NORTH SOUND 7
VICTORIA 4
Chris Fougner鈥檚 family pedigree certainly lends itself to sporting success, especially in terms of speed on the base paths.
Mom Trish Fougner was a world-class runner and dad Brent Fougner is head coach of the UVic Vikes track team and has been on the national team staff, guiding runners at the Olympics and world championships.
鈥淚 kinda grew up in a track family,鈥� said Chris Fougner.
But it鈥檚 on the diamond where his sports career is headed.
The fleet six-foot-two outfielder, who can also pitch, has been an offensive force in the preseason for the Victoria Harbourcats of the West Coast League. An all-rounder who played just about everything at Lambrick Park, Fougner went 2-for-4 with a double and one run scored as the designated hitter Tuesday night in a 7-4 exhibition loss to the North Sound Emeralds at Royal Athletic Park. That follows Fougner鈥檚 two hits, two stolen bases and one RBI in the pre-season opening 8-3 victory Sunday over the Canadian senior champion Langley Blaze.
The HarbourCats preseason concludes with the second game tonight at 6:35 p.m. against the Emeralds, an independent semi-pro team from Edmonds, Washington, affiliated with the Northwest Collegiate League. Admission is $5.
The WCL regular-season opener for Victoria is Friday night against the Kelowna Falcons at Royal Athletic. You can bet Fougner will be a big part of the 2015 HarbourCats season after the 19-year-old product of the sa国际传媒 Premier League Victoria Mariners hit .279 with 37 RBIs, 30 runs, three homers and 11 stolen bases in 55 games during his freshman season this spring with the Salt Lake Community College Bruins. He even pitched 2.1 innings for the Bruins.
鈥淚 need strength and consistency,鈥� said Fougner, of what he feels requires improving this summer in the WCL, as he looks to land an NCAA Div. 1 athletic scholarship for 2016-17, after his second season next year in Salt Lake City.
鈥淵ou get good exposure in the WCL to [NCAA Div. 1 coaches] as you travel through all the parks. There are a lot of Island guys who went to two-year schools and are now playing at NCAA Div. 1 schools. The success rate has been high for Island players.鈥�
As Fougner looks to join them, he knows expert advice is close at hand.
鈥淢y parents taught me that high-level sports is all about hard work and keeping the body healthy,鈥� said Fougner, who played basketball and soccer and ran track and cross-country in being named Lambrick Park Secondary male athlete of the year in both Grade 11 and Grade 12.
Meanwhile, Tuesday鈥檚 loser on the mound, Connor Suing, who is heading to Western Oregon University, could have been suing his Victoria fielders for lack of support. Three of the HarbourCats鈥� four errors on the night came during Suing鈥檚 three innings of work, in which North Sound scored six runs 鈥� only two of them earned 鈥� on one hit and four walks.
Thomas Deboer took the win by giving up three runs on seven hits in seven innings with six strikeouts.
Many of the HarbourCats NCAA Div. 1 players have yet to arrive, and it showed. Those Div. 1 players continue to dribble into town, including infielder P.J. Floyd and catcher Dane Fujinaka from Sacramento State, who are expected to dress tonight.
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