NANAIMO, B.C. — I want to do something a little different this season and introduce our players to the fans. I will be doing player profiles, so you can get to know your Nanaimo NightOwls a little bit better! The first player profile is one of our catchers, Brock Wirthgen, who wasn’t always a catcher and didn’t always play baseball. We will take a look back at the past and find out what’s in store for these young student-athletes in the future.

I started off asking Brock how he got into baseball, “I got into baseball at the young age of 4, my dad kind of pushed me to play the sport.” Which completely contradicts what his dad Phil told me. Nice try Phil! He would continue, “I started getting serious about the sport when I was around 10. I was watching my cousins play, and ever since then, I fell in love with the sport.”

Brock’s parents were also in town from California for a homestand, and I was lucky enough to catch up with his dad and ask him some questions about Brock. I asked about the family’s sports history. Phil played Water Polo and swam, and Brock’s mom and her family had a baseball background. Brock started as a pitcher, they told me, and had to adjust to how competitive things are down in California. He could hit and catch, and made the switch to Catcher. I asked him about changing positions from the mound to behind the plate.

“Well I’ve always grown up as a catcher, that was my first position I played. Then I started to pitch when I was 12 and I threw the ball hard so I continued pitching and catching. But as soon as I hit high school my coach told me to prioritize pitching but I always worked catching and hitting in. But my senior of high school I started as a pitcher and none of our catchers were hitting so my coach put me behind the plate and then I started hitting and that’s when I made the decision to scratch pitching and continue as a catcher.”

Catcher Brock Wirthgen (Photo Credit: Chad Frostad)

The 6’1 catcher who has now committed to Hawai’i Pacific University has been a fan favorite this season with his fun personality and great play behind the plate. He has been hitting for power this season, and opposing pitchers would rather give him a free pass than pitch to him. Brock has 14 hits, five walks, two home runs, and six RBIs so far this season for the Nanaimo NightOwls. I wanted to know his approach at the plate.

“The approach I take to the box is pretty simple. I want to beat the pitcher doesn’t matter if I get out or get a hit. I just want to beat the pitcher.” You can see why he does so well at the plate from that answer.

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Brock was a multi sport athlete and played baseball and football and was a defensive end and offensive line his dad Phil told me, “So he played Football all the way up until high school…O-Line and D-Line so he was on the ends, left tackle and he was pretty good on special teams.” I wanted to know if anything from football translated over to baseball for Wirthgen?

“Playing football when I was younger helped tremendously both physically and mentally. Physically it put me in a better shape and mentally it made me tougher. It also helped me with my plan, because with being on the o line and d line made me think more and more about the game of football. Like what blocking assignment I had and it made me more patient because of the snap count.”

NightOwls Catcher Brock Wirthgen (Photo Credit: Chad Frostad)

The Nanaimo NightOwls are a summer league so I wanted to get his plans for the future and what he hopes to accomplish in his career? ” My future plans and goals are of course to try and play baseball for as long as possible. But I do want to get my degree and find a possible route in sales or become a fire fighter or something with law enforcement.” With Mustache Brock would make a pretty mean cop but I Imagine his baseball career could get in the way of that for now.

http://Nanaimonightowls.com/tickets

The NightOwls continue their homestand Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 11th, 12th, and 13th as the Wenatchee AppleSox head into town. Make sure to come out and support the team and tag any social media posts with the Hashtag #IlluminuteTheDark and we will try share your pictures on our social media!

Of course, I needed an embarrassing story about Brock from his dad, instead he gave me a golden quote when I asked, “You know what, he does a pretty good job of embarrassing himself.” He went on to spill Jam all over the locker room a couple of days later so I didn’t need any follow up.

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NANAIMO, B.C. — It’s NightOwl time as the home stand gets off to a great start. A 3-1 win on Wednesday night in game two of the series against the Kelowna Falcons makes it back-to-back wins for Nanaimo. The pitching for the NightOwls was superb, combining for just one run and six hits.

Nanaimo NightOwls vs Kelowna Falcons (Photo Credit: Chad Frostad)

The Kelowna Falcons jumped out to a one-run lead in the second inning. That was all they got as starting pitcher Richtter Castillo shut the door and set the tone for the rest of the NightOwls pitchers. Nanaimo was able to scrape in a run in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. That was all they needed to move their record closer to .500% at 15-17. Nanaimo finished the night with three runs on nine hits, and both teams had zero errors, making for a well-fielded game.

https://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=621651

Of course it was All-Star Talan Zenk with a multi hit game. He went two for four with two doubles and a run scored. Third basemen Tyler Arnold also had a two hit night and scored a run for the Nanaimo NightOwls.

