The HarbourCats extended their winning streak to 12 games and are now just two shy of tying the all-time West Coast League record of 14 consecutive wins, set in 2011 by the Wenatchee AppleSox. Victoria is 12-3 after three losses to start the season. The HarbourCats are also 10-0 at home.
The HarbourCats jumped out to a big lead but the BlueJackets got two runs in the seventh and three in the top of the ninth to make it interesting.
鈥淲e did not play well tonight but these guys just battle,鈥� said Victoria head coach Graig Merritt.
鈥淭welve in a row is good. But we don鈥檛 want to stop here.鈥�
鈥淭he [10-0 at home] means just as much. Home field means a lot to us.鈥�
Victoria starter Austin Dondanville, from Cal Poly, had a no-hitter going through 61脷3 innings before allowing two runs on three hits in the seventh inning. He came into the game having allowed just one hit and no runs with 10 strikeouts in his previous six innings pitched this season over two games.
鈥淚 was filling up the zone and the guys were making plays behind me. I would have loved to keep it going, but it kind of came apart in the seventh inning,鈥� said Dondanville, the second-year HarbourCats hurler.
About the winning streak, Dondanville added: 鈥淓veryone is working hard and everyone here wants to win. It鈥檚 a competitive atmosphere. The guys on the mound are throwing pitches and the guys at the plate are crushing the ball.鈥�
A two-run single by P.J. Floyd from Sacramento State put Victoria into a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. He added a single, run scored and two stolen bases to his eventful night.
A two-run homer over direct centre-field by catcher Joe Prior in the bottom of the sixth inning gave the HarbourCats a 4-0 lead. A Brad Pluschkell RBI made it 5-0 later in the sixth. The HarbourCats then survived a pushback by the determined BlueJackets.
Greg Casper, one of three HarbourCats relievers on the night, got the last two outs to secure the victory.
The three-game set continues tonight at Royal Athletic with WCL pitcher of the week, Will McAffer from North Vancouver, scheduled to start for Victoria. He threw a two-hitter over six full innings, with 10 strikeouts and only two walks, in a 6-0 victory over the Cowlitz Black Bears last Sunday. The South Dakota State hurler pitched in two combined shutouts last week, earning two wins with no runs allowed and only four hits and four walks with 19 strikeouts over 11 2/3 innings of work.
Starting on Sunday is Josh Mitchell from Pitt (1-0, two saves, 1.20 ERA).
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