Summer Collegiate

NorthPaws fall behiend early but claw their way to another dominant victory

Published

1 year ago

June 1, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

The Kamloops NorthPaws are 2-0 on the season following an 11-5 victory over the Port Angeles Lefties in game two of the weekend series. The Lefites scored the first four runs of the ballgame, but Kamloops responded with eight unanswered and never looked back as they cruised to a five-fun victory on Saturday night.

The game started with Lefties starting pitcher Ian Hoffstettetter walking the bases loaded but got out of it by striking out the side. Port Angeles would build on their pitcher’s heroics and got to work in the bottom of the second. A single and two walks loaded the bases with one out. Two singles and two wild pitches plate four runs for the Lefties.

In the top of the third, two singles and a walk loaded the bases for the NorthPaws with no one out—NorthPaw first baseman Keegan Drinkle dove in the first run with a sacrifice groundout. Ethan Kodama would then send a routine ground ball to second base, but a throwing error allowed a second run to score, cutting the lead in half.

In the top of the fourth, Kamloops tied the game by once again loading the bases with none out. Shortstop Elijah Clayton singled up the middle, bringing one home. Then left fielder Cade Palkowski scored from third after another Leftie error.

After a scoreless fifth inning, the NorthPaws found their stride at the plate. Elijah Clayton doubled and would later be driven in by Kalen Applefield. Drinkle doubled, and Kodama walked, setting up pinch hitter Austin Coyle, who delivered with a single, scoring two more to make it an 8-4 game.

The lefties would get one back, but that would be all from them. Drinkle would drive in a run in the seventh, and a throwing error by the lefties would allow two more runs to score. The NorthPaws would put it on cruise control from there and take game two.

“It was cool to see the guys battle back and not feel like they were out of the game,” said Head Coach Reily Jepson.

The comeback wouldn’t be possible without a pair of Kamloops natives on the mound who stopped the bleeding. Right-handers Manny Recchi and
Nolan Austin pitched a combined six innings, giving up four hits, surrendering just one run, and working their way out of jams in the process.

“It was cool to see those guys get in there and be steady and being in the moment and not letting it get too big,” said Jepson.

At the plate, the leadoff man, Elijah Clayton, was all over the score sheet with three hits, three stolen bases and two runs. Clayton reached base in five of his six at-bats on Saturday night.

“Getting on base and getting myself into scoring position is something I feel like I can bring to this team,” said Clayton.

To go along with his great night at the plate, he also made a could of nice defensive plays, including an unassisted double play. Assistant Trey Newman is on the coaching staff at CAL, where Clayton plays, and is very familiar with his game.

“I think he’s set up to have a great summer. He worked hard at Berkley, and I think as good as it’s been so far, he can be even better,” said Newman.

The NorthPaws will go for the sweep on Sunday afternoon, with the first pitch set for 1:35. You can watch all the action on West Coast League TV or listen on the NorthPaws Mixlr.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Suffer Gruelling 18-9 Loss

Published

18 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Cats pitching struggled to keep runners off the bases on the way to a 18-9 loss. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats hosted the Springfield Drifters on Friday night, failing to keep the visiting team in check and dropping the first game of the series 18-9.

The Drifters’ lineup spelled trouble from the beginning for Schuyler Fairchild (Wenatchee Valley). The visitors filled up the bases and drove in two runs in the top of the first before the starter locked down a couple of K’s to vacate the mound.

BOX SCORE

Determined not to fall behind, the Cats fought back during their turn at the plate. A 94 mph screamer off the lumber of Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) brought home a run and set up another to score on a sacrifice fly in the next at bat. Even Steven after the initial frame.

Springfield ran up the opener’s pitch count in the first inning, making room for a relief appearance from Austin Lindsey (Hill College) to begin the second. The Drifters gave Lindsey some difficulty as well, ending the inning with three more runs across to make it 5-2.

Schuyler Fairchild saw a shortened outing, battling through a long first inning. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Outfielder Marcus Nolen (Fresno State) was sharp in the bottom of the third inning, drawing a walk, stealing a base, and coming around to score on a Kade Davis (UTSA) single.

The next arrival from the bullpen was Landon Marchetti (San Jose State), who threw two clean innings in the fourth and fifth to earn a much-needed respite for the Cats defence.

Things drew even once again in the bottom of the fifth thanks to Rohne Klein (San Jose State). The first baseman muscled a ball out to centre field to drive in a pair and tie the game at five runs each.

