The Victoria HarbourCats know one thing. They’re headed to the West Coast League playoffs for the fourth straight season.
But it gets little cloudy after that.
Despite losing 3-2 to the Bells in Bellingham on Sunday, the HarbourCats clinched a post-season berth because of other results around the league.
So as Victoria started the final three-game series of the regular season on Monday night with a 5-3 loss to the Corvallis Knights in front of 4,015 fans at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park, the four playoff teams from the North Division — Wenatchee AppleSox, Bellingham Bells, Edmonton Riverhawks and the HarbourCats — had already been decided. But the exact placing of the teams will likely go down to Wednesday’s final regular-season game as, going into Monday’s action, only two games separated the first-place AppleSox (16-8) and the Bells (14-10) and HarbourCats (14-10) in the race for the North Division’s second-half title and playoff spot that goes with it.
Prior to Monday night’s games, Wenatchee had secured the North’s top playoff seed by virtue of winning the first half title. But up for grabs was the second-half title and the two division wild card spots.
No matter what playoff spot the HarbourCats secure, they will not have a “home” playoff game as the City of Victoria will take over Royal Athletic Park this weekend to begin preparations for the Touchdown Pacific CFL game that will be played between the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Lions and Ottawa Redblacks on Aug. 31.
The HarbourCats said Monday that any post-season “home” games will likely be played at Serauxmen Stadium in Nanaimo, home of the NightOwls, but that plans are still being finalized. The NightOwls were eliminated from playoff contention after back-to-back losses Sunday and Monday.
