'Cats close out preseason with ugly win

Dane Fujinaka made his HarbourCats
debut at -- surprise -- third base!

Your prospects usually aren’t very good when you get outhit 14-8 and only score run(s) in one inning of a ballgame, but the HarbourCats defied the odds on Wednesday night by salvaging a 6-5 victory over the pesky North Sound Emeralds of the Northwest Collegiate Baseball League (NWCBL). The win gives Victoria a 2-1 record in their brief “spring training” leading up to Friday night’s regular-season home opener.

The HarbourCats did all of their scoring in a six-run fifth inning that included four hits, a walk and three errors by the Emeralds. The key blow in the inning -- and game -- was a clutch two-out, two-strike base hit by Chris “Foggy” Fougner that scored fellow Vancouver Islanders Brady Rogers and Matt Bryan. Those two runs put the HarbourCats up 5-1, but Fougner would come around to score on a bad-hop single by Jackson Thoreson.

Fougner had another impressive night for the ‘Cats: 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. He finishes the exhibition season with a .583 average (7-for-12), three RBI, five runs scored and a pair of stolen bases. Look for big things from Mr. Fougner all summer long.

The HarbourCats pitching was less than spectacular on this frigid evening. Shawn Loglisci, a 30-year-old pitcher on loan from the Victoria Mavericks, did a good job holding the Emeralds to one run over the first four innings. However, Sean O’Toole, Josh Walker and 10-day player Mike Gershman stumbled through the last five innings to make a game of it. Gershman got the final out on a fly ball to Zane Takhar with the bases loaded to preserve the victory.

HarbourCatNip

• The all-Canadian outfield flashed some solid defense in tonight’s game. Matt Bryan cut off a ball in the gap and threw to second to nail a runner trying to stretch a single into a double in the fifth inning, while Chris Fougner made a nice running catch and strong throw home to prevent a runner on third from scoring on a fly ball in the eighth inning.
• Shawn Kennedy, PJ Floyd and Dane Fujinaka are the latest players to arrive in Victoria, so there are now 11 of 33 full-season players in town. Expect another six or so to arrive in the next couple of days.
• HarbourCats home games will be broadcast (delayed, not live) on Shaw Cable channel 4. You can also expect games to be shown multiple times.
• The radar gun has been tested and a small display board is expected to be installed on top of the pole on the far end of the third-base dugout for Friday’s home opener.
• Christmas has come early for our bloggers. Earlier in the preseason we were informed that Bubba’s favourite urinal in the bathroom under the grandstand has been fixed, but today the clock on the scoreboard was also repaired. Yes, Darth, there are competent horologists in Victoria. It’s a Christmas miracle!
• The team has also announced that a fireworks show has been added after Friday night's game, since approximately 3,400 tickets have already been sold for the game (there will also be fireworks after Saturday’s game). Due to the removal of the GA bleachers behind section seven, capacity in the main section of the park has been reduced by roughly 200 seats. That means that there will be a lot of people sitting in the soccer stands on Friday night. If you have GA tickets then I suggest you arrive when the gates open at 5:00.
• Check back on the blog early Thursday evening for our 2015 Season Preview.