The stage is now set for the West Coast League’s 2024 All-Star Game, with festivities beginning tonight in Bellingham, followed Wednesday evening by the League’s first All-Star Game since 2019. Thrilling news was announced last week, as the All-Star Game will be broadcast live on MLB Network, MLB.TV, MLB.com, and the MLB App beginning at 6:30 PM Pacific Time. The broadcast will feature renowned on-air talent, with Tyler Maun handling play-by-play duties, along with analysts Ryan Rowland-Smith and MLB Pipeline’s Sam Dykstra. Probable starting pitchers have been set by head coaches Brooke Knight (South) and Bob Ralston (North). Corvallis Knights right-hander Kaden Segel (U. of Portland) gets the nod for the South, while the North will counter with reigning WCL Pitcher of the Week Tyler Van Dyke (Stetson). Tuesday night, the West Coast League’s celebration of amateur and grass-roots baseball will feature players from the Max Higbee Center alongside WCL All-Stars in the Community Champions Game, an integrated baseball game. The Max Higbee Center supports and empowers teens and adults with developmental disabilities to build community, friendships, happiness, life skills, and health through recreation. Half of ticket sales from the evening will go directly to the Max Higbee Center. Updated rosters for Wednesday night’s WCL All-Star Game, including players tabbed as replacements for original selections no longer available, may be found below. Prior to the game, All-Stars will participate in an invitation-only workout for scouts and amateur coaches, as the West Coast League continues its mission to create tremendous environments for ambitious young baseball players from around the world. NORTH C – Conner Smith of Santa Clara (Bellingham Bells) C – Jonathan Fitz of San Diego (Wenatchee AppleSox) 1B – Jacob Mejia of Cal State San Bernadino (Bellingham Bells) 1B/DH – Wylie Waters of USC Upstate (Nanaimo NightOwls) 1B – Jeremy Giesegh of Cal State San Bernadino (Port Angeles Lefties) 2B – Michael Soper of Westmont College (Edmonton Riverhawks) SS – Roman Martin of UCLA (Bellingham Bells) SS – Nevan Noonan of San Diego State (Nanaimo NightOwls) 3B – Nate Kirkpatrick of Yavapai College (Bellingham Bells) 3B – Jakob Poturnak of Sacramento State (Edmonton Riverhawks) OF – Bryce McFeely of Westmont College (Edmonton Riverhawks) OF/P – Joey Rico of Westmont (Kamloops NorthPaws) OF – Trey Duffield of Rice (Kelowna Falcons) OF – Riley Paulino of Pikeville (Nanaimo NightOwls) OF/2B – Tate Shimao of Hawaii (Victoria HarbourCats) OF – Max Hartman of Washington State (Wenatchee AppleSox) P – Josh Flaugher of Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Bellingham Bells) P – Nic Peterson of UC Santa Barbara (Bellingham Bells) P – Tyler Van Dyke of Stetson (Bellingham Bells) P – Tate Dearing of Reinhardt (Edmonton Riverhawks) P – Vicarte Domingo of British Columbia (Edmonton Riverhawks) P/OF – Gavyn Jones of McLennan CC (Kelowna Falcons) P – Adison Mattix of Everett CC (Nanaimo NightOwls) P – Carson Cormier of TCU (Victoria HarbourCats) P – Garrett Ahearn of Grand Canyon (Wenatchee AppleSox) P – Quincy Vassar of Vanguard (Wenatchee AppleSox) *P – Evan Canfield of Lewis-Clark State (Wenatchee AppleSox) SOUTH C – Luke Iverson of Utah Valley (Ridgefield Raptors) C – Dane Woodcook of New Mexico State (Springfield Drifters) 1B – Easton Amundson of Liberty (Bend Elks) 1B/3B – Patrick Keighran of San Francisco (Portland Pickles) 2B – Spencer Shipman of Whitworth (Yakima Valley Pippins) SS/OF – Blake Wilson of Washington (Corvallis Knights) SS/2B – Ty Yukumoto of Pacific (Corvallis Knights) 3B – Kedren Kinzie of Hawaii (Springfield Drifters) 3B/OF – Preston Allen – uncommitted (Yakima Valley Pippins) OF – Brandon Cabrera of Lewis-Clark State (Corvallis Knights) OF – Dylan Schlaegel of Dallas Baptist (Cowlitz Black Bears) OF – Tanner Griffith of Saint Mary’s (Portland