The Kamloops NorthPaws dropped game three in Walla Walla, losing the series as the Sweets scored 15 runs on 13 hits. Walla Walla scored five in the first inning and would hold the lead for the entire game, scoring six runs between the third and fifth innings as well as four more in the eighth. The NorthPaws kept the game close with three runs in the fifth and two in the sixth, but the eighth inning proved to be too much.

The NorthPaws got the lead in the top of the first as two wild pitches brought center fielder Connor Clark home. Righty Joey Rico was on the mound making his first start. Rico was also in the lineup as the designated hitter. The Sweets jumped all over him, however. Three singles, a double and a home run put five on the board for the Sweets, all without Rico recording an out.

In the second, left-fielder Matthew MacDonald and second-baseman Tanner Hornback walked and singled. Both would advance on a wild pitch, setting up third baseman Drew Abercrombie, who doubled down the third base line, scoring both runners and making it a 5-3 game.

The Sweets wouldn’t take long to respond as they scored two runs in the third and fourth, making it 9-3 heading into the top of the fifth. The NorthPaws stayed tough with right fielder Jared Hall and Clark reaching base. The centerfielder would later score off a Rico single. Catcher Brendan Burke then sent a single of his own through the right side, scoring Hall. Finally, after a pitching change, MacDonald singled off the first pitch he saw, scoring Rico once again, putting the NorthPaws within three.

Walla Walla came back in the bottom half with their third straight inning with two runs on the board, erasing any NorthPaw momentum for the time being. With one out, the Sweets had the bases loaded and sent a grounder toward first base. The throw was about to be made home for the force out, but a throwing error saw the ball hit the backstop, scoring runs 10 and 11.

Kamloops refused to go away just yet as shortstop Elijah Clayton doubled. Clark followed that up a few pitches later with a double of his own, scoring Clayton. Clark would later score off a balk from the Sweets pitcher, putting Kamloops within striking distance. The Sweets went down scoreless in both the sixth and seventh innings, but the NorthPaw bats went silent.

Despite the 10 hits given up by Walla Walla pitcher, they only walked four batters the entire game and held the NorthPaws off the board in the final third of the ballgame. Everything unravelled in the eighth inning, with the Sweets scoring four runs and putting any hope of a NorthPaw come back to bed.

Kamloops drops to 10-8 on the season, but the good news for them is that 11 of the team’s last 12 games to close out the first half will be played at NorBrock Stadium. The gurgling road stretch is over, and the only road game they will play is next Wednesday in Kelowna. The Victoria HarbourCats come to town fresh off a sweep of their Island rivals, the Nanaimo Night Owls.

Victoria and Kamloops are tied for third in the division, making this weekend’s series that much more important. Friday and Saturday’s games will be at 6:35, and Sunday’s first pitch is at 12:05. Come out and support the NorthPaws in person or follow all the action on West Coast League TV.

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VICTORIA, B.C. — The NightOwls leave empty-handed after a tough 10-3 loss to the Victoria HarbourCats in game three of the series. The NightOwls fell behind one to nothing in the first inning before the HarbourCats went off for eight runs in the bottom of the third inning. Nanaimo was able to put a couple on the board to make it respectable, but in the end, were swept by their Island rival.

Nanaimo had three runs on 10 hits with no errors. The Victoria HarbourCats had 10 runs on 16 hits with no errors on the day in front of 2576 fans.

https://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=620552

Brock Wirthgen had a 344-foot home run to left field in the top of the seventh inning to make it 10-2. Brock, from California Baptist University, went one for four on the afternoon with a home run and an RBI. Raoul Fabian Jr. was on base twice with a walk and was hit by a pitch. Drew Giannini also contributed on the day with a hit, going one for four.

Ricardo Villegas pitched three innings and started strong, but struggled in the third inning. He took the loss with a stat line of two and two-thirds innings, giving up six runs on six hits. The bullpen was able to stop the bleeding as Carter Chard-Hill and Ryder Florence both pitched scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth.

