Claire Eccles wishes she could have seen more game action this season with the Victoria HarbourCats. But sometimes in sports, it’s not about wins and losses.
Sometimes, it’s about learning and sometimes it’s about having an impact away from the field.
As Eccles dressed in her HarbourCats blue for the final time on Friday night at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park before heading off to begin training with the Canadian women’s national team for the Women’s Baseball World Cup, she was thankful for both those things.
“Every player wishes they could play more but I came into the season late and was more of a part time player this year, so I didn’t expect to see a lot of game action,” said Eccles, who came in with two out in the ninth and allowed a hit before getting the final out in a 15-6 victory over the Corvallis Knights.
“But I came here to learn from coaches and the other college level players and I did that and it was a lot of fun.”
And the HarbourCats were grateful the left-handed knuckleballer decided to return to the West Coast League team for one more summer. So much so, they retired Eccles’ No. 8 jersey before the game.
“She may not have dominated on the diamond but she’s had as big an impact in this community and around the ballpark with the kids than any player we’ve had,” HarbourCats managing partner Jim Swanson said while acknowledging Eccles before the game.
Eccles’ teammates were more than happy to give her a winning sendoff, unleashing 17 hits, including five homers, in front of 5,165 fans at Wilson’s Group Stadium.
Eccles said learning from people such as former Major Leaguer and HarbourCats manager Brian McRae and coaches Ian Sanderson and Jason Leone who both coach at the U.S. college level, was invaluable.
“You can’t ask for better coaches. Jason I worked with last year and Ian this year [were] a huge help,” said Eccles, who only dressed for home games this season and got into one league game and one exhibition game.
“And the players, a mostly new group this season than last, have been great and I learned a lot from them as well. So this has been a great experience.”
While Eccles’ impact on the field didn’t turn a lot of heads this season, just her appearance on the diamond turned the heads of hundreds of little girls at the ballpark, who see the long pony tale coming out of the back of Eccles’ cap and see someone who has advanced to a high level of a sport she loves.
“That’s part of the reason I’m here,” Eccles said, while being swarmed by little girls for autographs after the game. “If I can help get more girls into baseball, then that’s great.”
Eccles will return home to Vancouver this weekend to begin working with national team pitching coaches before joining Team Canada in mid-August for the trip to Orlando, Florida, for a pre-World Cup training camp. The World Cup tournament begins Aug. 22 for Team Canada when they take on Hong Kong.
“I’ll be one of the starting pitchers and probably play some outfield,” Eccles said.
Then it’s back to UBC for her third year and back to a diamond of a little smaller size.
“I’ll play softball again for UBC,” she said. “It’s fun and keeps me on the diamond, which is what I love.”
The HarbourCats made it two straight wins over the Knights and for the second straight night it was Ryan Ober leading the way. The Oregon State Beaver, fresh off an appearance in the College World Series, had a home run and four RBIs. Tanner Haney, Harrison Spohn, Jaxxon Fagg and Nicky Gibbs also had home runs.
Victoria starter Landon Anderson, out of Cal St. Fullerton, went six innings to pick up the win.
The HarbourCats improved their second-half record to 6-6 and trail second-half division leader Walla Walla by four games in the race for the final playoff spot.
The HarbourCats are back at tonight with a quick trip to Port Angeles to start a three-game set against the Lefties.