Pickles) OF – Davis Mauzy of Wichita State (Walla Walla Sweets) OF – Kolby Felix of Colorado Mesa (Walla Walla Sweets) UTL – Kevin Takeuchi of USC (Corvallis Knights) P – Mason Edwards of USC (Bend Elks) P – Jackson Elder of Utah (Bend Elks) P – Tyler Wood of UC Davis (Bend Elks) P – James DeCremer of Oregon State (Corvallis Knights) P – Tyner Horn of Nebraska (Corvallis Knights) P – Kaden Segel of Portland (Corvallis Knights) P – Freddie Rodriguez of Hawaii (Portland Pickles) P – Shay Timmer of Salt Lake CC (Portland Pickles) P – Curtis Hebert of Portland (Ridgefield Raptors) P – Liam Hohenstein of Colorado Mesa (Walla Walla Sweets) *P – Dylan Stewart of Pepperdine (Ridgefield Raptors) Universities and colleges noted indicate where players will be enrolled this fall. *Announced as All-Star when rosters were initially unveiled, but unable to participate in the game.
The Kamloops NorthPaws have lost their first series at home this season following a 9-1 defeat against the Bellingham Bells. Despite out-hitting Bellingham, the NorthPaws couldn’t come up with a big inning.
The Bells got off to another quick start, scoring two in the top of the first. Bellingham’s first run came from two walks, a past ball, and a sacrifice ground ball. A base hit would score the second run.
The NorthPaws got off to another slow start at the plate, registering their first hit in the third inning. The Bells took advantage in the top of the fourth when they had two runners on with two outs. A double that turned into a triple via an error put two more runs on the board. The next Bells hitter sent a two-run home run over the wall in left field, making it 6-0.
In the bottom half, Drew Schmidt and Tanner Hornback hit back-to-back singles and would later advance 90 feet on a balk call. Left fielder Joey Rico sent a ball to center field that was deep enough to score Schmidt. Fans felt optimistic, given last night’s comeback effort, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the inning.
That would be the first and only run scored for the NorthPaws as they left five runners on base through the following five innings. Kamloops couldn’t get a rally going despite having runners on and getting hits.
“We had hits pretty much every inning and had guys on, but just no follow-up,” said first baseman Jared Hall.
The NorthPaws couldn’t string together a big inning on Saturday night. The Bells staff walked just three batters, while the NorthPaws issued seven walks. The Bells hitters took advantage and gave Kamloops no hope of a comeback effort.
“We just have to flush tonight and put together a full team effort tomorrow and save the series,” said Hall.
The NorthPaws will conclude the series on Sunday afternoon for a matinée game beginning at 12:05.
NANAIMO, B.C. — The Nanaimo NightOwls took the second game of the series against the Edmonton RiverHawks 2-0 in game two and moved closer to an even record on the season at 11-12. The pitching was stellar on the day as the NightOwls combined for a six-hit shutout on Saturday at Serauxemen Stadium.
The bats weren’t there all the time for Nanaimo, but they were there at the right time in the Bottom of the sixth inning. A two-run double was all the scoring the NightOwls needed as their pitchers were all throwing fire. Nanaimo finished with two runs on seven hits and one error, while the Edmonton Riverhawks had no runs on six hits and no errors. That brings the winning streak to three games for the NightOwls as they seem to be getting in mid-season form.
The four pitchers for the NightOwls combined for a seven-hit shutout, walking only 3 and striking out 7. The bulk of those stats go to starting pitcher Aidan Boice. Aidan, from Holladay, Utah, went five innings, giving up just 3 hits and one walk while striking out five of the twenty batters he faced on the night. He left with a no decision, but I spoke to him after the game about his start.