Rohne Klein (San Jose State) snapped his slump tonight with a clutch base hit. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Flynn Warren (Hawaii Pacific) inherited the mound from Marchetti for the top of the seventh inning. Marchetti was lights out over three innings, allowing only a single hit and shredding through the Drifters’ lineup for five strikeouts. Warren found himself in a jam, loading the bases and letting four runs slip by to give the lead back to Springfield.

A grand slam for the Drifters in the top of the eighth broke the game wide open, bestowing a 14-5 lead upon the visitors. The Cats showed some life in the back half of inning the eighth, highlighted by a Logan Shepherd (Mercer) RBI triple, but the deficit proved insurmountable as Victoria eventually fell 18-9 in the series opener.

WCL STANDINGS

The Springfield series continues at 6:35 pm on Saturday night and concludes with a 1:05 pm Sunday matinee.

Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games and the 2026 West Coast League All-Star Game and Home Run Derby are now on sale at http://harbourcats.com/tickets. Season tickets, 12-pack and 32-pack game vouchers may also be bought online or by stopping by the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Lose Control of Game Three in Edmonton

Published

2 days ago

June 11, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria made four costly errors in this one to give Edmonton an advantage (Photo by JPM Photography)

Edmonton, AB – The HarbourCats were unable to complete the sweep, falling 9-5 to the Riverhawks on Thursday night.

Edmonton knocked Bryson Toner (Hawaii) around a little in the first three innings, but the right-hander stayed locked in and only let one run slip by on six hits.

BOX SCORE

The Cats returned fire in the top of the fourth, putting pressure on the Riverhawks defence to load the bases and score a run off the bat of Kade Davis (UTSA).

Easton Reimers (North Dakota State) entered the game with the score tied at one apiece, striking out two batters in the fourth inning to keep Victoria’s momentum going.

The Riverhawks made some noise in the fifth to take back control of the game, shaking down Reimers for four more runs and ending the inning with a 5-1 lead over the HarbourCats.

Tate Collins (Arkansas State) took the field for the Cats in the bottom of the sixth and wasted no time getting the job done, tossing a clean inning out of the pen.

The Cats were stricken with the error bug in inning number seven, coughing up a handful of runs as a result of some less-than-stellar defensive play.

Victoria loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the eighth and closed the distance with four more runs before inning’s end, but the comeback was unsuccessful en route to a 9-5 Edmonton victory.

With this series complete, the HarbourCats will be back in Victoria starting Friday night for a three-game series versus the Springfield Drifters.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Keep it Rolling in Rainy Rout of Riverhawks

Published

3 days ago

June 10, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The Cats’ bats have been hot since arriving in Edmonton, scoring a total of 12 runs in two games. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Edmonton, AB – The HarbourCats secured their second consecutive win in Edmonton on Wednesday afternoon by a score of 8-5.

Just like last night, the upper hand belonged to Victoria early in the ballgame. Lukas Le Gras (Westmont) drove a ball back up the middle into centre field, booking two Cats runners a return flight to home plate to make it 2-0.

BOX SCORE

The HarbourCats starting pitcher was utterly dominant once again, with Erik Rico (Fresno State) locking things down in this one. Rico went four innings, only allowing one hit and amassing a tidy five strikeouts while setting down ten batters in a row to finish off his outing.

David Krahn (UBC), who has been all over the scoresheet in this series, dashed home on an Edmonton error to widen the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Logan Shepherd (Mercer) cruised into second base on a double smashed to right field and would eventually score on yet another error committed by the Riverhawks infield. Tristan Buehring (Whitman) was more than happy to add on a couple more runs before inning’s end, and suddenly the Cats were out front 6-0 with four unearned runs in one frame.

Logan Shepherd (Mercer) was a force in this one, going 3-5 with a double and a run scored (Photo by JPM Photography)

Houston Tomlinson (Arkansas State) was deployed from the bullpen to take over for Erik Rico. The Riverhawks finally earned their first run of the series, but were otherwise contained by Tomlinson, who went back to the dugout leading by five runs.

After a lengthy rain delay, the Cats returned none worse for wear and batted in two more runs in the top of the seventh, extending the lead to 8-2.

The rain necessitated a pitching change, and it would be Asher Clark (Northern Colorado) who got the nod. Clark got into some hot water in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases and coughing up a couple of runs before being swapped out for the other Clark. Jack Clark (CSU San Marcos) secured a double play and struck out a batter to deftly escape the jam with the lead intact, if a little bruised.

Jack Clark returned for the eighth and ninth and was airtight, giving up just one hit over three total innings to nail down an 8-5 victory for the HarbourCats.

WCL STANDINGS

The Edmonton series will come to an end tomorrow night, and the Cats return home this weekend for three games against the Springfield Drifters!

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