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Victoria HabourCats

2015 Schedule Released

January 6, 2015 - West Coast League (WCL)
Victoria HabourCats News Release


VICTORIA, B.C. - The Victoria HarbourCats Baseball Club is pleased to announce the 2015 West Coast League schedule - which features the season-opener at home, a Father's Day home date (June 21), additional exhibition games and plenty of rivalries to keep fans excited throughout the summer of 2015 at Sports Traders Diamond at RAP.

"The HarbourCats appreciate the intricate work that goes into preparing a league schedule, with all the challenges that come with it - working through facility availability, schedule rotations, and community requests that are so important to how West Coast League teams operate in their markets," said General Manager Jim Swanson. "We tip our caps to Eddie Poplawski (Bellingham), Tony Bonacci (Cowlitz) and Zachary Fraser (Yakima Valley/Walla Walla) for the work they did in completing a schedule that has everyone around the league excited to see baseball being played in 2015."

The HarbourCats, in their third season, will continue the tradition of facing their Canadian cousins, the Kelowna Falcons, to open the regular season. To start the 2013 expansion campaign of the HarbourCats, Kelowna visited Victoria, and in 2014, Victoria opened in Kelowna. For 2015, Kelowna will be in Victoria for a three-game series on June 5, 6 and 7. The HarbourCats will play their first six games at home, taking a day off after the Kelowna series before welcoming division-rival Kitsap BlueJackets to Sports Traders Diamond at RAP, June 9-10-11.

The first Fireworks Game is set for Saturday, June 6, and a special promotion around Opening Night will be announced soon. Sunday, June 7 is notable as the first popular day game, and the team will hold a special day game on Thursday, June 11.

Tentative plans are for evening games to start at 6:35pm, with day games slated for 1:05pm.

"We think this schedule will give us a great chance to get off to a good start and we will have to be ready to play our division rivals for those key three-game series, starting with Kitsap coming to Victoria on June 9," said Swanson. "Those divisional games are important for any team to contend, and we remain focused on getting the HarbourCats to the playoffs. From a fan entertainment perspective, the promotional opportunities with this schedule are endless, and we'll work very hard at adding in all sorts of exciting new wrinkles that will increase the fun-factor at HarbourCats games."

The 54-game regular season runs from June 5 to August 9, with playoffs to start on August 11. The three division winners and the wild card team (best record of non-division winners) advance to best-of-three semifinal series, with the winners meeting in the best-of-three championship series.

FULL SCHEDULE BELOW. The schedule is uploaded on the team website at http://harbourcats.com/schedule/calendar/

The first single-game tickets to go on sale are for the opening series, and they will be available starting Jan. 12 - both on-line, and through the team's office. Regular price for tickets in 2015 is $15 for Premium Seats and $10 for General Admission, with Fireworks Game pricing at $17 for Premium and $12 for GA. Season tickets ($350 and $250) and 10-game packs ($142 and $92) are available now through the team office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.

The date for single-seat tickets for other games, including Father's Day, will be announced soon.

Teams visiting Victoria in 2015 will be Kelowna, Kitsap (twice), the Cowlitz Black Bears (twice), Wenatchee AppleSox, Walla Walla Sweets, Yakima Valley Pippins, and the defending WCL champion Bellingham Bells.

Victoria will make road trips to play the Bend Elks, Cowlitz Black Bears, Kitsap BlueJackets, Corvallis Knights, Klamath Falls Gems, Medford Rogues, Wenatchee AppleSox, and two series in Bellingham, home of the 2014-champion Bells. The HarbourCats have two six-game road swings, one that sends the team for series in Bend, Oregon, and to Longview, Washington (Cowlitz), and a second that includes a jaunt to the southern-most cities in the league, Klamath Falls and Medford.

The HarbourCats will host games on June 30 and July 1, the "Canada Series," at Sports Traders Diamond, with further info to come. Additional home exhibition games are also in the works, including three pre-season home games.

Preliminary plans for Fireworks Nights are June 6 and June 30, while other dates are possible for the popular Fireworks Nights to be added, along with other major promotions.

"Now that we have a schedule in place, our staff is excited to put the ticketing and promotional plans in gear that so many people have enjoyed since the HarbourCats arrived in Victoria, particularly last season when we led the league in attendance with nearly 1,600 per game and took some significant steps forward from the inaugural season," said Swanson. "This is a great schedule for our new Head Coach, Graig Merritt, to plan for a successful season on the field as well, and so much of the work on the baseball side and the promotional side can now ramp up.

"We are planning to fill in the schedule and give our players the opportunity to play as many as 60 games this season, which would give our fans 33 home games to enjoy in 2015. These are exciting times as we look to provide great family entertainment throughout the summer."

2015 VICTORIA HARBOURCATS SCHEDULE

Non-league home game tentative dates - May 31, June 2, June 3, June 30, July 1, July 19.

DETAILS TO BE ANNOUNCED

*Kelowna Falcons at Victoria HarbourCats, June 5-6-7 (On sale as of Jan. 12)

*Kitsap BlueJackets at Victoria HarbourCats, June 9-10-11

Victoria HarbourCats at Bend Elks, June 12-13-14

Victoria HarbourCats at Cowlitz Black Bears, June 15-16-17

*Cowlitz Black Bears at Victoria HarbourCats, June 19-20-21 (June 21 is Father's Day)

Victoria HarbourCats at Kitsap BlueJackets, June 23-24-25

*Wenatchee AppleSox at Victoria HarbourCats, June 26-27-28

*CANADA SERIES - TBA at Victoria HarbourCats, June 30-July 1

Victoria HarbourCats at Corvallis Knights, July 3-4-5

*Kitsap BlueJackets at Victoria HarbourCats, July 6-7-8

Victoria HarbourCats at Klamath Falls Gems, July 10-11-12

Victoria HarbourCats at Medford Rogues, July 13-14-15

*Bellingham Bells at Victoria HarbourCats, July 16-17-18

--- ALL-STAR BREAK - July 19-20 (2015 WCL All-Star Game at Bellingham)

--- Victoria HarbourCats at Bellingham Bells, July 21-22-23

*Walla Walla Sweets at Victoria HarbourCats, July 24-25-26

*Cowlitz Black Bears at Victoria HarbourCats, July 28-29-30

Victoria HarbourCats at Wenatchee AppleSox, July 31, August 1-2

*Yakima Valley Pippins at Victoria HarbourCats, August 3-4-5

Victoria HarbourCats at Bellingham Bells, August 7-8-9

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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