For the first time in the three-year history of the Victoria HarbourCats franchise, the team had a game rained out.
And now the HarbourCats and the visiting Walla Walla Sweets will play a West Coast League doubleheader today with seven-inning games beginning at 4 and 6:35 p.m.
And these aren鈥檛 your run-of-the-mill ball games. This is a huge three-game set for both the HarbourCats (18-21) and the Sweets (20-19) as they battle for the league鈥檚 one-and-only wild-card playoff berth. The HarbourCats trail wild-card holders Yakima Valley (21-19) and Corvallis (21-19) by 21脷2 games with 15 games remaining in the regular season.
鈥淲e would have rather been playing tonight because I know they had a long travel day through the night and came right to the field and our guys were rarin鈥� to go,鈥� said HarbourCats head coach Graig Merritt, whose club finished up a three-game set in Bellingham on Thursday night.
鈥淏ut you can鈥檛 control the weather and the condition of the field so that鈥檚 the way it goes.鈥�
Even though the HarbourCats have lost five of their last six games 鈥� all against West Division-leading Bellingham 鈥� Merritt says his young team is still confident it can punch its ticket to the postseason.
鈥淲e鈥檙e playing great ball,鈥� Merritt said. 鈥淔ive out of the six games against Bellingham we played really well and were in every game. We just ran into a really solid, well-rounded team.
鈥淪o our team still has its swagger and we know we play the teams we鈥檙e battling for the playoffs with down the stretch here so we鈥檙e really looking forward to these last 15 games.鈥�
Merritt will hand the ball to California native Jonathan Buckley of St. Marys College to start Game 1 today. Buckley, who was Friday鈥檚 schedule starter, will make his third start of the season. In the second game of the doubleheader, the HarbourCats will start another California product, Cal-State Fullerton senior Henry Omana, who will be looking for his second win of the season in his fourth start.
The HarbourCats and Sweets will wrap up their series Sunday with a 1 p.m. game at Royal Athletic Park. And after an off day Monday, the HarbourCats will open a three-game set with the Cowlitz Black Bears on Tuesday night at Royal Athletic Park.
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