Summer Collegiate

Bring out the Brooms as the Nanaimo Bars Sweep The RiverHawks

Published

12 months ago

June 30, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

NANAIMO, B.C. — Bring out the brooms, cause the Nanaimo Bars pulled out a 5-3 win in game three to sweep the series against the Edmonton RiverHawks. That brings the winning streak up to four and six overall, and the Nanaimo Bars are back to .500 for the season with a 12-12 record.

It didn’t take long for the Nanaimo Bars to jump out to a lead. Nathan Davis took a walk before Talan Zenk stepped up to the plate and drove an opposite two-run home run to right field over the Save-on-Foods sign. The RiverHawks would tie it up in the top of the third inning, 2-2, before taking a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning. The score would stay that way until the bottom of the eighth inning.

The Nanaimo Bars weren’t going to go away and leave the over 1000 fans at Serauxmen Stadium in attendance disappointed. An eight-inning rally saw them put three runs on the board and take a 5-3. The Bars would close out Family Fun Day with a win, and the kids ran the bases with Jacob, one of our SuperFans!

https://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=621648

For the second night in a row, the Nanaimo Bars’ pitching was superb as they gave up just three runs on seven hits. Carter Chard-Hill got the win on the afternoon, pitching just one inning but not needing help from anyone in the field as he struck out the side. Starting pitcher Zach Horwith went three innings and gave up two earned runs on five hits. Dawson Shultz and Dillon Thompson both threw scoreless innings in relief for the Nanaimo Bars.

Sliding into third safe! (Photo credit Chad Frostad)

After the Nanaimo Bars took the lead in the bottom of the eighth, they turned to Asher De Leo. Super happy to see Asher come on to get the save for the Bars, as he was bitten on the leg by a dog yesterday. He toughed it out, came back today, and got a three-up three-down inning for the save and solidified the sweep.

https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv/

Mentioned Talan Zenk had a huge two-run bomb in the first inning, and he also scored the winning run on a wild pitch. He had a good night at the plate and went two for four with a home run, two RBI, and two runs.

Talan Zenk (@TalanZenk, @EvCC_Baseball ’26) went 2-for-4 with an opposite field home run (2), 2 RBI, and 2 runs, including the game-winner in the 8th, in the @wclNightOwls‘ 5-3 win over Edmonton Sunday. pic.twitter.com/AZ7tfWol5v

— PNW College Baseball Report (@PNW_CBR) June 30, 2025

I spoke with Talan Zenk after the game about his home run, ” The count was 2-0 and I was just looking for something to drive, saw a fastball outer half and was able to do damage.”

I also wanted to know about the NightOwls celebration on base, “The celebration is just something we do to fire up our team, we are looking to keep the energy and continue attacking the other team.”

Nanaimo Bars win 5-3 and sweep the series (Photo Credit Chad Frostad)

It was another all around effort from the Nanaimo Bars. Seven of the Nine starters had a base hit in the 5-3 victory. Raoul Fabian Jr, Jaisen Abner both had hits and RBIs on the day for the Nanaimo Bars.

http://Nanaimonightowls.com/tickets

Monday the NightOwls have an exhibition game on June 30th against the Nanaimo Selects before our big Canada Day festivities against Island rivals, the Victoria HarbourCats. Make sure to get out early for that one as we are going to be packed. We have fireworks presented by the Kwumut Lelum Foundation.

Then the team heads off to Victoria for the rest of the three game series on July 2nd and 3rd. After that the NightOwls are on the road to Edmonton for three games for a rematch with the RiverHawks July, 4th, 5th and 6th!

Make sure to check the live stream in the link above to catch you NightOwls on the road. Tag us in your social media and use the Hashtag #IlluminateTheDark! Go NightOwls Go!!

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Clinch Bellingham Series with 6-2 Win

Published

4 hours ago

June 28, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Cats hitters have racked up a total of 28 hits over two games in this series so far, 12 of them coming from tonight. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats clinched a series win over the Bellingham Bells on Saturday night, outworking the Bells on the way to a 6-2 victory.

Seattle native Quincey Brown (UCSD) was not messing around in his first start as a HarbourCat. Brown sat down three Bells on strikes on the first inning and stacked up two more punchouts before stepping aside for Davis Lee (Calgary) in the third inning.

BOX SCORE

The Cats finally broke the deadlock in the bottom of the fourth inning. Shortstop Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) got on base with a leadoff single and stole second, later wheeling around third on a Rohne Klein (San Jose State) base hit to score the first run of the game. Lukas Le Gras (Westmont) doubled the lead with a double off the wall, bringing Klein in to score before stealing home on a wild pitch to widen the lead to 3-0. David Krahn (UBC) clubbed his second homer in two games over the left field fence, and a double from Jacob Silva (UTSA) capped off the inning with an RBI double to widen the lead to 5-0.

Davis Lee called it a night in the top of the sixth after holding the line for 2.2 innings and keeping Bellingham’s score at a nice round number. Leif Friedrich (Concordia-Nebraska) came in for his HarbourCats debut and kept it rolling, securing the outs needed to move on to the bottom of the inning.

