Summer Collegiate

Bend but dont break: NorthPaws hang on to win and sweep the Lefties

Published

1 year ago

June 2, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

The Kamloops NorthPaws won a thrilling game on Sunday afternoon 10-9 to secure a season-opening sweep of the Port Angeles Lefties. The NorthPaws scored six runs in the top of the eighth inning but had to fight off the Lefties, who scored eight of their nine runs in the final five innings.

Once again, the Lefties got the game’s first run in the bottom of the first. After having runners on the corners with only one out, they cashed in on a chopper to first that Keegan Drinkle elected to take to the base himself for an out.

Kamloops answered when shortstop Anthony Setticasi had the bases loaded with one out and legged out a potential double-play ball that scored Kalen Applefield. In the third, second baseman Joey Marino drove in a run and would later score a run because of an error by the Lefty’s second baseman. A fourth-inning Manny Recchi sacrifice fly would put the NorthPaws up 4-1.

It was the Lefty’s turn to respond in the fifth with a one-out single that cut the lead to two. In the sixth, the Levites got a two-out rally going, capitalizing on a pair of walks, a wild pitch, and a single that scored both runners on base to tie the game. Port Angeles would take the lead later in the inning with another single. In the seventh, they kept their foot on the gas, bringing two more home with, you guessed it… another single.

The NorthPaws offence was shut down by right-handed pitcher Cade Stuart, who went three scoreless innings, giving up just one hit. Going into the top of the eighth, Stuart made way for Liam Karlson. The NorthPaws saw their opportunity and pounced.

A single and a walk set up right fielder Jared Hall, who sent an RBI single to right field. Center fielder Ethan Kodama walked and set up third baseman Kieran Gaffney with the bases loaded and nobody out. Gaffney delivered with a single that brought home two more runs, tying the game at seven all. Anthony Setticassi sent a sharp ground ball to third, and the force play at the plate was thought to have been made with the bases loaded, but the Lefties catcher didn’t have his foot on home plate, allowing the run to score and everyone reach safely. Two wild pitches would bring home the fifth and sixth runs of the inning as Kamloops sent 10 men to bat and now lead 10-7.

“It was great to see the offence stick with their approach and breakthrough in the eighth,” said Head Coach Reily Jepson.

The Lefties would hang around and score in the eighth and mount yet another two-out rally in the bottom of the ninth. A two-out bloop hit and a walk allowed the Lefties to load the bases with two outs. Righty Cade Webber was on for the save and walked his second straight batter on a controversial call on a full-count pitch that was deemed just high by the home plate umpire. Either way, a run scored, and the winning run was all of a sudden 180 feet away. Facing yet another full count, Webber delivered a high fastball in a similar shop that was called for strike three, ending the game.

“I was a little stressed, but the team seemed very composed; I trust those guys in the back end of the bullpen, and they got the job done; it was a great win,” said Jepson

For Cade Webber, it was his first appearance of the season, and it came at a crucial moment for the NorthPaws. The inning could’ve gotten away from him, but his coach had faith in his abilities.

“You can tell he loves the moment; I don’t think that phased him,” said Pitching coach Jack Slominski.

With the sweep, the NorthPaws have started 3-0 for the first time since 2022, a milestone that has the team and coaching staff excited.

“It’s awesome. Hopefully, this brings more of our fans out to home games, but before we get there, we’re going to have a tough test this week in Bellingham,” said Jepson.

The team will be off on Monday before travelling to Bellingham for a three-game series against the Bells. The NorthPaws will play their first home game on June 6th against the Kelowna Falcons.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Battle to the End for 2-1 Victory

Published

1 day ago

July 3, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria, B.C. – A war of attrition ended in a win for the good guys on Thursday night, with the Cats clawing their way to the finish line to take a series win over the NightOwls.

The Cats weathered the lengthy rain delay and came to the plate ready tonight, striking first on a two-out single from Rohne Klein (San Jose State). Designated hitter Logan Shepherd (Mercer) got the wave around third and Victoria quickly took a 1-0 lead.

BOX SCORE

UCSD’s Quincey Brown added to a string of dominant starting pitchers for the Cats in this series. Brown’s nine strikeouts in his second start of the season are the second-most in a single game for Victoria this year, tied with Austin Lindsey in the previous game and just short of Jeremiah Arnett’s team-leading ten K’s on Tuesday.

In addition to a whole lot of swings and misses, Brown kept the NightOwls off the bases with just two hits across his five innings of work. Davis Lee (Calgary) came in on the heels of Brown’s start, opening up the sixth inning on the mound with a one-run lead. Lee got himself into some trouble, loading the bases with two consecutive walks and letting the game-tying run sneak by on a pitch straight to the backstop.

Will Zielinski held strong in his Cats debut, scoring important outs in the late innings. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Lee returned in the seventh for a much cleaner frame, striking out two for a scoreless inning. Will Zielinski made an impressive Cats debut in the top of the eighth. The local Victoria product secured a quick two strikeouts and a groundout to keep the score tied and bring the HarbourCats lineup back up to the dish.

Victoria rallied to finally break the tie in the bottom of the eighth, courtesy of a Marcus Nolen (Fresno State) special. The outfielder walked, stole a base, and came in to score on a throwing error from the Nanaimo shortstop to take a 2-1 lead for the Cats.

Zielinski was back for the top of the ninth, shutting it down and securing a close win for the Cats to take the series and tie up the Island Cup!

