PORT ANGELES — While the rains hammer home, visualize Civic Field on a warm July evening. That’s possible with the recent release of the West Coast League’s 2018 baseball schedule.
Civic Field’s second summer slate as the home of Port Angeles Lefties collegiate wood-bat baseball will begin in much the same fashion as the inaugural 2017 season — a home game against the Victoria HarbourCats on May 31.
That contest will be a non-league game against a West Coast League opponent.
Port Angeles — formerly the Bremerton-based Kitsap BlueJackets — will immediately head south for a three-game road series beginning June 1 against the newest WCL squad, the Portland Pickles, at Walker Stadium in southeast Portland’s Lents Park, followed by three games at the Bend Elks.
Port Angeles’ first homestand begins June 8 with three games against the Bellingham Bells, followed by a three-game series against the Cowlitz Black Bears.
Dates for the West Coast League’s All-Star festivities in Port Angeles also were finalized.
Port Angeles will host the West Coast League Home Run Derby on July 16, followed by the league’s All-Star game on July 17. Start times for those events will be announced later.
The Lefties also made some start time adjustments for the 2018 slate after hearing requests from fans.
All weekday games in June will start at 6:05 p.m — with the exception of Wednesday contests, which will have first pitch at 3:05 p.m., and an 11 a.m. start on June 13.
The Lefties are hoping the Port Angeles School District allows students to attend the morning game.
Sunday games will have a 1:05 p.m. start time.
All other games will start at 6:35 p.m, with two exceptions. The Independence Day game on July 4 is a 7:35 p.m. start to allow the Lefties and fans to enjoy the Fourth of July Parade in Port Angeles. And the Lefties game against Victoria on July 23 will begin at 3:05 p.m. in order for the HarbourCats to catch the MV Coho ferry back to Victoria.
Non-;eague home games will be played May 31, July 10-12 and Aug. 7.
The team is hoping to bring in an international squad for that three-game stretch in July.
Season tickets are for sale at www.leftiesbaseball.com/tickets.
The team is now offering 10-game ticket packs; single game tickets will be available in January.
Established in 2005, the West Coast League showcases top collegiate baseball players from across North America in 11 markets throughout Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.
This year’s 54-game regular-season schedule was extended by three days and concludes on Aug. 8. With the addition of the Portland Pickles to the WCL South, the Yakima Valley Pippins were moved to the North Division and, as a result, Walla Walla was moved to the South.
For the full West Coast League schedule, visit tinyurl.com/PDN-WCL18.
Lefties survey
Port Angeles fans are invited to take a team survey, available at tinyurl.com/PDN-LeftiesSurvey. The survey gauges fan opinions on a variety of topics, ranging from hat preference to favorite types of music, all in an effort to improve the gameday experience for Lefties’ fans.