Lukas Le Gras had a strong offensive showing, going 2/4 with a double. (Photo by JPM Photography)

The Cats added some insurance in the bottom of the sixth, a Tristan Buehring (Whitman) sacrifice fly for Victoria’s sixth run. Carson Ackermann (Tacoma) was the next arm out of the pen for the HarbourCats. The right-hander quickly found himself in a bases-loaded jam and allowed the first two runs of the ballgame for the Bells before escaping the frame.

Ackermann stuck it out until the top of the ninth, when Anson Stuckly (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) took over, stranding a couple of runners and closing out a 6-2 win.

WCL STANDINGS

The Bellingham series comes to a close at 1:05 pm on Sunday afternoon, preceding a midweek series against the Nanaimo NightOwls beginning on Tuesday night.

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 – Cats Pummel Bells in 17-6 Victory

Published

1 day ago

June 27, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria unleashed 11 runs in the sixth inning, paving the way to a resounding win over the top team in the West Coast League. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Victoria, B.C. – A grand slam followed by an 11-run inning led to a robust win over the Bellingham Bells on Friday night, with the Cats claiming a 17-6 win.

BOX SCORE

The Cats looked a little trigger-happy in the first third of the game, only seeing 15 pitches from Bellingham’s starter. This enthusiasm didn’t earn much, with just two HarbourCats reaching base in a quick three innings.

On the other side of the coin, Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) made quick work of the Bells as well, refusing to allow them the luxury of a hit through four innings and earning five strikeouts on the side. Jake Rafferty (Tacoma) took up the torch for the fifth, getting himself into a sticky situation with a couple of wild pitches before finding his way out with a zero on the board.

Jeremiah Arnett allowed zero runs in a four-inning start. (Photo by JPM Photography)

The HarbourCats finally dug their claws in for the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases just in time for David Krahn (UBC). The British Columbia local stepped up to the plate and delivered, utterly pulverizing a ball to left field for an electrifying grand slam, breaking the seal and taking a 4-0 lead for the home side.

Bellingham responded passionately in the next inning, sneaking a run in on a base hit followed by a three-run blast off of Cats reliever Spencer Kratt (San Jose State). Victoria shrugged it off and pulled out all the stops in the bottom of the fifth, taking advantage of a Bellingham error and finding hits from Lukas Le Gras (Westmont), Bryan Bradshaw (UC San Diego), Rohne Klein (San Jose State) et al to jump out in front of the Bells. By the time the smoke cleared on a long sixth inning, the Cats were suddenly up 15-4. Not too shabby.

Surrey, B.C.’s Marcus Janovsky (UBC) entered the game in the seventh to face a battered and bruised group of Bells, who snuck home on a sloppy relay from the outfield to scratch away at the 11-run lead standing over them.

Unwilling to let up after taking a comfortable lead, the Cats kept their foot on the gas in the bottom of the seventh. Designated hitter Jacob Silva (UTSA) batted in a pair of runs with a one-out single, pushing the score to a humble 17-6 with two innings to go.

Hunter Daniels (Phoenix College) came in from the bullpen to dot the i’s and cross the t’s on a booming victory for the HarbourCats in their first game against the top team in the West Coast League Standings.

WCL STANDINGS

The Cats get another crack at the Bells on Saturday night at 6:35 pm, and the series comes to an end with an afternoon game on Sunday.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Silenced by NightOwls in 2-1 Loss

Published

2 days ago

June 26, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Despite out-hitting the NightOwls, two solo homers in the fourth inning was all Nanaimo needed to overpower the visiting Cats. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Nanaimo, B.C. – The Island Rivalry Series came to an end in Nanaimo on Thursday evening, with the Cats offence held quiet in a 2-1 loss to the NightOwls.

Erik Rico (Fresno State) was dominant in the opening third of the ballgame, keeping Nanaimo scoreless with six strikeouts. The Cats starter wavered in the bottom of the fourth, surrendering a solo homer for the first blemish on his previously spotless ERA this season. The NightOwls took the opportunity to pummel another ball over the wall, taking a 2-0 lead by the end of the fourth inning.

BOX SCORE

The Cats had their first real offensive opportunity in the top of the seventh, moving Rohne Klein (San Jose State) over to third after a leadoff single. Nanaimo’s defenses held strong, however, and Klein was stranded to end the inning.

Victoria finally broke through in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Kade Davis, but one run was all they could muster. Nanaimo closed it out in the top of the ninth to claim a series victory in the first Island Rivalry Series of the year.

Northern Kentucky reliever Daniel Tovar was introduced to the ballgame in the fifth inning, powering through two scoreless innings before handing the ball over to Houston Tomlinson (Arkansas State). Tomlinson worked his way across the seventh and eighth, picking up a strikeout and allowing two hits in two innings.

WCL STANDINGS

With the Nanaimo series complete, the Cats will now host the Bellingham Bells in a weekend series at home, beginning Friday night at 6:35 pm.

Source