WCL STANDINGS

The HarbourCats will now hit the road to Kelowna for a three-game weekend series against the Falcons.

Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games 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.

GET YOUR ALL-STAR TICKETS BEFORE THEY ARE GONE! Tickets for the 2026 WCL All-Star Home Run Derby (featuring former Blue Jay Kevin Pillar) and the West Coast League All Star Game on July 14-15 are selling fast. Get yours today! Each event is now on sale separately, or grab the package deal for both and save a few bucks at http://harbourcats.com/tickets! Or call the office at 778-265-0327 to order by phone.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Bats Heat Up in 11-2 Win Over Nanaimo

Published

2 days ago

July 1, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Nanaimo, B.C. – The HarbourCats evened the series with a titanic 11-2 win over their island rivals on Wednesday night.

It was a blink-and-you’ll-mis-it start for the Cats, who scored their first run just four minutes after the first pitch. David Krahn (UBC) and Matt Westley (George Mason) found themselves on base with a single each, and a double off the wall from Logan Shepherd (Mercer) drove Krahn in from second. Westley came in to score an an extremely well-placed bunt from Jacob Silva (UTSA), and a Rohne Klein (San Jose State) single swiftly made it 3-0 Cats after the first half-inning!

BOX SCORE

Krahn touched the plate once again in the second inning, reaching base on an error and being cashed in by a Logan Shepherd base hit. Westley followed suit, pushing the score to 5-0.

Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) powered through six innings in his fifth start of the season, allowing three hits, no runs, and striking out nine. (Photo by JPM Photography)

The onslaught continued in the middle innings, highlighted by a two-run homer from infielder Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) in the fifth. A Tristan Buehring (Whitman) single brought home another before the end of the frame. Victoria followed up with another two tallies in the sixth, a result of some wild pitches and a knock from Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD). 10-0 Cats after six.

That strong start carried over to the other side of the baseball as well, with Jeremiah Arnett putting on a pitching clinic. The Rice University starter let up three hits in a scoreless six innings, striking out nine NightOwls. Daniel Tovar (Northern Kentucky) took over in relief for the seventh and eighth, keeping things clean and keeping Nanaimo off the board.

Matt Westley was on fire at the dish in Nanaimo, badgering NightOwls pitching for a four-hit game. (Photo by JPM Photography)

David Krahn stayed hot in the top of the ninth, crushing an RBI double to extend the lead to 11. Hunter Daniels (Phoenix) was sent in from the bullpen with a safe cushion to work with, giving up the first runs of the game for the NightOwls but ultimately closing out an 11-2 victory.

WCL STANDINGS

The Cats finish off the series in Victoria at 6:35 pm Thursday night before hitting the road for a weekend series in Kelowna.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Bested by NightOwls in Fourth Game of Remax Island Cup

Published

3 days ago

July 1, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats’ late comeback bid was unsuccessful this fireworks night, dropping the first game of the Nanaimo series 10-7

Usual relief pitcher Austin Lindsey (Hill College) settled into his newfound starting role nicely tonight. The Lufkin, Texas righty was straight up impenetrable in his first four innings, pocketing eight strikeouts over that span. A rare walk from Lindsey came back to bite him in the fifth, driven in by the second hit of the game for Nanaimo to put the NightOwls on top.

BOX SCORE

Rohne Klein (San Jose State) retorted with a blistering line drive straight to the right field wall, cruising into second with a double and tagging up to third base on an ensuing flyout. Despite Klein’s effort, the bats sputtered and the first baseman was stranded on third to end the inning, still down by one to the visiting side.

Nanaimo made another edit to the scoreboard in the top of the sixth, battling with two strikes and two outs to turn a ball the other way and double their lead to two. Lindsey got into a bit of hot water following that second run, loading the bases and relinquishing the mound to Houston Tomlinson (Arkansas State).

It was a packed house on Tuesday night for the postgame fireworks show! See if you can spot Harvey the HarbourCat in the crowd . . . (Photo by JPM Photography)

The sticky situation only got stickier, with an error by the Cats shortstop allowing two more runs to slip by on Tomlinson’s watch. The NightOwls added a three-run homer as the exclamation point on the inning, taking a 7-0 lead before the Cats got out of it.

The NightOwls loaded them up once again in the seventh, but the inning was saved by third baseman Matt Westley (George Mason). Westley made a diving stop in the hot corner, stepped on third base, and fired a bullet to first base to keep the score from getting further out of hand.

Victoria finally found their way on the board in frame number seven. Rohne Klein’s screamer off the glove of the Nanaimo first baseman moved catcher Jacob Silva (UTSA) over to third base, and Silva came in to score on a wild pitch for the first Cats run of the game. A sacrifice fly from Marcus Nolen (Fresno State) brought home Klein and yet another wild pitch made room for Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) to score, whittling the deficit down to four with two innings to go.

Tomlinson’s struggles to find the strike zone in the eighth inning gave way to Jake Rafferty (Tacoma) from the bullpen. Rafferty let three more runs fly by before eventually retiring to the dugout.

The Cats put some serious pressure on the NightOwls in the bottom of the eighth, running the bases loaded and scoring four runs on a couple of walks, a sac fly, and an RBI single right back up the middle by Tristan Buehring (Whitman). The comeback effort came up short, however, as the bats returned to dormancy in the bottom of the ninth.

WCL STANDINGS

The series goes to Nanaimo on Wednesday night for a Canada Day showdown with the NightOwls, before the third game of the Remax Island Cup takes place in Victoria at 6:35 pm on Thursday.

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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