It鈥檚 not a neighbourhood in which the Victoria HarbourCats have previously dwelled.
For the first time in its inaugural season, the West Coast League baseball club has fallen beneath .500.
After a 7-1 start, the slide to 15-16 has been more pointed than gradual. Victoria lost its third consecutive game in an 8-0 loss Wednesday evening in Medford. That also makes it 10 losses in the HarbourCats鈥� last 14 games.
鈥淩ealistically, we wanted to be 3-3 on this road trip, and we still can with a win [today as Victoria concludes with a game against the Rogues],鈥� said HarbourCats manager Dennis Rogers.
His club started the swing with two wins in Klamath Falls before losing one to the Gems and now two to the Rogues.
Victoria starter Logan Lombana saved the depleted bullpen by going all the way Wednesday in allowing nine hits. But two of those were homers as Kevin Davidson and Oregon State Beavers Pac-12 slugger Jerad Casper of the Rogues unleashed the long ball against Lombana before 1,274 satisfied customers at Harry and David Field.
鈥淭hey [Rogues] got some big swings in on us tonight. But we needed [Long Beach State hurler Lombana] to go all the way because we are really limited in what we can do on the mound,鈥� said Rogers.
鈥淲e鈥檙e scraping by with sore arms. We鈥檝e got nine healthy pitchers and that鈥檚 not enough. And our five-man rotation is now four-man. We lost our No. 2 in the rotation, Rob Nesovic, for the rest of the season due to a serious hip injury.鈥�
Rogers indicated he will be looking to add some pitchers for depth.
Medord is a southern Oregon city, which like Victoria previously hosted minor-pro ball teams in its sporting past, and is now also currently in its first season in the WCL. The Rogues, named after Medford鈥檚 New York Giants Class-C farm team of the early 1950s that was named after the nearby Rogue River, improved to 16-19.
Winner John Forsythe (2-0) took the win for the Rogues in allowing six hits over seven innings of work. Atlanta Braves draft-pick Alex Real pounded out half of that Victoria total with three hits. The HarbourCats, however, left 13 runners stranded.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 seem to get that quality swing with men on base,鈥� lamented Rogers.
The HarbourCats today will literally put the get-away in what in baseball is referred to as get-away day. Victoria and Medford conclude their three-game southern-Oregon set this morning in a 10 a.m. breakfast special so the 鈥機ats can bus up I-5 to be home in time Friday night to begin a three-game set against the Wenatchee AppleSox at Royal Athletic Park.
鈥淲e really need to fight it out and rally up,鈥� said Rogers.
The North Division-leading AppleSox are 20-15 after absorbing an 8-3 loss Wednesday night to the last-place Kelowna Falcons. The AppleSox position remains far from secure. Every team except Kelowna is still in the race for the North Division title. Victoria is in fourth place but only three games behind the AppleSox.
AROUND THE BASES: The HarbourCats said their goal for next Tuesday鈥檚 WCL all-star game at Royal Athletic Park is to break the all-star game attendance record. If the contest attracts more than 4,156, each fan in attendance will receive a free ticket voucher to a HarbourCats home game of their choice.
Twitter.com/tc_vicsports
