Summer Collegiate

NorthPaws take on the HarborCats in 2024 WCL Opening Series

Published

1 year ago

June 5, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

Photo Credit: Allen Douglas

KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops NorthPaws battled the elements and the Victoria HarbourCats, dropping the opening series of the West Coast League season 2 games to 1.

GAME 1 –

The season began with a low-scoring affair at Dearborn Ford Field at Norbrock Stadium, with the ‘Paws claiming a 2-1 opening night victory.

TRU WolfPack pitcher Kolby Luckinchuk would be credited with the win after pitching four innings of one-run ball, striking out six HarbourCats batters along the way.

The big swing of the game came from Kamloops’ own Manny Recchi who battled back from a 0-2 count to work it full 3-2 before hammering a pitch over the right field wall for a two-run homer. The big fly brought home fellow local product Nolan Austin for the only two NorthPaw runs of the ballgame.

“Down 0-2, I worked it back up to walk, took some good pitches and then got the same fastball I saw first pitch and just happened to get it that time,” said Recchi. “During the TRU season I hit a couple like that and some of them died at the wall so you never know and that’s why I was hustling out of the box. But, I’m glad it went out.”

Michael Weber earned the save, pitching a scoreless 9th.

GAME 2 –

The HarbourCats came to play in the middle game of the three game set, thumping the Paws in a 11-2 final.

Victoria would explode for six runs in the second and never look back, with NyZaiah Thompson keeping a two-run homer just inside the left-field foul pole to put an exclamation mark on the big inning.

Victoria would add three more in the sixth inning before Kamloops finally responded courtesy of RBI’s from Chris Catalano, and Jacob Schlesselman.

Along with Thompson, Tyrus Hall and Jake Haggard also had two RBI for Victoria in the big win.

Josh Berenbaum took the loss, giving up 9-run, 3 earned, over 5.1 innings.

GAME 3 –

The rubber match of the three game set was all up for the taking entering the 9th inning on Sunday 5-5.

In the final inning the HarbourCats offense would find their swing, stringing together a number of key hits to push across five runs and take a 10-5 victory.

Kyle Magdic was the man of the game for Victoria with 3 RBI and 2 stolen bases. Camden Sos added 2 RBI and 1 stolen base as well.

Dominic Giustino got the start for Kamloops and pitched well, going 4 innings, with 2 hits, 2 ER.

All five runs for the ‘Paws came in the fifth inning, when Kamloops sent nine men to the plate. Anthony Manuel, Matthew Olivares and Jerry Nix drove in the runs.

Cade Webber was credited with the loss after giving up four of the five runs in the ninth to Victoria.

Reinforcements on their way

Speaking after the series Head Coach Jose Bautista noted that several players are expected to arrive in Kamloops ahead of, and during the next series versus Bellingham.

“What we got right now is not all our regular players. We are still waiting for more to come,” said Bautista. “We only got 10 pitchers, who can pitch one inning here, one inning there. As soon as we get everybody coming in we are going to be fine. Coming on the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth, a couple guys are going to be here. There are going to be a couple changes.”

Included in the new players on their way are a couple extra outfielders.

Looking ahead to the Bellingham series, Bautista feels length out of his starters will be key as he continues to learn his roster and put his players in the best position to succeed.

“Get the starters going deep and have the reliever coming up and doing their job,” said Bautista. “Picking up the right guys at the right time to put them up there and right now we don’t have that much roster to put up.”

Upcoming Schedule –

Monday, June 3 – Off-day

Tuesday, June 4 vs Bellingham – 6:35 (Country Night)

Wednesday, June 5 vs Bellingham – 6:35

Thursday, June 6 vs Bellingham – 11:30 (School Spirit Day)

Friday, June 7 – Off-day

Saturday, June 8 vs Coquitlam (Non-League) – 6:35

Sunday, June 9 vs Coquitlam (Non-League) – 2:35

2024 Ticketing Information –

Adult – $22.00
Senior (55+) – $20.00
Youth (6-16) – $14.00

New Ticket Packages:

TGI Friday Pack – reserved seat to all Friday regular season home games and a NorthPaws branded New Era 940SS Hat – $149.99
Weekday Warrior Pack – reserved seat to all Wednesday and Thursday home games – $139.99
Family Pack – $99 – four tickets, four non-alcoholic drinks, four hot dogs
Birthday Bundle- $299
x10 Tickets!
x10 Hotdogs OR Burgers!
x10 Pops!
Also Includes:
– Visit and photo with Homer!
– Signed picture!
– PA announcement during the game!

