Mason Shaw grew up tossing sliders and strikes just a few kilometres north of Bellingham on I-5 in Ferndale, Washington.
On Wednesday, Shaw, who completed his freshman season at Yakima Valley College, had a star-spangled Fourth of July return to his home region. The lanky six-foot-three hurler, who cuts a figure on the mound with his flowing hair, held the Bells to five scoreless innings as Victoria鈥檚 starter in a 3-2 West Coast League victory by the HarbourCats in a U.S. holiday matin茅e meeting in Bellingham.
The HarbourCats swept the three-game series from the Bells before 1,359 fans at historic Joe Martin Field, where Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez once played Single-A ball en route to stardom with the Seattle Mariners.
Shaw was more steady than spectacular in allowing four hits and no walks, with one strikeout. It got the job done as Victoria swept its first series of the season.
鈥淲e put together a good series after losing a couple of series in a row,鈥� Victoria head coach Brian McRae said. 鈥淲e play better on the road than we do at home, and I don鈥檛 know how to explain that.鈥�
Outfielder Joe Casey and infielder Ryan Ober, who helped lead the Oregon State Beavers to the 2018 NCAA College World Series title last week in Omaha, Nebraska, played their second games for Victoria. Casey had a hit, a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in two trips to the plate. Ober, who had a single the night before, struck out three times in going 0-4.
Casey鈥檚 speed pressured the Bells鈥� defence for the winning run in the fifth inning. He stole third base and scored when Bellingham catcher Cole Joy鈥檚 throw to third went awry, giving Victoria a 3-0 lead. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not swinging the bats worth a darn but our pitching, defence and base running has been solid,鈥� McRae said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have to steal bases because we don鈥檛 swing it as well as we did last year.鈥�
The HarbourCats finished the first half of the season above .500 at 14-13. The Bells (18-9) had already clinched the WCL North Division first-half title, and playoff berth that goes with it.
This sweep could come in handy for Victoria if the Bells also win the second half of the season. In that case, the team with the best overall record would get the second and final North Division playoff berth.
The HarbourCats begin the second half of the season on Saturday in Covallis, Oregon, against the Knights in a reprise of the 2017 WCL final.
Before that, the HarbourCats will host two exhibition games tonight and Friday night at Wilson鈥檚 Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park against the Highline Bears of Seattle from the semi-professional Pacific International League. The Bears (1-10) are an all-collegiate team playing against men. In order to retain their NCAA eligibility, college players in the PIL are not paid.
