The son stood and delivered in the place where his dad once also did long ago.
It wasn鈥檛 just any three-hit game, including a double with an RBI, that infielder Tanner Haney recorded Sunday in the Victoria HarbourCats鈥� 6-5 West Coast League victory in 10 innings over the Bells in Bellingham.
It occurred at Joe Martin Field, where Tanner鈥檚 father and HarbourCats鈥� head coach Todd Haney began his pro playing career in Single-A with the Baby Mariners after being drafted by Seattle out of the University of Texas Longhorns in 1987.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always a fun experience to go back to Bellingham, especially now more special with my son,鈥� said the elder Haney, who played parts of five seasons as an infielder in the major leagues, including with the Expos.
Not that playing in his dad鈥檚 old baseball haunts is anything new for Tanner Haney, who also followed his father鈥檚 spike marks to Austin, where he plays in the NCAA for the Texas Longhorns.
The 鈥機ats won the three-game set in Bellingham 2-1.
Victoria鈥檚 winning run Sunday in the 10th was unearned as Chase Meidroth scored from second base after a Bellingham fielding error on a Harrison Spohn ball hit to third base. Victoria reliever Luka Green shut the door in the bottom of the 10th for the win on the mound.
The Bells will probably be seeing the HarbourCats in their dreams, the bad kind. Bellingham had its chance against Victoria in a winner-take-all final game of the first half of the season. The HarbourCats prevailed and earned the North Division first-half title and playoff berth that goes with it.
That would prove to be a missed opportunity for the Bells as Bellingham has struggled in the second-half race at 7-13 to fall to 23-24 overall.
The HarbourCats (15-6 second half and 33-15 overall) will close out the regular season with six-consecutive games against the cross-strait and cross-border rival Port Angeles Lefties, beginning tonight with three games in the Washington state port city.
Prior to Monday night鈥檚 games, the Lefties were 12-9 in the North Division second-half. They trail the red-hot Wenatchee AppleSox by three games in the race to see who will face the HarbourCats in the best-of-three North Division playoff final. Prior to Monday, the AppleSox had won seven in a row and were tied atop the division with the 鈥機ats at 15-6.
The 鈥機ats-Lefties marathon concludes with three games at Wilson鈥檚 Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park beginning Friday.
The HarbourCats will start the best-of-three North Division playoff final Aug. 13 on the road against an opponent to be determined. The second game is Aug. 14 at Royal Athletic Park and third game also in Victoria if needed on Aug. 15.
The North champion will meet the South Division champion in the best-of-three WCL final Aug 18-20.
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