Manager Dennis Rogers has been putting the Victoria in HarbourCats.
The early season roster for the West Coast League expansion baseball team has featured several Island players, with four starting Tuesday night.
That鈥檚 what you call literal home-field advantage, but it wasn鈥檛 enough to stop Victoria鈥檚 first loss of the season after three wins. The Medford Rogues of Oregon (4-3), also an expansion franchise, defeated the HarbourCats 4-1 before 1,014 fans at Royal Athletic Park.
Among the local starters was losing pitcher Connor Russell, a Victoria Mariners graduate who plays for Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo. The Rogues kept with the theme, starting Medford-native Mike Bradshaw with the imposing six-foot-four University of Nevada hurler taking the win on a seven-inning, four-hit, five-strikeout performance.
Tonight鈥檚 HarbourCats starter, Nick Pivetta, keeps the homer theme going as the three-game set continues at 7 at Royal Athletic. The Victoria Eagles graduate and HarbourCats opening-day winner, Pivetta was selected in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB draft last weekend but has yet to sign with the Washington Nationals and will be with the HarbourCats until he does.
Pivetta will have to be wary of Medford shortstop Brody Weiss, the son of former major-leaguer and current Colorado Rockies manager Walt Weiss, as the younger Weiss victimized Russell with a hit and two runs scored Tuesday. Brody Weiss was selected by the Rockies in the 22nd round of the MLB draft over the weekend.
During the HarbourCats鈥� turn at the plate, a couple of MLB-drafted batters made their Victoria debuts with Alex Real (2011 48th round by the Atlanta Braves) going two-for-three with a double and Brandon Smith (2012 15th round by the Nationals) contributing a hit and Victoria鈥檚 lone run.
鈥淭heir pitcher [Bradshaw] did a good job, and our bats weren鈥檛 hot,鈥� said Real.
鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 been hectic [getting to Victoria]. It鈥檚 about getting my comfort level up.鈥�
Rogers said he wasn鈥檛 concerned about the three wins to open the season 鈥渙nly the score in this last game.鈥�
鈥淭hat pitcher [Bradshaw] dominated us and we did nothing offensively to stay in the game,鈥� said the Victoria field boss.
鈥淐onnor [Russell] struggled a bit but he did his job to help keep us in it.鈥�
But it was not to be his night as Russell went seven innings with six hits, eight strikeouts and four runs allowed but only two earned. It was his second start after a strong first outing last week in which he went 71脷3 innings without getting the decision in a HarbourCats win over Kelowna.
鈥淵ou always want to turn the swagger on,鈥� said Russell, before the game.
But Russell wasn鈥檛 helped by a homey in the second inning. Victoria product and HarbourCats third baseman Daryl Blaskovich was made to pay for his two-out fielding error in that inning. That put a Medford runner on first base for Ryan Teel, the University of Nevada slugger who sent the ball over left field for an early Medford lead on two unearned runs. Victoria never fully recovered from that and seemed out of sorts the rest of the way.
Although things didn鈥檛 go his way on the night, Russell is grateful for the chance to play high-level ball at home.
鈥淲hen I got the call from the HarbourCats in the fall, it was an immediate 鈥榊es,鈥� 鈥� said Russell, a graduate of the Lambrick Park Secondary baseball academy.
鈥淭here are a lot of good players in this league I鈥檓 honoured to get the opportunity to play against them in my hometown.鈥�
