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Claire Eccles, who became the first woman to play in the West Coast League, will return to the Victoria HarbourCats for a second stint, the baseball club announced Wednesday.
The left-handed knuckleballer from White Rock will return along with switch-hitting, versatile outfielder Ethan Lopez. Both were fan favourites in 2017.
鈥淎 lot of people around the world learned about the West Coast League, the Victoria HarbourCats and the level of baseball we play, because of the interest in Claire and what she accomplished in the summer of 2017,鈥� HarbourCats managing partner Jim Swanson said in a statement.
鈥淚t was a move that turned many heads and brought in female fans of all ages,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here were some people who thought we were nuts, too, and Claire proved them wrong.
鈥淪he handled things so well both on and off the field, with the support of great teammates, who had her back at every turn 鈥� even when coaches and players on other teams would snicker or make remarks,鈥� Swanson said.
Eccles won her first game on June 29, a 12-11 victory in which she pitched one inning, allowing one run on three hits. Her overall earned-run average was 14.04 in seven appearances that included 81脷3 innings pitched, two strikeouts, four walks and 16 hits.
Eccles, a member of the national women鈥檚 team and the UBC softball team, made her HarbourCats debut on June 7 against Wenatchee. According to team officials, her most memorable moment might have been a three-up, three-down extra-inning outing with one strikeout in a late-season home game against Kelowna.
Lopez, from Whittier, California, played in 30 games and batted .216, with 11 runs batted in and added four stolen bases. The junior at the University of Hawaii was one of the team鈥檚 leaders.
鈥淓than was just getting warmed up for us when he had to leave for a period, but returned for the playoffs and really energized us,鈥� Swanson said. 鈥淗e had a crucial hit for us in that epic Game 1 that allowed us to have a chance in the late innings. His reads in the outfield, fearless going to the wall, were contagious. Ethan can also play almost anywhere in the infield, so he鈥檚 a valuable piece."
The HarbourCats, who lost last year鈥檚 league championship series to Corvalis, will open the 2018 season at home on June 1 against Wenatchee.
