Summer Collegiate

Oregon State Duo Joins NorthPaws with Eyes on College World Series

Published

5 years ago

February 28, 2021

Dugout Wire Service

The Kamloops NorthPaws is looking to an NCAA program with a rich history of success to continue building the inaugural roster.

Oregon State University’s sophomore outfielder Wade Meckler and freshman utility player Brady Kasper have signed with the NorthPaws for 2021.

“We’re fortunate to have guys from a program like Oregon State. We want to create a winning culture in Kamloops and it starts with bringing in players who know how to win,” said head coach Cole Armstrong.

The team’s history of success was a key factor in both players’ commitments to Oregon State.

“When I committed, they were just coming off I think the highest win total in Pac-12 history. They went 27-3 in the Pac-12 and the year I committed here they won a national championship, so it was one of the best overall programs in the country,” Meckler said. “That’s the goal, to get to Omaha and win the whole thing.”

“When I was younger, I would watch them on tv with my dad because they were in the College World Series or Super Regionals almost every year. I just remember watching them all the time and thinking I want to go there,” Kasper said.

Wade Meckler | Photo Credit: OSU Athletics

Meckler, from Yorba Linda, Calif., was slated to play in the West Coast League with Corvallis in 2020 before the season was cancelled and is excited about another opportunity to play in the league.

“I wanted to stay on the West Coast. My coaches believe that the West Coast League is one of the best leagues competition wise in the country, so they wanted me to stay out here,” Meckler said. “I think the West Coast League is surpassing a lot of these other leagues that are historically known as the best leagues. I really think this is the biggest up and coming league in the country.”

For his 2021 collegiate season, Meckler said he wants to reach 80 hits and have good plate discipline, earning walks for at least 10 per cent of his at bats.

“I feel like if I do both of those things, I’m putting myself in a good position to be one of the best leadoff hitters in the country,” he said.

“If I had to use one phrase to use the way I play, its ‘high-octane.’ It’s full-go, it’s high-intensity, it might cause some scraps with the other team but at the end of the day I’m an extremely competitive person and it shows in the way I play, everything is 100 per cent.”

“He’s a veteran presence who will provide experience and leadership to go with a top of the order bat,” Armstrong said of the outfielder.

Kasper, from Mission Viejo, Calif., will get his first taste of summer collegiate baseball in Kamloops after the pandemic impacted his senior high school season.

Brady Kasper | Photo Credit: OSU Athletics

“Kamloops, I saw pictures of it and it just looks awesome. I saw the golf courses and the rivers for fishing, the town looks awesome, the field looks awesome and I didn’t need to look anywhere else. That looks like somewhere I want to be for the summer,” Kasper said.

Kasper is slated as a player who can slide into multiple positions and provide some versatility to the NorthPaws lineup.

“He’s a loud, left-handed bat who could provide a presence in the middle of our batting order,” Armstrong said of the freshman.

Before they can turn their focus on Kamloops, Meckler and Kasper are set on proving the pundits wrong. Oregon State was ranked fourth in the Pac-12 in preseason polls.

“I think we’re going to be a threat this year. We’ve been ranked a little lower in the polls than we think we should’ve been and I think we’re going to prove a lot of people wrong this year,” Meckler said.

“I feel like we just need to take it game by game and prove everyone wrong. I don’t think rankings matter very much to us, it is just a little bit more fuel to the fire just because they did rank us so low,” Kasper echoed. “It pissed some guys off, so we’re going to come out strong and we’re going to come out ready to win.”

Oregon State is off to a strong start to the 2021 season with a 4-1 record through the first week of the season. Meckler and Kasper are locked in a four-game series this weekend against their future NorthPaws teammates, including week one NCAA hits leader Ryland Zaborowski, with Grand Canyon University.

The Kamloops NorthPaws are an expansion West Coast League franchise bringing the highest calibre baseball Canada’s Tournament Capital has ever seen. The West Coast League, founded in 2005, has 15 teams across Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alberta featuring some of the top collegiate players during a 54-game summer season. Find the NorthPaws online at www.northpawsbaseball.ca, @northpawsbaseball on Instagram and Facebook, or @northpawsbb on Twitter.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Comeback Bid Unsuccessful in Loss to Riverhawks

Published

12 hours ago

June 4, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The Cats were unable to claw their way back in game two of the homestand. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats hit the field for a skirmish with the Edmonton Riverhawks Wednesday evening, coming up short in a 13-11 loss.

HarbourCats starter Daniel Tovar (Northern Kentucky) wrestled with command issues early on, hitting a batter and issuing two free passes to load the bases in the top of the first inning. Edmonton took advantage, driving a pair of doubles to take a 4-0 lead before Houston Tomlinson (Arkansas State) entered the game from the bullpen to get the final out of the opening frame.

BOX SCORE

The Riverhawks stayed on the attack in the second inning, driving in two more runs on a screamer down the left field line to extend their lead to 6-0.

Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) showed up ready to slug. The shortstop notched two leadoff hits; a triple and a homer. (Photo by JPM Photography)

A second-inning leadoff triple from shortstop Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) sparked a Victoria comeback attempt. After Hewitt scored on an errant throw by the Riverhawks catcher, a sacrifice fly off the bat of Rohne Klein (San Jose State) would bring in another run for the Cats, closing the gap to 6-2 in favour of Edmonton.