For media request:

Jenna Forter
General Manager
Kamloops NorthPaws

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats rally falls short, Hawks win series

Published

6 hours ago

August 11, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

August 10, 2025

For immediate release

EDMONTON, A.B.– The Victoria HarbourCats rallied late, scoring five runs in the ninth inning, but fell just short of a comeback as the Edmonton Riverhawks won 8-7 to advance to the North Division Final, ending the Cats’ season.

The Riverhawks wasted no time this afternoon, scoring six runs in the opening frame. A wild pitch brought home the first run, which was followed by two more coming home when a ground ball snuck past Jack Johnson (Tulane U) at first base. RBI singles from Jaxon Fox and James Cote, along with an RBI groundout, gave the hosts a huge 6-0 lead early.

The Cats started to claw their way back in the fourth inning when Dillon Lopez (St. Mary’s) and Jake Butler (George Mason) singled and found themselves in scoring position with two outs. On an 0-2 count, Isaiah Afework (TAMU-CC) split the left side of the infield to drive home both baserunners, cutting the Hawks’ lead to 6-2.

Tyler Patrick (Fresno State) started for Victoria, and after the whirlwind first inning, he settled in and kept the Hawks at bay, completing six innings allowing just one hit from the second to sixth innings, striking out four Hawks.

BOX SCORE

Garrett Villa (Angelo State) replaced Patrick and was one pitch away from escaping the seventh inning unscathed, but gave up a two-run single to Shiryu Sato, increasing the hosts’ lead to 8-2. Villa pitched two innings, giving up those two runs while striking out three.

Hawks starter Myles Chamberlain, who got the win last Monday in Victoria, pitching six innings, was once again dominant tonight. He pitched into the ninth inning, but after surrendering three singles to load the bases, his night came to an end after 8-1/3 innings pitched.

Austin Egan was his replacement, but he hit the first two batters he faced, which brought home two runs for Victoria and cut the lead down to 8-4. Tristan Buehring (Whitman College) made it 8-5 on a sacrifice fly, which brought the tying run to the plate with two outs in the form of Kamana Nahaku (Hawaii). He smacked a double down the left field line to score a pair and make it a one-run ballgame. Brandon Craven replaced Egan and hit the first batter he faced, bringing up Lopez with the tying run at second and the go-ahead run at first. The designated hitter flew out to right field to end the game as the Cats’ comeback came up just short.

The Riverhawks will face the winner of tonight’s game three between the Bellingham Bells and Wenatchee AppleSox with a place in the West Coast League Championship game on the line.

For the second season in a row, the Cats fell in the deciding game in the first round of the playoffs, after losing to the AppleSox in 2024.

Thank you to all the best fans in the WCL for their incredible support all season long. The countdown to opening day in 2026 is on, and Todd Haney’s team will be more determined than ever to go all the way.

2026 SEASON TICKETS – Season ticket renewals and sales are now on for the 2026 season! Existing season ticket holders can log in to their Showpass account and navigate to the Memberships link, where they can easily renew their seats online. Members can also drop in or call the office at 778-265-0327, and we can process the renewal for them. New Season Ticket buyers can click HERE to purchase seats for 2026!

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

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Palmer dominates as Cats force decider

Published

1 day ago

August 10, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

August 9, 2025

For immediate release

EDMONTON, A.B.– A three-run second inning proved to be the difference as the Victoria HarbourCats forced a series decider tomorrow afternoon, by beating the Edmonton Riverhawks 3-1.

Peter Tassler (MSU Denver), making his first appearance of the playoffs, drove in two runs with a clutch single in the top of the second to give the visitors an early 2-0 lead. Tristan Buehring (Whitman College), who was moved up to the leadoff spot tonight, hit an RBI single to right field to plate Connor Ross (Cal Baptist) and increase his team’s lead to 3-0.

