As the days grow darker faster, fans can only dream about lilting late spring and summer nights at Royal Athletic Park and Serauxmen Stadium.
But it’s on the road in the Interior that both West Coast League clubs will open their 2024 seasons on May 31, the HabourCats in Kamloops against the NorthPaws and NightOwls in Kelowna against the Falcons.
The WCL released the schedule Monday for all 16 teams, which are located throughtout sa国际传媒, Washington state and Oregon. The WCL is a summer-collegiate league featuring NCAA players extending their playing seasons after their university seasons conclude in the spring. There were 62 WCL alumni who appeared in MLB games in 2023 and 286 in affiliated minor-pro baseball.
The HarbourCats open 2024 with six away games as they continue on from the three-game Kamloops series to three games in Kelowna. The home opener is June 7 against the Wenatchee AppleSox, which will be the first of 27 WCL dates on Caledonia, where the HarbourCats were 25-2 last season.
The NightOwls’ home opener is June 4 against the Cowlitz Black Bears of Washington state.
The HarbourCats and NightOwls play each other nine times, which is three more times than they play any other teams. The first of the nine Island-derby games are June 11 in Victoria followed by June 12 in Nanaimo and June 13 in Victoria. The rest of the derby is June 18, 19, 20, 29 and July 1 in Nanaimo and June 30 in Victoria.
“It’s good for the rivalry,” said Nanaimo GM Jim Swanson, managing partner of the company that owns both the NightOwls and HarbourCats.
“And going back and forth, and not just three game-sets at one place, makes it more marketable.”
The HarbourCats close out at home Aug. 5-7 against Corvallis in the Knights’ first visit to Royal Athletic Park since 2019. That will be a significant series featuring the two 2023 WCL playoff finalists. The Knights, named for the wife of Nike co-founder Phil Knight and team primary sponsor Penny Knight, won their seventh consecutive league championship with a 5-0 win over the HarbourCats in Corvallis last August. The Knights dynasty was won 10 WCL championships since 2008 and produced nine alumni in the MLB this past season, including star Adley Rutschman of the Baltimore Orioles.
The HarbourCats have yet to take that final step up the ladder in the playoffs but have recorded three of the top-eight regular-season records in league history and were 38-15 last season, which was their 10th in the WCL.
“Three of the last five seasons we [HarbourCats] have played the Knights in the final, always in Corvallis, and have come the closest to knocking them off,” said Swanson.
“I think our fans are going to enjoy that final regular-season series here against the Knights.”
It could be the preview of another league playoff final between the clubs.
Nanaimo closes out the 2024 regular season at Serauxmen Stadium Aug. 5-7 against the Edmonton Riverhawks.
The WCL all-star game is July 17 but no venue was announced.
The playoffs will again feature three rounds beginning with two best-of-three divisional playoffs in both the North and South divisions starting Aug. 10. The one-game semifinals are Aug. 14 and the championship game Aug. 16.
The HarbourCats were third in 2023 WCL regular-season attendance with a per-game average of 2,437 fans, behind Edmonton’s 3,880 and the Portland Pickle’s 3,070. Nanaimo was eighth at 1,080. In the post-season, Victoria averaged 3,013 fans for their two games at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park. Only the Pickles bested that at 3,397.
