Summer Collegiate

Crazy 8s: Another eigth inning rally gives NorthPaws the win in Kelowna

Published

1 year ago

June 8, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

The Kamloops NorthPaws defeated the Kelowna Falcons on Saturday night at Elks Stadium 7-6, securing the series victory. It was another back-and-forth ball game that saw the NorthPaws score three in the eighth inning and hold on to win their second one-run game of the season.

Following a scoreless first where the NorthPaws left two men on base, third baseman Kieran Gaffney got hit by a pitch to lead off. Left fielder Cade Palkowski drove Gaffney in with a triple to left center field. Second baseman Joey Marino made it a 2-0 game by driving in Palkowski with a sacrifice fly. Kamloops made it 3-0 in the third courtesy of designated hitter Matthew MacDonald. The Kamloops native hit the NorthPaws first home run of the season.

The Falcons responded in the bottom of the third with a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases. A single to right field scored a pair, making it a one-run game. Two batters later, Kelowna tied the game on a sacrifice fly.

The top of the fifth saw NorthPaws shortstop Elijah Clayton hit the team’s second triple of the night to lead off. Two pitches later, Clayton would score the go-ahead run off a wild pitch.

The back-and-forth battle would swing in favour of the Falcons in the bottom of the sixth, tying the game off back-to-back hits. Later in the inning, a strange situation would unfold as Falcons second baseman Zach Wieder was on third base. Righty Dylan Dekker was on the mound for Kamloops and saw Wieder break for home. Dekker threw the ball home, and the tag was applied. Initially, the Umpire ruled Wieder out at the plate, but the call was overruled because the third base umpire called Dekker for a balk, tying the game.

In the top of the eighth, first baseman Kalen Applefield and catcher Brendan Burke both reached base with third baseman Kieran Gaffney at the plate. Gaffney would get a hold of a 0-2 pitch and drive it to the gap in left-center field, scoring two runs. Cade Palkowski was up next and drove Gaffney in for the second time, making it 7-5.

“He had a big hit last night as well, and to see him do it again tonight was awesome; seeing our guys fight all night long is a great sign for us,” said Head Coach Reily Jepson.

The game would come down to the wire in the bottom of the ninth as righty Keith Manby came into the game with Falcons on second and third with no one out. Manby gave up a sacrifice fly, making it a 7-6 game, but shut the door, recording the final two outs and securing the series victory.

“That was massive for us. Keith was nails tonight. He did a great job,” said Pitching Coach Jack Slominski.

Although the NorthPaws improved to 6-2 on the season, the offence has struggled at times. However, tonight, the team finally saw its first home run and triple of the season.

“That’s been missing from our game early on, so it was nice to see tonight; those runs ignited our offence,” said Jepson.

After a pair of challenging games in Bellingham, the team has rattled off three wins in a row, and with more home games on the horizon, Jepson is excited.

“It’s nice for the guys to be able to sleep in their own beds and establish routines; it’s tough to do that when you’re on the road,” said Jepson.

The Falcons and NorthPaws will face off once again on Sunday afternoon at Norbrock Stadium. The first pitch is set for 12:05 pm, and you can watch the game on West Coast League TV.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Comeback Out of Reach in Extra Innings Loss

Published

19 mins ago

July 4, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The HarbourCats’ offence struggled tonight, failing to pull together until the late stages of the game. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Kelowna, B.C. – The Cats’ comeback attempt fell short as Victoria endured a 3-2 extra-innings loss in game one of the Kelowna series.

A leadoff double in the bottom of the third inning paid off for Kelowna when a one-out single drove in the first run of the ballgame. After a strong couple of innings top open the game, Cats starter Easton Reimers (North Dakota State) struggled to find the zone in his third frame of work.

BOX SCORE

The HarbourCats turned to Spencer Kratt (San Jose State) to pitch the fourth inning, and the right-hander proved to be unsolvable for the Falcons. Kratt allowed no runs in his solid four innings in relief, allowing only two hits alongside a pair of strikeouts.

Victoria finally cobbled together an offensive threat in the top of the fifth, with Tristan Buehring (Whitman) making his way to third after a single and two groundouts. The Cats were unable to take advantage however, squandering their first opportunity to score.

Anson Stuckly (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) was called from the bullpen in the eighth, on the heels of an airtight outing from Kratt. Stuckly made things look easy in his brief appearance, tossing ten pitches for a quick scoreless frame.

Victoria struggled to find any traction over the course of the ballgame until Logan Shepherd (Mercer) uncorked a monster solo shot in the top of the ninth, his first homer of the season to tie the game at one. That kept the game going long enough for Stuckly to pitch a scoreless bottom of the ninth and force extra innings.

The Cats battled their way to a one-run lead in extras, courtesy of a sacrifice fly from Riley Kwak (Bossier Parish) to give Victoria the advantage. Marcus Janovsky (UBC) was tagged in for extra innings duty, loading the bases and allowing two runs to score for a 3-2 Falcons win.

WCL STANDINGS

This Kelowna series continues this weekend, with the next game scheduled for 6:35 on Saturday night. Following the end of the series, the Cats will come home for a three-game set with the Bend Elks.

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 – 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.

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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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