Author: Larry Read

CORVALLIS, WASHINGTON-It was ‘home sweet home’ for the defending West Coast League champion Corvallis Knights.

The Knights took two of three from the visiting Kamloops North Paws.  After dropping the opener of a three-game set Saturday (June 24), 6-3 to the NorthPaws, the Knights beat the visitors on back-to-back nights.  Sunday (June 25), Corvallis took Kamloops 6-2 and then on a night where they remembered their late General Manager, the Knights beat the Paws  13-11 on Monday (June 26) .

Knights General Manager Jennifer Beaumont passed Sunday night after a long battle with lung cancer.

The two wins up Corvallis’ record to 11-7, second in the South Division.  Kamloops falls to 5-16 for the campaign.  That is tied for last in the North Division.

The NorthPaws continue their longest road swing of the season moving into Portland to play the Pickles in three straight games beginning tomorrow (June27).  The Knights have a home and home series with the Springfield Drifters which kicks off tomorrow in Corvallis.

A reminder that all West Coast League games are available via their website: https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv/

SERIES RECAP:

Saturday, June 24, 2023: NorthPaws 6 Knights 3

The Paws snap a six-game losing streak winning the series opener.    Kamloops scored three in the seventh inning and two in the fourth accumulating nine hits with no errors.   Corvallis had three runs on eight hits and committed four errors.  This was Kamloops’ third win in four tries against the defending league champions.

The NorthPaws pitching staff got some solid outings from Christian Spitz (Overland Park, Kansas) and Nathan Grey (Queen Creek, Arizona).   Spitz started and went five innings. He delivered a five hitter to even his record at 1-1.  He had two strikeouts and three walks.   Grey came on in relief for his first save.  He went four innings of three hit ball with four strikeouts.

Nathan Marshall (Albany, Oregon) was tagged with the loss as he fell to 2-2. He surrendered three runs on two hits with two strikeouts.

Offensively, centerfielder Jude Hall (Chilliwack, BC) was 3-5 with a run scored and a run batted in.  Designated hitter Joey Baran (Austin, Texas) was 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI.    Robin Villeneuve (Gatineau, QC) was 1-2 with a run scored and an RBI.

Second baseman Tyler Quinn (Mililani, Hawaii) was 2-5 with a run batted in.  Shortstop Ty Yukumoto (Waipahnu, Hawaii) was 2-3 with a run scored.

Link to Scoresheet:  http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=598117

Sunday, June 25, 2023: Knights 6 NorthPaws 3

Over 11 hundred fans on hand went home happy as Corvallis evened up the series and raised their record to 10-7 on the year.   The Eagles rallied from a 1-0 deficit after an inning and a half to score three and take a 3-1 lead. They also added three runs in the sixth inning.  The Knights had 12 hits and one error compared to eight hits for the Paws.

Right fielder Sam Stern (Erice, Colorado) hit two run homer and went 2-5 for Corvallis. He also scored a run.

Centerfielder JC Ing (Foster City, Oregon) was 1-4 with three runs batted in and a run scored. Levi Jones (Portland, Oregon) was 2-43 with two runs batted in. Catcher Tyler Howard (Vancouver, Washington) was 2-2 with two runs scored while Yukomoto was 2-3 with two runs scored.

Leading the offense for Kamloops were Neville and Tyler Glowacki (San Diego, California).  Both were 2-4.  Neville added a run batted in.  Left fielder Felix Chener-Rondeau (Blainville, Quebec), centerfielder Hall  and third baseman Drew Giannini (Tracy, California) were all 1-4. Chener-Rondeau had a run batted in. Giannini scored a run.

New Zealander Maclain Roberts was the loser and is now 0-4 on the year. In this one, the NorthPaw pitcher went five innings giving up seven hits, three runs while striking out three and walking three.

Merit Jones (Idaho Falls, Idaho) went five innings for the win.  He is 1-1 on the year for the Knights after striking out three, giving up a hit and a run.   Both teams utilized four pitchers in the contest.

Link to Scoresheet: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=598118

Monday, June 26, 2023: Knights 13  North Paws 10

The North Paws gave up eight runs in the bottom of the first. Two of them coming off a home run courtesy of Tyler Quinn and a single home run from Anson Aroz (Auburn, California).   Kamloops cut the deficit to a pair of runs when they scored six of their own in the top half of the second.   After Corvallis went up 10-6, Kamloops added singles in the fourth, fifth and sixth to make the score 11—9 for the home team.  Corvallis added two more in the eighth inning.  Kamloops valiantly tried to battle back and added a pair on a two-run shot by Tommy Green (Courtenay, BC) in the top of the ninth.

