Summer Collegiate

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

Published

2 months ago

June 6, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

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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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Hemmerling tosses gem, Hawks win game one

Published

23 hours 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.

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 – Hawks rally late to clinch second half

Published

3 days ago

August 7, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

Jack Johnson’s sixth home run of the year was 98 MPH off the bat (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

August 6, 2025

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. – The Edmonton Riverhawks scored six runs in the final two innings to beat the Victoria HarbourCats 7-2, clinching the second half North Division title, and the #2 seed in the playoffs.

This result means that game one of the first-round playoffs will be played in Victoria on Friday, August 8, at 6:35 PM. Tickets are on sale now HERE. Game two, and a potential game three if necessary, will be played in Edmonton on Saturday and Sunday.

The visitors got off to a quick start when Kyle Yip hit a two-out single to bring Shiryu Sato home in the top of the first inning to make it 1-0.

Jack Johnson (Tulane), who was named one of the HarbourCats Players of the Year along with Tanner Beltowski (Westmont) yesterday, hit a no-doubt solo home run in the bottom of the first to level things up 1-1. From there, it was a pitchers’ duel with former HarbourCat Mason Chamberlain on the bump for the Hawks and Carson Burks (Hill College) starting for the hosts. Burks threw three innings, giving up one run on five hits while striking out three.

BOX SCORE

Carson Burks finishes the season with a 3.85 ERA in 30.1 innings pitched (Christian J. Stewart)

He was replaced by Jack Finn, who produced 3-1/3 innings of shutout ball, striking out a season-high five batters.

After the Johnson home run, the Cats couldn’t solve Chamberlain until the sixth inning when Kamana Nahaku (Hawaii) hit a double off the left field wall, which brought up Dillon Lopez (St. Mary’s). The catcher has produced clutch hits all season, and tonight was no different, as he hit a single to left to bring Nahaku home and give his team their first lead of the night.

Dillon Dibrell (Rogers State U) replaced Finn in the seventh and inherited runners on second and third with one out. He struck out Trent Lenihan and got Yip to fly out, escaping the threat and holding onto the slim 2-1 lead.

The crowd of more than 2000 fans at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park was silenced in the top of the eighth when Stevie Waters hit a three-run home run off Dibrell to give the Hawks a 4-2 lead.

WCL STANDINGS

Kamana Nahaku has reached base safely in all 16 games he has played in this season (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

Yip hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth, and Waters drove in his fourth run of the night with an RBI single to make it 7-2, putting the game beyond doubt.

Tristin Thomas (West Texas A&M) recorded the final three outs in the ninth, striking out a pair.

After a hard-fought four-game series this week, these two teams are back at it when it matters most this weekend in the playoffs. Don’t miss out on what is sure to be an incredible atmosphere Friday night at the ballpark as the WCL Playoffs return to Victoria.

BUY TICKETS HERE

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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Summer Collegiate

Hayes goes deep again, Owls win final home game

Published

4 days ago

August 6, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

NANAIMO, B.C. — Jacob Hayes, and Owen Wessel, but the punctuation on it.

The Nanaimo NightOwls ended the home portion of their fourth season in the West Coast League with a convincing 6-1 triumph over the visiting Kamloops NorthPaws in an entertaining game played Sunday afternoon at Serauxmen Stadium.

Hayes, with a team-record 10th home run, and Wessel, with his first of the season, went deep for Nanaimo, while Dawson Schultz and Vinny Bruno kept the Kamloops bats silent.

Wessel hit a two-run shot in the second, and Hayes had a solo shot in the third. Both were to left field.

The NightOwls (22-29, 10-14 in second half) close out the season with three road games in Bellingham, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Season tickets will start renewal shortly after another exciting season of WCL baseball in Nanaimo, with local product and head coach Cody Andreychuk returning in 2026, and the expectation that veteran pitching coach Gorman Heimueller, one of the best in all of baseball, will be with Nanaimo next season for what will be his 50th year in the game — leading to a season-long celebration.

Dawson Schultz started and was masterful, going six innings with four hits allowed while striking out five. Vinny Bruno, the Italian right-hander, closed it with a save and three innings with two strikeouts.

Hayes, named team MVP before the game, was 2-3 with two RBIs, a walk, and a run scored. Andrew Ivy, Easton Mould and Spencer Sullivan also had two hits each. Andew Nykoluk had two runs and Wessel had two RBIs.

Sullivan was given the team’s Development Award, right-hander Aidan Boice was given the top pitcher award, Ryder Florence earned the citizenship award, and concession stalwart Jo-Ann Hammond was named the volunteer of the year.

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