Rogue wave

Well, it was bound to happen. The HarbourCats finally had to bat in the bottom of the ninth and there were no heroics in store as the hometown team went down for the first time this season, 4-1 to the Medford Rogues. While Connor Russell pitched well, striking out eight in his seven innings of work, the Rogues hit several balls pretty hard, including a two run home run in the second inning by Ryan Teel. The HarbourCat offence never looked dangerous in tallying five hits and never really generating much in the way of a threat to the Rogues staff. In the field, the defence can still tighten up a bit as they committed two more errors including a botched catcher-to-first pickoff attempt that actually caught the runner cheating off the bag, but ended with a run being scored and nobody put out. Again, it shows they still have a ways to grow and I believe it is a fact of life in the WCL as we watch these budding stars mature.

On the Medford side of things, starter Mike Bradshaw pitched very well in collecting his first win of the season, giving up 4 hits in his seven innings of work before handing over to his capable (this night, anyway) relief staff.

The announced crowd of 1,014 was nice and vocal, on what turned out to be a very pleasant Victoria evening. The 'Cats "tradition" of playing funny walkup songs for  opposing batters is a definite hit. I heard "Dude Looks Like a Lady", "Man, I feel Like a Woman" and "I'm a Barbie Girl" to name a few. The Imperial March (Darth Vader's theme) especially touched me. One thing that is not a hit with me, are the repetitive sound bites on what seems like every other strike - sometimes when the 'Cats are at bat! Also, the broken glass on a foul ball is good, but only if used sparingly. C'mon...these are important nuances of baseball!! In more mature news, fans also got their first look at a couple of "new" HarbourCats in Greg Fettes who came in for a pinch hit appearance, and Alex Real, who went two for three in his Victoria debut. From what I have heard, keep your eyes on this kid.

Tonight, I was sitting near the Medford dugout, and I'll tell you, it is hard not to like these guys. They hustle on and off the field, I like their logo, I like the colour of their uniforms and they were overly tolerant - even kind - to the swarm of kids begging for balls at every opportunity. Not only were they tolerant of these non-Medford fans, they offered up more than a few souvenirs, and picked up hats that were dropped into the field of play without any grumbling. Nice job Rogues, you could teach pro athletes a thing or two...now just be a little kinder to our hitters tomorrow night.