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HarbourCats force decider in West Coast League playoffs

VICTORIA 7 WENATCHEE 2 Series tied 1-1 The Victoria HarbourCats have lived to play again in the West Coast League.
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Victoria HarbourCats player Griffin Paxton swings at a pitch from the Wenatchee AppleSox during Game 2 of their WCL North Division playoff final at Wilson's Group Stadium.

VICTORIA  7
WENATCHEE  2
Series tied 1-1

The Victoria HarbourCats have lived to play again in the West Coast League.

The HarbourCats defeated the Wenatchee AppleSox 7-2 on Wednesday night before nearly 3,000 fans at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park to level their best-of-three North Division playoff championship series 1-1.

The second-seed Apple Sox got the jump on the top-seed HarbourCats with a 5-1 victory in the opening game on Tuesday in central Washington state.

“We said to ourselves: ‘There’s no way we’re going home tonight,’ ” said Victoria slugger Harrison Spohn, who had a homer, two RBIs and two runs scored in Game 2.

The deciding third game is tonight at Royal Athletic Park.

“We just have to trust in the process that got us to this point,” Spohn said.

The HarbourCats’ explosive bats — which accounted for WCL single-season records for most runs, hits, RBIs and homers — fell silent in the first game, but awoke just enough, with seven hits and two homers, in the second contest. It got the job done, especially against Wenatchee’s two hits, although the AppleSox got nine men on base through seven walks, a hit batter and passed ball.

Gus Wilson homered for Victoria, while Kyle Sherick and Ty Schindel had two hits each.

The HarbourCats were tops in the North Division regular season at 39-15 overall and the second-place AppleSox were 29-25.

Victoria is making its third playoff appearance in four seasons and reached the league final in 2017, losing 2-1 in games to the eventual champion Corvallis Knights. The AppleSox are playing their first playoff game since 2013.

Victoria won the regular-season series against Wenatchee 5-1, although the teams hadn’t played each other since June.

The top-seed Knights (42-12 overall) led the second-seed Walla Walla Sweets (30-23) 1-0 in the South Division final following Tuesday’s 6-3 victory in southeastern Washington state. The Sweets, however, won the second game 9-4 in Corvallis, Oregon on Wednesday night. The teams play their third game tonight in Corvallis.

The North and South champions will meet in the best-of-three WCL final.

If Victoria makes the league final against the defending champion Knights, the first game would be Friday evening at Royal Athletic Park and the next two games Saturday, and, if required, Sunday in Corvallis.

A Victoria versus Sweets league final would begin Saturday in Walla Walla, with Game 2 on Monday in Victoria and Game 3, if needed, next Tuesday also on Caledonia Street.

cdheensaw@timescolonist.com