Quinn led the way for the Knights going 2-3 with five runs batted in and a run scored. Aroz  was 1-4 with three runs batted in and a run scored.

 Villeneuve was 2-3 with three runs batted in and two runs scored for Kamloops.  Green went 1-3 at the dish with two R.B.I. and three runs scored.   Hall was 1-5 with two runs batted in.

Sam Stuhr (Portland, Oregon) was the winning pitcher for his first victory of the year for Corvallis. He was the fourth of five pitchers for the Knights and went three innings. He pitched a one hitter while striking out five and walking one.   Matthew Romero (Alberqueque, New Mexico) lasted only a third of an inning to be tagged with the loss. He gave up eight runs on seven hits and walked two.  His record dips to 1-2.

Link to Scoresheet: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=598119

NEXT UP FOR THE NORTHPAWS:

The Portland Pickles are the next opponents for the NorthPaws.  The teams will do battle tomorrow (June 27) through to Thursday (June 29). Portland is  5-5 in their last ten outings and have won their last two games.   They are sitting in a tie for second place in the WCL South Division with a 9-6 record.  They are 2.5 games behind the division leaders, the Ridgefield Raptors

PLAYERS TO WATCH: PORTLAND VS KAMLOOPS:

The Pickles have two players among the top 10 in batting average in the West Coast League.  Nicky Markantanator (Portland, Oregon) sits seventh with an average of .375.  Armando Brisino (Fontana, California) is ninth in batting average at .365.

Nathan Shin (Pleasanton, California) is ninth in the league with an earned run average of 1.69 in four starts (1-1 record).  Murphy Gienger (Castle Rock, Colorado) is 21 st with an E.R.A. of 2.81 and a record of 2-0.

Hayden Walker (Albuquerque, New Mexico) of Kamloops is fifth in the league in strikeouts (21).  He is 23rd in earned run average (3.22) with a record of 4-1. Five members of the NorthPaws: Joey Adge (Parker, Colorado), Tyrelle Chadwick (Kamloops, BC) , David Jeon (Coppel,Texas) , Noah Loew (Chelan, WA) and Robin Villeneuve (Gatineau, Quebec) are among the league leaders in fielding.  Each have a percentage of 1.000. None have committed an error. Adge has nine put outs in 13 games.  Villeneuve has 28 put outs in 26 games.  Jeon has 10 put outs in nine innings.

EARLY JUNE AGAINST EACH OTHER:

Earlier this month, the two teams played in Kamloops with the Pickles sweeping.  The last two games were 6-4 decisions for Portland.  Infielder Jack Metcho (Fairfield, CA) was six for 12 in the series with five runs batted in, two stolen bases and six runs scored for the Pickles.  Xiage Lancaster (Hilo, HA) was three for 11 with four RBI and two runs scored.  Catcher Joey Adge (Parker, CO)   was four for six in his two games played in the series with a run scored and a run batted in for Kamloops.

HOME SWEET HOME:

Next home game for the NorthPaws will be Canada Day ( Saturday, July 1) against the Kelowna Falcons. Opening pitch Canada Day is 6:35 PM.  There will be Canada Day celebrations at Dearborn Ford Field at Norbrock Stadium on Saturday.  The Falcons and Paws play Sunday (July 2nd).  It is “Family Day” . Sunday’s tilt has a 2:05 PM start time.

If you can’t make the games, they are all webcast on  https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv/ .   Some NorthPaws home games will also be shown on Shaw TV in Kamloops (Cable 10 or 105 with Blue Curve).

TAILGATE PARTY:

The Molson’s Tailgate Party is hoppin’ before every NorthPaws home game.   It runs Tuesday through Saturday 5-630 PM.  The Party runs Sundays noon-1 PM.  Hotdogs and a Pilsner are sold for $ 12.00 plus tax.

For “Everything NorthPaws-Go to the website : https://www.northpawsbaseball.ca/ “
Kamloops North Paws tickets: ticketing@northpawsbaseball.ca
West Coast League: westcoastleague.com.

Contact for Media for Player Interviews;
Adam Filmon
Assistant Coach  afilmon@northpawsbaseball.ca
cell phone (204) 955-3547

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