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Summer Collegiate

2021 All-WCL Teams Unveiled – Kamloops NorthPaws

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Wednesday morning, the 2021 All-West Coast League teams were announced by West Coast League Commissioner Rob Neyer.

“It’s my tremendous pleasure every year,” said Neyer, “to announce the WCL’s All-League teams. Considering the WCL’s position as the premier summer collegiate baseball league in the entire western half of the continent, saying our teams represent ‘the best of the west’ is hardly an exaggeration.”

Monday, this year’s MVP and Pitcher of the Year Awards were unveiled. Incoming Oregon State freshman Travis Bazzana of the Corvallis Knights was selected as the WCL’s MVP. The freshman-to-be for the Beavers won the WCL batting title with a league-record .429 average. Bellingham hurler Eric Chavarria captured pitching honors, with a league-best 1.83 ERA in 11 outings. With the Lewis-Clark Warriors last spring, he went 8-2 with a 3.14 ERA.

On the All-WCL first team, the Ridgefield Raptors were the most represented squad on the All-WCL first team with four selections, followed by the Corvallis Knights and the Portland Pickles with three.

Awards on deck next Tuesday: Coach of the Year, Top Prospect, Executive of the Year and the Team Sportsmanship Award will be announced by Commissioner Neyer.

First-Team All-WCL

C – Colin Wetterau (St. John’s, junior), Walla Walla Sweets
1B – Coby Morales (Cypress College, soph), Ridgefield Raptors
2B – Travis Bazzana (Oregon State, frosh), Corvallis Knights
3B – Leo Mosby (UC Santa Barbara, soph), Portland Pickles
SS – John Peck (Pepperdine, soph), Ridgefield Raptors
OF – Nick Vogt (UC Santa Barbara, soph), Corvallis Knights
OF – Noah Williamson (*signed with Miami Marlins), Yakima Valley Pippins
OF – Sam Linscott (Lewis-Clark State, senior), Bend Elks
UTL – Adam Grob (South Carolina Upstate, junior), Wenatchee AppleSox
DH – Will Chambers (College of the Canyons, soph), Ridgefield Raptors
SP – Eric Chavarria (Lewis-Clark State, senior), Bellingham Bells
SP – Kelly Austin (UCLA, soph), Cowlitz Black Bears
SP – Alex Giroux (Clark College, soph), Portland Pickles
SP – Jaren Hunter (Oregon State, soph), Ridgefield Raptors
SP – Ty Uber (Stanford, frosh), Corvallis Knights
RP – Josh Mollerus (San Francisco, junior), Portland Pickles
RP – Caden Kaelber (Washington State, junior), Walla Walla Sweets

Second-Team All-WCL

C – Gavin Logan (Oregon State, junior), Bend Elks
1B – Willie Lajoie (Chico State, senior), Yakima Valley Pippins
2B – Rikuu Nishida (Mt. Hood CC, soph), Cowlitz Black Bears
3B – Julian Kodama (Seattle U, senior), Bend Elks
SS – Nick Oakley (UC Santa Barbara, soph), Port Angeles Lefties
OF – Caden Connor (Cal State Fullerton, soph), Ridgefield Raptors
OF – Robert Guardino (Wofford, junior), Portland Pickles
OF – Daniel Gernon (Lower Columbia College, soph), Bellingham Bells
UTL – Bennett Thompson (Oregon, freshman), Bend Elks
SP – Brad McVay (Georgia Gwinnett, junior), Portland Pickles
SP – Travis Craven (Whitman, senior), Walla Walla Sweets
SP – Seth Kuykendall (Western Oregon, senior), Yakima Valley Pippins
SP – Ryan Harvey (UC Santa Barbara, soph), Ridgefield Raptors
SP – Ethan Ross (San Jose State, soph), Corvallis Knights
RP – Keegan Wright (San Diego Christian, frosh), Cowlitz Black Bears
RP – Nathaniel Mendoza (Cal State San Bernadino, soph), Corvallis Knights

# year in school noted for fall/winter/spring, 2021-2022.

Honorable Mention All-WCL

Bellingham: Hunter Alberini (Umpqua CC), Ryan Beitel (British Columbia), Emilio Corona (Washington), Malakhi Knight (UCLA), Bennett Lee (Tulane), Ty Saunders (Portland)

Bend: Greg Fuchs (Oregon State), Daniel Garcia (Grand Canyon), Dillon Holliday (Dixie State), Chase Matheny (South Carolina Upstate), Collin Montez (Washington State), Gavin Rork (Seattle U), Aidan Welch (Seattle U),

Corvallis: Kiko Romero (Central Arizona College), Tanner Smith (Oregon State)

Cowlitz: Carson Angeroth (Umpqua CC), Brock Bozett (Spokane Falls CC), Broc Mortensen (UC Santa Barbara)

Port Angeles: Zach Thomas (Dixie State)

Portland: Jacob Jablonski (Chico State), Matt Jew (Santa Clara), Jared Villalobos (Cuesta College)