Nanaimo NightOwls vs Kelowna Falcons (Photo Credit: Chad Frostad)

I mentioned it was a good night for the Nanaimo NightOwls pitchers, starting pitcher Richtter Castillo had a great game, going four strong innings. The left-handed senior from Maracay, Venezuela, finished the game giving up just one run on three hits while striking out three and only walking one. It paved the way for the rest of the pitching staff as newcomer Blake Hager came into the game in the fifth inning and threw two shutout innings with one hit and two strikeouts, he got the win for the NightOwls.

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The great pitching continued as Jakin Rohne and Dalton Hanson came on and closed out the final three innings. They gave up just two combined hits and struck out three. Dalton Hanson got the save for the Nanaimo NightOwls. I spoke with head coach Cody Andreychuk after the game about the pitching staff.

“Complete pitching staff [W] tonight, Richtter set the tonne and the rest of our arms did exactly what we needed them to do.” He would continue, ” Super proud of the pitching staff this entire series so far by filling the zone and attacking hitters. Great bounce back effort from our pitching staff after the Edmonton series.”

Nanaimo NightOwls vs Kelowna Falcons (Photo Credit: Chad Frostad)

Shortstop Andrew Nykoluk also got in the action with an RBI and two singles, out of Hawaii Pacific University, Andrew went two for three on the evening. Local product Easton Mould added an insurance run in with an RBI thanks to a sac fly in the bottom of the seventh and that’s all the NightOwls needed.

http://Nanaimonightowls.com/tickets

One more game against in the series on Thursday July, 10th, at 6:35 pm against the Kelowna Falcons. Then it’s a series against the Wenatchee AppleSox on Friday, Saturday and Sunday July 11th, 12th and 13th. The Friday and Saturday games go at 6:35 pm while Sunday is our Family Fun Day with first pitch going at 1:05 pm. Remember kids, and adults who feel like kids can run the bases after the game!

We have a very special treat tomorrow for anyone who can’t make it out to the ballpark on our live stream. We are going around the world so make sure to tune in to NightOwls.tv or the West Coast League link above. This is going to be a special night for us so we hope you can make it out but if not you will be treated at home! Make sure to follow us on social media to see what we are up to tomorrow and use the hashtag #IlluminateTheDark so we can interact with your posts on social media! Go Owls Go!!

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July 9, 2025

For immediate release

PORT ANGELES, WA – The Victoria HarbourCats completed the sweep of the Port Angeles Lefties Thursday night with a 9-4 win. It was the perfect end to a successful road trip where they won five of six games.

Cayden Munster (Fresno State) got things started in the top of the second inning with a solo shot to make it 1-0. Later in the frame, Isaiah Afework (TAMU-CC) hit a no-doubter over the left field fence to give the Cats an early 2-0 lead. Jake Butler (George Mason), who got the start at second base after a two-hit effort the night before, capped off the inning with a sacrifice fly, pushing the lead to 3-0.

BOX SCORE

Butler cashed in another run in the fourth inning with an RBI single that scored Curtis McKay (Niagara). The next batter was Hudson Shupe (Gonzaga), who hit an RBI single to plate Butler and give the HarbourCats a 5-0 advantage.

Afework was at it again in the fifth inning, hitting another solo home run, this time to increase the lead to 6-0.

Logan Saloman (Nevada) made his third start of the season and, for the third time, completed five innings. He gave up no runs on two hits while striking out a season-high eight batters. He now has a 0.52 ERA in 17 innings of work this season.

WCL STANDINGS

Carson Burks (Hill College) replaced the big right-hander, but the hosts flashed some power of their own in the sixth inning. Taylor Kirk and Sam Matosich both went deep to make it 6-3, slicing the Cats’ lead in half.

Jalen Sami (Golden Tide) started the seventh inning for Victoria but only faced four batters, giving up one run on three hits and was subsequently replaced by Austin Lindsey (Hill College). Lindsey got out of the inning as the Cats escaped with their 6-4 lead intact.

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Shupe’s second RBI of the game came on a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth to restore the HarbourCats’ three-run lead, making it 7-4. Afework put the finishing touch on his standout performance in the ninth inning, hitting his third home run of the night, this time a two-run shot.

The Lefties could not solve Lindsey, who closed out the 9-4 win, pitching 2-2/3 scoreless innings, striking out six.

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The HarbourCats’ second-half record is now 8-1 after their impressive road trip. After a day off tomorrow, they are back home for an exciting weekend series against the Kelowna Falcons Friday, July 11 at 6:35 PM. Friday is Harvey’s Birthday, Saturday is a Fireworks night, and Sunday’s matinee is the always popular Bark in the Park game, where all dogs are welcome! Get tickets at harbourcats.com/tickets.

10 and 32-Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are on sale for all home games and “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.

For more updates, be sure to follow @HarbourCats on all social channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

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