Krazy George, the legendary professional cheerleader, said the life expectancy of his drums is two to four years. He sure put a beating on it Tuesday night at Royal Athletic Park to enliven a season-opening home West Coast League baseball crowd of 4,544 for the Victoria HarbourCats.
Certainly inspired, the HarbourCats then put down a beating on the visiting Wenatchee AppleSox 11-1 for their first win of the season, backed by an outstanding one-hitter spun over eight complete innings by starter Dalton Erb.
鈥淚t was an awesome experience,鈥� said Erb, the six-foot-eight hurler from Chico State.
鈥淭he fans were so lively and loud and I had my stuff going tonight with my defence behind me.鈥�
It is said that in home-opener games such as this in baseball, the score is secondary to the atmosphere. Normally, but there was a bit more urgency to the scoreline on this night as the HarbourCats came in 0-3 after being swept by the Sweets over the weekend in their season-opening set in Walla Walla, Washington.
So that emphatic win surely felt good, especially in front of such a large throng.
The AppleSox, meanwhile, were also swept in their opening series and fell to 0-4.
Heading into the game, Victoria head coach Graig Merritt said he needed a monster mound performance and for his bats to come alive to kickstart the season.
鈥淚t happened. We got both on the same night,鈥� he said.
鈥淎nd that鈥檚 in large part credit to the fans. The Victoria fans are so knowledgeable, they understand the game, and they lifted us.鈥�
Merritt said he remembers playing minor-pro ball as a Tampa Bay Rays prospect in front of about a paltry 300 fans nightly in Bakersfield, California, to a much more energetic 3,000 fans in Charleston, South Carolina. The latter venue was a lot more fun, he said.
鈥淚t makes a huge difference to players,鈥� noted Merritt.
Erb, a junior at Chico State who may be heard from this week in the 2016 MLB draft, turned in a dominating performance as he put down the first 20 Wenatchee batters before finally walking the 21st in the seventh inning. He didn鈥檛 allow the first hit until the eighth inning, a single, at which point the crowd gave him an appreciative round of applause. He finished with 13 strikeouts.
Victoria reliever Nick Wojtysiak had a bit of an adventure in the ninth inning, giving up two hits, a walk and a run, and loading up the bases, before closing things down.
Bats have been an issue for both teams. The HarbourCats came into the game hitting .196 and the AppleSox .175.
But Cody Snider, Erb鈥檚 teammate at Chico State, took care of that, at least from the HarbourCats perspective, with a two-run homer in the third inning. That was followed by more woodworks by Snider with a two-run single in the fourth inning and a double in the eighth inning. Victoria鈥檚 season-leading batter finished with three hits, three runs and three RBIs.
STOLEN BASES: The ceremonial opening pitch, delivered via lacrosse stick by Mann Cup-champion Victoria Shamrocks coach Bob Heyes, sailed way up high. . . . But the parachutist carrying the official opening ball landed right on target in the infield to deliver it to the mascot Harvey, who handed it to Victoria starter Erb, who showed he knew what to do with it. . . . The HarbourCats and AppleSox meet again tonight on Krazy George Bobblehead Night . . . 鈥淚 loved it . . . especially with Victoria putting up the big score,鈥� said Krazy George, after Tuesday鈥檚 opener.