Ryne Palmer (Cal Baptist) got the start for the Cats and produced exactly the type of start Todd Haney’s team needed. The flame-throwing right-hander held the Hawks batters to no runs until the bottom of the fifth, when Kyle Yip drove in Shiryu Sato on a two-out RBI single to make it 3-1.

BOX SCORE

Palmer threw seven innings, a season-high, giving up just one run on five hits, while striking out three.

The Cats had opportunities to increase their lead, producing nine hits on the night, but couldn’t find that clutch hit to drive their baserunners home.

Austin Lindsey (Hill College) replaced Palmer in the eighth inning to face the heart of the Hawks’ lineup, and he gave up a lone single before getting out of the inning. The right-hander was back out for the save opportunity in the ninth inning and allowed the first two runners to reach, putting the tying run on first. With the pressure on, the Lufkin, Texas native struck out two and got Sato to fly out to right field to end the ballgame.

WCL PLAYOFF SCORES

This sets up a winner-takes-all game three tomorrow afternoon in Edmonton. First pitch is at 1:05 PM local time, and 12:05 PM PST in Victoria. You can watch the game on HCats.tv.

The winner will advance to the North Division Finals that will be played against the winner of the Wenatchee AppleSox vs Bellingham Bells series.

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

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Hemmerling tosses gem, Hawks win game one

Published

2 days ago

August 8, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

The HarbourCats were held to just four hits tonight (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

August 8, 2025

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. – Fueled by a complete game from starter Reece Hemmerling, the Edmonton Riverhawks cruised to a 6-1 win over the Victoria HarbourCats in game one of this best-of-three divisional playoff series.

Shea Lake (West Texas A&M), who was recently named one of two HarbourCats Pitchers-of-the-Year, was on the bump for the Cats and started strongly in the first inning. However, in the top of the second, the Hawks’ batters went to work. Anthony Kodama and Stevie Waters both hit RBI singles on the first pitch they saw to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.

BOX SCORE

Trent Lenihan hit a solo home run in the top of the third inning to make it 3-0. Cats left fielder Isaiah Afework (TAMU-CC) could not have come any closer to robbing that homer, as the ball went in and out of his glove as he jumped and reached over the fence.

Kamana Nahaku had two hits, including his fifth home run of 2025 (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

Lake completed four innings, giving up three runs on six hits, while striking out three and walking a pair. Meanwhile, Hemmerling was inducing soft contact all game long with his wipeout slider. Early on, there was a stretch where he retired nine Cats in a row, all while keeping his pitch count down.

Dustin Davidson (Freed Hardeman) was first out of the bullpen for Victoria and gave up two singles to begin the fifth inning. A sacrifice bunt attempt was then fielded by Davidson, but his attempted throw to get the lead runner at third was off the mark, sailing past his third baseman and allowing a fourth run to cross the plate. A wild pitch from the big lefty allowed a fifth run to score, which was followed by a bases-loaded walk to Waters, giving the Hawks a 6-0 advantage. Ethan McNish-Heider (Niagara) replaced him and got out of the bases-loaded jam on one pitch, getting Shiryu Sato to ground into an inning-ending double play.

WCL PLAYOFF SCORES

Hemmerling continued to dominate for Edmonton, allowing just three hits through eight innings of work. Kamana Nahaku (Hawaii) crushed a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to break the shutout and give the home fans something to cheer about. That was all Hemmerling gave up as he went the distance, pitching a complete game for the first time this season.

Shea Lake has been a workhorse all summer, pitching a total of 37.2 innings after tonight’s outing (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

Marcus Janovsky (UBC) pitched the final 3-1/3 innings for Victoria, giving up no runs on one hit, while striking out five.

Game two is tomorrow night at RE/MAX Field in Edmonton. First pitch is 7:05 PM local time, 6:05 PM PST. Hard-throwing right-hander Ryne Palmer is your HarbourCats projected starter. You can watch the game HERE or on the Edmonton Riverhawks YouTube channel.

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

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