Lopez the hero as Cats mount comeback win
Dillon Lopez’s walk-off single wrapped up the big win for the Cats (Photo: Justin P. Morash)
July 12, 2025
For immediate release
VICTORIA, B.C. – The Victoria HarbourCats won in dramatic fashion Saturday night, coming back from 7-1 down to walk it off in the ninth, beating the Kelowna Falcons 10-9.
WCL All-Star Tommy Bridges (Northwestern U) was on the mound for the HarbourCats, but was not the dominant pitcher Cats fans have become so used to seeing this season. A first-inning walk and a pair of singles gave the visitors a 2-0 lead.
In the third inning, Brady Kern and Braxton Thomas both hit RBI singles to extend the Falcons’ advantage to 4-0.
Marcus Janovsky was fired up after his three-up-three-down ninth inning (Photo: Justin P. Morash)
Koen Van Klooster started for Kelowna and faced the minimum through his first three innings of work. Tanner Beltowski crushed his third home run of the year for a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth inning to get the Cats on the board, making it 4-1.
Bridges’ night was done after 4-1/3 innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits, while striking out three and surrendering three walks. Before this game, he had walked one batter and allowed one earned run in 26 innings of work.
Josiah Mackey restored Kelowna’s four-run lead with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth inning, pushing the score to 5-1. Kern’s second RBI single of the evening gave the Falcons a 6-1 lead in the sixth inning.
The Cats started to show signs of life in the bottom of the seventh after the Falcons increased their lead to 7-1 in the top half. Dillon Lopez (St. Mary’s U) drove in a pair with a triple and then scored himself on a wild pitch, which cut the deficit to 7-4. After singles from Jake Butler and Beltowski put men on the corners with two outs, Jack Johnson crushed a breaking ball over the left field fence to cap off the six-run inning, tying the game up at 7-7 with one swing of the bat.
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Thomas silenced the 3000-plus fans in attendance in the next inning, hitting a two-run home run to restore the Falcons’ lead, making it 9-7. In the bottom half, it was Connor Ross with the clutch two-out hit, driving in a pair with a single up the middle to level things up 9-9.
Marcus Janovsky (UBC) threw a one-two-three ninth inning, including two strikeouts, to give his teammates the opportunity to win it in the bottom half.
Lopez was the hero as he smacked a single to left field, plating Johnson and winning the game for the HarbourCats.
The HarbourCats’ 9-2 second-half record puts them top of the North Division standings (Photo: Justin P. Morash)
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In addition to Janovsky, Andrew Carter (TCU) and Garrett Villa (Angelo State) made appearances out of the bullpen for Victoria, with Villa striking out three over two innings pitched.
The rubber match is tomorrow at 1:05 PM. It is Woofability’s Bark in the Park game, where all dogs are welcome! Get tickets at harbourcats.com/tickets.
10 and 32-Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are on sale for all home games and “Showcase” events through the HarbourCats’ new and one-and-only ticketing partner SHOWPASS at harbourcats.com/tickets.
Tickets and merchandise can also be purchased in person at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street or by calling 778-265-0327.
For more updates, be sure to follow @HarbourCats on all social channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).