Edmonton answered right back in the top of the third, driving home a run that ended Houston Tomlinson’s outing. Tomlinson, an Arkansas State sophomore from Spring, Texas, pitched 1.2 innings, allowing three runs on four hits with two strikeouts. Summoned from the pen was Landon Marchetti (San Jose State), who quickly secured two outs to head back to the dugout down 7-2.

Marchetti found himself in the midst of a tough spot in the top of the fourth, and a barely fair ball down the line in right field gave the Riverhawks a 9-2 lead.

Outfielder Kade Davis (UTSA) earned three walks in the loss. (Photo by JPM Photography)

The Cats struck back in the bottom of the fourth. Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) blasted a solo homer well beyond the left field wall, followed up by two more runs when the Edmonton infield decided to engage in a snowball fight. The inning came to an end with a sizeable dent in the Riverhawks’ lead, bringing the score to 9-5.

HarbourCats hurler Spencer Kratt (San Jose State) assumed control of the mound to begin the fifth inning, deftly tossing a much-needed zero on the board. Kratt returned for the sixth, surrendering a run to push the Hawks to double digits.

Victoria made things interesting two more runs in the seventh inning and three in the eighth, but Edmonton’s three-run shot in the top of the eighth inning kept them in front for a 13-11 win.

WCL STANDINGS

The HarbourCats take the field at 11:05 am tomorrow for the first School Spirit Game of the season, and will host the Kelowna Falcons for a three-game series this weekend.

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.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Home Opener Heroics Earn Cats 6-3 Win Over Riverhawks

Published

2 days ago

June 2, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The Cats got hot in the middle innings to take a commanding lead. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats faced off against the visiting Edmonton Riverhawks tonight, claiming a decisive 6-3 victory in the first home game of the season.

The Riverhawks were the first to get on the board, scoring on a bases-loaded walk in the top of the second. Edmonton would strand three runners with a groundout to the shortstop shortly after, but not without claiming an early 1-0 lead.

BOX SCORE

The lead stood until the bottom of the fourth inning, when Marcus Nolen (Fresno State) brought in a pair of runs on a clutch two-out single to left field, pushing the home team in front by a score of 2-1.

David Krahn (UBC) was a mainstay on the bases tonight, going 3/5 with a pair of stolen bases and an RBI. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Cats starter Hudson Lance (Coastal Carolina) was relieved after four innings of work, in which he surrendered just one run on four hits. Easton Reimers (North Dakota State) took over from the bullpen and shut down the Riverhawks in a clean fifth inning.

Victoria added on to their lucrative fourth inning with three more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Kade Davis (UTSA) drove in a run on a single, followed up by a 2-RBI knock from Dryden Fuoco (Hill College). The fun didn’t stop there, as Marcus Nolen stole two bases and came in to score on the third hit of the ballgame for David Krahn (UBC), giving the Cats a 6-1 lead.

Hudson Lance (Coastal Carolina) made an immediate impact in his first start of 2026, giving up just a single run. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Pierce Stone (Regis) opened up the seventh inning on the mound for the HarbourCats. The Austin, TX native gave up two runs before handing the ball over to Garen Geoghegan (Whitman), who left the bases loaded to escape the frame with a 6-3 lead. Geoghegan would return to start the eighth inning, swapping out for Flynn Warren (Hawaii Pacific) from the bullpen. The Levin, New Zealand product tallied three quick outs in the eighth and powered through the ninth to nail down a 6-3 victory for the HarbourCats in the home opener.

WCL STANDINGS

The Cats are back in action against the Riverhawks tomorrow at 6:35 pm and Thursday at 11:05 am, before hosting the Kelowna Falcons for a three-game series this weekend.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Portland takes rubber match of opening series with HarbourCats

Published

3 days ago

June 1, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The HarbourCats will return to Wilson’s Group Stadium in Victoria (above) on Tuesday for their Home Opener against the Edmonton Riverhawks.

By Christian J. Stewart

May 31, 2026

Portland, OR – The Victoria HarbourCats looked to have things under control, until they didn’t.

The Portland Pickles used a nine-run fourth inning to overcome a 3-0 deficit and then cruise to a 18-5 win over the HarbourCats in West Coast League action Sunday night at Walker Stadium in Portland.

The win gave the Pickles the series win, having won game one of the series on Friday.

FULL BOX SCORE

Victoria appeared to have the game under control, building an early 3-0 lead, thanks in part to a first inning RBI single from Jax Heid, a second inning home run from Marcus Nolan and three innings of shut-out pitching from starter Schuyler Fairchild.

However in the bottom of the fourth inning, Victoria sent reliever Tate Collins to the mound and four walks and a hit batter later, the Pickles cut the deficit to 3-2. Collins was replaced by Houston Tomlinson, but he could not stem the bleeding, and after three more singles, a double, and a HarbourCats error, the Pickles emerged from the inning with a 9-3 lead.

The HarbourCats would never fully recover after that and when the Pickles scored five more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and four more in the bottom of the eighth, their fate was sealed.

On the bright side, David Krahn had another strong day at the plate, going three for five with two runs scored, while Marcus Nolen finished three for three with a home run and pair of RBI.

WEST COAST LEAGUE STANDINGS  

The HarbourCats now return to the friendly confines of Wilson’s Group Stadium, where they will welcome the Edmonton Riverhawks for the Home Opener on Tuesday evening at 6:35pm. That is followed by our Help Fill a Dream Night on Wednesday at 6:35pm and the our first of two School Spirit Games on Thursday June 4th at 11:00 am.

Tickets for all games are available at our one and only ticketing partner SHOWPASS at http://harbourcats.com/tickets.

Source