Ridgefield: Kody Darcy (Nicholls State), Reece Hernandez (San Jose State), Nick Nygard (Portland)

Walla Walla: Paul Myro (Oregon State), Parker Price (Northwest Nazarene)

Wenatchee: Enzo Apodaca (Gonzaga), Skylar Hales (Santa Clara)

Yakima Valley: Dylan Bishop (Whitworth), Michael Carpentier Jr. (Cal Baptist), Kenny Johnson (Cal State Bakersfield), Owen Wild (Gonzaga)

WCL MVP: Travis Bazzana (Oregon State), Corvallis Knights

WCL Pitcher of the Year: Eric Chavarria (Lewis-Clark State), Bellingham Bells

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Summer Collegiate

Weird, Wild and Wacky: NorthPaws get the W in their home opener

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The Kamloops NorthPaws finally returned home after a six-game road trip and treated their fans to a 12-8 victory over the Kelowna Falcons on Friday night. The team’s home opener had a little bit of everything. The two teams combined for 20 runs, 23 hits and eight errors, keeping the crowd on the edge of their seats.

Kelowna would waste no time getting on the board, with three singles propelling them to a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the first, shortstop Elijah Clayton would walk and then steal second base. A high throw by the catcher sent the ball into center field; additionally, the center fielder misplayed the ball, allowing Clayton to score.

Back-to-back walks and a base hit loaded the bases with no one out as first baseman Keegan Drinkle sent a sacrifice fly to left field, tying the game. Later in the inning, right fielder Jared Hall doubled, bringing in two more runs and taking the lead.

The seesaw battle would begin as the Falcons scored in the second via a wild pitch and took a 5-4 lead off a fielder’s choice and an error in the third. In the bottom of the fourth, Ethan Kodama singled, tying the game, and would later advance to third after an error on a failed pickoff attempt. Kodama scored via a sacrifice fly to restore the NorthPaws lead.

The Falcons would stay pesky by driving in a run in the fifth and score two more runs in the seventh, taking an 8-7 lead. Kamloops tied the game after yet another RBI from Jared Hall. This time, it was a sacrifice fly. The seventh inning ended strangely, however, as second baseman Anthony Setticassi sent a single through the left side. Keegan Drinkle rounded third and was heading for home when the throw beat him. As he tried to avoid the tag, he ran into the side of the Kelowna catcher, knocking the ball loose from his glove.

Drinkle stepped on home and was initially called safe, but the Falcons catcher was furious and tried to go after him but was held back. Drinkle continued to walk toward the dugout, but the home plate umpire ejected him from the game right there, and he was called out, negating the potential game-tying run.

Kalen Applefield would replace him at first base, but the NorthPaws were determined to retake the lead in the eigth. A pair of Falcon errors put runners on second and third. Third baseman Kieran Gaffney sent a single to right field that tied the game. Outfielders Austin Coyle and Jared Hall both doubled, scoring four runs and sending the crowd into a frenzy.

“My teammates put me in a great position, and I’m thankful I was able to come through tonight,” said Hall

The five-run eighth inning was enough, as hometown kid Nolan Austin shut the door, securing the fifth win of the season for the NorthPaws. Austin was terrific on the mound, going two and two-thirds innings, giving up just two hits while not surrendering a run.

“Nolan was fantastic; he had all of his pitches working and was going after hitters all night,” said Pitching Coach Jack Slominski.

After a series in Bellingham that saw the NorthPaw bats cool down, it was a refreshing sight to see situational hitting work in their favour.

“We left a lot of guys on base in Bellingham, so it was nice to come home and execute,” said Assistant Coach Trey Newman.

For many of the NorthPaw players, this was their first taste of intense baseball at Norbrock Stadium. For Trey Newman, it was a similar experience in 2022, and he remarked on how cool it was to hear the stadium loud again. Newman is eager to help the NorthPaws regain what they had three summers ago.

“I was telling everyone that this is what the stadium sounded like when we played at home. Keep coming out to Norbrock. I promise we will give you something to cheer about,” said Newman.

The NorthPaws will visit Kelowna for the first time tomorrow night. That game will be available on West Coast TV as well as the NorthPaws Mixlr. On Sunday, the team is back home for an afternoon game to conclude the three-game weekend series. The first pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.

 

 

 

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Victoria HarbourCats – Lefties take game one in resounding fashion

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Logan Shepherd celebrates his first home run of the season (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

June 6, 2025

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. – The Port Angeles Lefties won their second straight game, spoiling the party on the Victoria HarbourCats home opener, cruising to a 9-3 win.

The HarbourCats got off to a great start when Logan Shepherd (Tacoma CC) hit a 109 MPH laser over the left field wall for a two-run home run, giving his team an early 2-0 lead. The designated hitter went two for four tonight, adding a single in the eighth.