I asked what he thought of his performance on the mound tonight for the NightOwls, “You know I thought it was good, I came back from some behind counts and got some big outs with runners, I’m pretty happy with it.” He would also speak about the play of the team behind him and how it makes it easier to pitch knowing they have his back defensively, “Yeah the defense has been amazing these past few weeks, especially the outfield and they’ve been giving me a lot of help so it’s been awesome.”
Other pitchers for the NightOwls on the night were Cody “Cowboy” Carmichael, who pitched one inning, giving up zero hits and one walk. Cody got the win for Nanaimo and moves to 1-1 on the season in six appearances. Brady Morse also pitched a great inning before Brennan Kettle came on for the six-out save. The Junior from Hawaii Pacific University went two innings and gave up just one hit and walked one.
The NightOwls didn’t generate much offence on Saturday night, but they got it at the perfect time. Spencer Sullivan was once again at the forefront of things and hit a two RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning. On the night, Spencer went one for three with two RBI and a walk. first baseman Jacob Hayes went two for four on the night with two singles and a run scored. It looks like he wants to start another hit streak as that is back to back games for Hayes.
We have one more game in the series against the Edmonton Riverhawks on Sunday June 29th. It’s Family Fun Day at the ball park so we have a 1:05 pm first pitch. It’s also our mascot, Ney-Te The NightOwls Birthday so come out and help celebrate his big day as the Nanaimo Bars look to bring the brooms out of the janitors closet and sweep the series.
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.
General manager of the NightOwls said this about the night, “This fireworks game is becoming a must-see tradition in Nanaimo, with more than 3,100 at last year’s game,” said GM Tina Cornett. “The Kwumut Lelum Foundation is all about community and doing great things in the Nanaimo region.” For more information check out this link here and we hope to see you out at the ballpark on Tuesday! #IlluminateTheDark
WENATCHEE, Wash. – The Victoria HarbourCats held a three-run lead late, but the Wenatchee AppleSox battled back to walk it off in the ninth, winning game two of the series 5-4.
The HarbourCats got going early, taking a 1-0 lead in no time through a JC Allen (UC San Diego) RBI single that scored Hudson Shupe (Gonzaga) in the first inning.
The AppleSox answered back immediately when Jake Sanko drove in a run with a single of his own. The scoring stopped until the top of the fourth when Isaiah Afework (Tacoma CC) hit a triple to the wall and was then brought home on a sacrifice fly by Connor Ross (Cal Baptist) to restore their one-run advantage.
Thomas Bridges (Northwestern U) has been Victoria’s ace this year and started the game Saturday night. After a relatively shaky opening to the game by his high standards, he settled down and completed four innings, giving up one run on six hits, while striking out five. He walked no one, and has still only walked one batter in 20 innings of work this season.
The Cats extended their lead in the seventh when Shupe singled to centre, scoring Tanner Beltowski (Westmont College). The shortstop came home two batters later when Logan Shepherd (Mercer U) hit an RBI double, making it 4-1 Victoria.
Carson Burks (Hill College) was first out of the bullpen for Todd Haney’s team and was dominant the first time through the order. The lefty from Buna, Texas, retired the first 10 batters he faced before Jehee Lee hit a home run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 4-2. Later in the inning, a bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly did the job for the hosts, tying up the game at four heading into the ninth.
Marcus Janovsky (UBC), who came in to pitch in the eighth, was out for the ninth inning and gave up a single and hit a batter, which allowed the AppleSox to walk it off through a Kyle Panganiban sacrifice fly, giving Wenatchee a 5-4 win.
The HarbourCats will look to salvage something from this series tomorrow at 5:35 PM. After that, they return home on Monday, June 30, for the second fireworks night of the season! There is no better way to celebrate the long weekend. Buy tickets at harbourcats.com/tickets
Season Tickets, 10 and 32-Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are now on sale for all 33 home games and four “Showcase” events through the HarbourCats’ new and one-and-only ticketing partner SHOWPASS at harbourcats.com/tickets.
Tickets and merchandise can also be purchased in person at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street or by calling 778-265-0327.
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