Road trip starts with a loss

After a long five day lay-off, the boys were back at it again today in the first of what will be a string of twelve consecutive games without a break. Playing in Longview WA, your 10-4 Harbourcats took on the 7-8 Cowlitz Black Bears at Story Field and were edged out in a 4-3 game which looked to be a pretty good one. Starter Robby Nesovic gave up two runs in the first on a couple of hits and a couple of errors, but got things settled down after that to keep the 'Cats within striking distance. Victoria closed the gap to one in the third, when Brandon Smith scored on a pass ball and the game stayed 2-1 until the teams traded homers in the seventh. Nesovic was replaced by Will Ballowe in the eighth but before that, he pinch hit to drive in the tying run, only to see it nullified by a Cowlitz run in the bottom half. Rumour has it that Robby also sold popcorn between innings, while delivering a set of twins.

All in all, a good ballgame but a tough loss on a warm night in the Evergreen state. The pitching and batting stats for both teams were almost dead even, and this was reflected in the tight scoreline. Alex Real and Brandon Smith both hammered out two hits a piece while Chris Lewis extended his hitting streak to eleven games.

The teams go at it again tomorrow as Bryan Conant puts his 2-0 record in the line against the prowling Bears. It's a key game in the sense that this next two weeks is a tough grind and the 'Cats need to get some positive momentum heading into this stretch of the season. Six games on the road could get ugly if they go down 0-2 to start. My prediction is that "The Barbarian" will baffle the Bears hitters and Victoria bats will come alive so by the time we talk again, the series will be knotted at a game apiece. The 'Cats should be able to get two out of three from the Bears before heading to Wenatchee to take on the AppleSox.