Jack Finn (Illinois State) started for the hosts and looked good through his first two innings of work. The Victoria native added velocity to his fastball, sitting high 80’s and touching 90 MPH tonight. That is up from last season, where he pitched 25 innings for the Cats, posting a 3.96 ERA. Finn struck out four, walked three, and gave up two earned runs on four hits in 2-2/3 innings of work.

BOX SCORE

Eric Valdiva tied the game in the third inning with a two-out, two-run double to deep left-centre field. He came home after a Jack Johnson throwing error allowed him to score, giving the Lefties a 3-2 lead.

Jake Cumming pitched four innings out of the bullpen for Port Angeles and was utterly dominant. He gave up zero runs on zero hits while striking out seven batters. His fastball sat mid-90s, which he paired with a wipeout slider that the HarbourCats hitters had no answer for.

Xander McAfee has four hits in his first four games (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

BUY TICKETS HERE

Hudson Lance (Coastal Carolina) ate up meaningful innings out of the bullpen and was efficient in doing so. He threw 4-1/3 innings in just 50 pitches, loading up the zone using his entire repertoire. The freshman gave up two runs on five hits.

Jalen Sami (Golden Tide) pitched the eighth inning, giving up two runs on two hits while striking out one. John Ondus (Niagara) pitched the ninth and didn’t fare much better, giving up two runs on three hits while striking out three.

Jack Johnson (Baylor) continued his hot start to the season, crushing a hanging breaking ball over the left field fence for a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth.

WCL STANDINGS

Debutant Connor Ross (Cal Baptist) played third base and recorded his first HarbourCats hit, going one for four.

The two teams are back at it tomorrow at 6:35 PM for the first of four FIREWORKS nights! Gates open early at 5:00 PM. Get tickets at harbourcats.com/tickets

Missed the game? Catch HarbourCats in 30 airing at 10:30 PM after every home game all season long on CHEK TV.

Season Tickets, 10 and 32-Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are now on sale for all 33 home games and four “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.

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A wild first inning proves to be enough as the NorthPaws avoid the sweep in Bellingham

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The Kamloops NorthPaws avoided the sweep in Bellingham and defeated the Bells 6-2 on Thursday night. The NorthPaws scored all six of their runs in the first inning and held the fort down, shutting down the Bell’s offence and only giving up five hits.

Bellingham would turn to highly touted South Dakota right-handed pitcher Jackson Dial, who will be attending Washington State in the fall. The first NorthPaw he faced was center fielder Ethan Kodama, who saw three straight balls before getting hit by the next pitch. Dial would strikeout left fielder Cade Palkowski, walk third baseman Kieran Gaffney, strikeout right fielder Kalen Applefield and hit catcher Brendan Burke, loading the bases with two outs.

With first baseman Joe Gagnon at the plate, Dial would throw a wild pitch, allowing Kodama to score the first run of the game. Gagnon would later draw a walk, reloading the bases. Second baseman Joey Marino was next up, and Dial would plunk him, bringing in another run.

The nightmare wasn’t over yet for Dial as he issued his third walk of the inning to shortstop Anthony Setticassi. Designated hitter Dylan Dekker was making his debut at the plate and sent a line drive down the first base line, driving in two runs and making it 5-0.

Dial was pulled after only two-thirds of an inning. Kodama was back at bat with Dekker on first and Setticassi on third. Before Kodama saw a pitch, Dekker took off for second while Setticassi ran home. Dekker sacrificed himself, ending the inning but allowing the sixth run to score.

Kamloops sent out righty Owen Fernandes on the mound to make his second start of the season. The Bells would get a run back via a sacrifice fly at the bottom of the first. In the third, a leadoff triple set up the Bells to capitalize on yet another sacrifice fly to make it a four-run ballgame.

Fernandes would throw four strong innings, giving up only one earned run while striking out two batters. Righty Jayson Tamayo was the first call out of the bullpen and walked the first to hitters he faced. A flyout and an infield hit loaded the bases with one out as the Bells were all of a sudden within striking distance. Tamayo got a clutch strikeout and a groundout to leave the bases loaded and preserve the four-run lead.

“If they convert there, it’s a different game. He made big pitches when he had to, and that definitely helped us lock up the game,” said Pitching Coach Jack Slominski.

Rightys Daxton Vanderkooi, Lukas Dykstra and Cade Webber each came into the game and pitched clean innings giving up three combined hits all while not walking a single batter. Webber struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth, securing the win.

In game two, the NorthPaws scored first, but mistakes on the mound cost them; tonight, the NorthPaws flipped the script on the Bells.

“The last two nights, we were behind the eight ball for most of the game, so it was nice to get a big lead early; I think it helped everyone settle down,” said Head Coach Reily Jepson.

The six-game road trip is over, and with the win, the NorthPaws head back to Kamloops with a 4-2 record.

“It’s been a tough stretch playing six games on the road in two separate trips, but it will be nice to get back home and play in front of our fans,” said Jepson.

Next up for the NorthPaws, a weekend home-and-home series against the Kelowna Falcons, with games at Norbrock Stadium on Friday night and Sunday afternoon.

 

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