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Andrew Ivy had a strong game for the Nanaimo NightOwls. He went three for five at the plate with one hit and one RBI. Caden Petrey, Eli Watson, Andrew Nykoluk, and Alessandro Volpe each chipped in on the day with a single.

There was some definite base running errors, which I am sure Coach Cody Andreychuk will address going forward. The NightOwls were thrown out three times on the bases from fly ball or line drive double plays.

The Nanaimo NightOwls start a 10-game homestand with a weekend series against the Port Angeles Lefties. The series goes Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, June 20th, 21st, and 22nd at Serauxemen Stadium. Then we welcome the Redmond Dudes on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 24th and 25th.

Make sure to get your tickets and follow the team on our website and social media when they are on the road for the latest information and updates. We have some great promotional days coming up, starting on Saturday with Worker Safety night with some free swag on the concourse, AND Bring A Friend night with a free gift at the Owl’s merch tent for you and your BFF.

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The Kamloops NorthPaws lost 5-4 to the Walla Walla Sweets in game two of the series, moving to 10-7 on the season. The game went back and forth, featuring clutch hitting and great outings on the mound, but a ninth-inning controversy led to the Sweets walking it off with a single in the bottom of the ninth.

After a scoreless top half, the Sweets looked to jump on Kamloops starter JM Harduval. The righty gave up a solo home run to begin the bottom of the first. He would later walk a batter and have him score on a double, making it 2-0.

Kamloops responded in the top of the second with first baseman Keegan Drinkle hitting a two-out triple. Third baseman Joey Marino was up next and brought him home with a single, cutting the lead in half.

In the second inning, Harduval walked the leadoff man and gave up a single. A wild pitch advanced the runners, and then Handuval hit a batter, loading the bases and ending his outing. Lefty Tyler Straily was first out of the bullpen and faced a loaded, none-out situation. Miraculously, a strikeout, infield fly, and a ground out got Straily out of the jam as the Sweets couldn’t capitalize.

Kamloops would continue to chip away as second baseman Tanner Hornback singled and right fielder Joey Rico doubled, putting them at second and third. Hornback scored the tying off a sacrifice fly from designated hitter Brendan Burke. The Sweets wasted no time in the bottom of the third, beginning the inning with two walks and a single, making it 3-2.

The NorthPaws once again had a response with runners on the corners and one out in the top of the fourth. Kamloops center fielder Ethan Kodama sent a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Drinkle. Left fielder Cade Palkowski scored the go-ahead run a few pitches later on a past ball.

In the bottom half, despite turning a 5-4-3 double play, the Sweets rallied. Back-to-back singles and a wild pitch is how the Sweets tied things up, and it would be the final inning for Straily. Righty Nolan Austin was next up and was brilliant, going three scoreless innings and giving up only three hits. Righty Daxton Vanderkooi came on in the eighth and threw a scoreless inning.

Both teams went into the ninth deadlocked at four. The NorthPaws went down scoreless in the top half, bringing righty Julio Garcia out to try and pitch a shutdown ninth. Garcia gave up a leadoff single but would strike the next batter out. Kamloops then decided to intentionally walk Nate Stiveson, who already had two hits on the night.

Nikhil Beasley was next for the Sweets and hit a grounder to first base for out number two, but here’s where things get weird. Stivenson started jogging back to first after the out was recorded, so the NorthPaws tagged him for what they thought was an inning-ending double play.

Stivenson was confused because he thought he heard the umpire call time. The base umpire called him out but was overruled by the plate umpire. This ruling had both managers confused as Kamloops never heard time being called.

The Play resulted in both runners advancing 90 feet, and two pitches later, Johnny Backus sent a line drive to left field that touched outfield grass, securing the Sweet’s third walk-off win of the season.

The NorthPaws will play the rubber match tomorrow night at 6:35. You can find the game on West Coast League TV.

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