmedo-Barrera of the Cal State Fullerton Titans also made his first appearance on Sunday; He walked in a pinch-hit appearance. That leaves two HarbourCats who are still waiting for their first taste of game action: pitchers Art Vidrio and Dillon Tate of the UCSB Gauchos.
• Freshman Logan Lombana got his first career NCAA win on Saturday for Long Beach State by pitching a perfect top of the ninth inning in a 4-3 win over Seattle University. Lombana now has a 3.60 ERA and a stellar 1.00 WHIP in five relief appearances.