Summer Collegiate

July perfect so far for NorthPaws

Published

3 years ago

July 3, 2023

Dugout Wire Service

Author: Larry Read

KAMLOOPS BC—Fans of the Kamloops NorthPaws experienced something they hadn’t in nearly a month. That was a victory by their team at Dearborn Ford Field at Norbrock Stadium.

Canada Day was truly a happy day for those people as the NorthPaws notched their sixth win of the West Coast League season beating the Kelowna Falcons 5-4 in 11 innings.

And it was followed up with a second victory over Kelowna on Sunday (July 2). The score in that game was 6-0 as the NorthPaws upped their record to 7-20. The Falcons fell to 14-13.

Following the two-game sweep at home over the Falcons, Kamloops has a day off to travel. They begin a six-game road trip to Washington State. They meet up with the Bellingham Bells starting July 4th. They then visit the Wenatchee Apple Sox for a three-game set starting July 7th.

Bellingham and Wenatchee are the top two teams in the WCL North Division. Bellingham fell out of first place after an 8-2 loss in Victoria on Sunday (July 2). Wenatchee hammered the RiverHawks 12-4 Sunday in Edmonton. The AppleSox are 18-6 after the weekend while Bellingham fell to 17-7.

The Falcons return home to Elks Stadium in Kelowna to play three times against the defending West Coast League champions: the Corvallis Knights. Game one is July 3rd.

All West Coast League games are available via their website: https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv/

SERIES RECAP:

Saturday, July 1, 2023 in Kamloops: NorthPaws 5 Falcons 4 (11 innings)

The Paws had three opportunities to ‘knock off’ the Falcons in this one. The teams were tied at 4 after seven innings. Jude Hall (Chiliwack, BC) brought in the winning run in the bottom of the 11 th when he was walked by reliever Thrasher Steed (Orange Beach, AL) with the bases loaded. That brought home Drew Giannini (Tracy, CA) from third base. Steed was the losing pitcher in relief. Hes now 2-2 after pitching one inning giving up a run, four walks and had a strikeout.

David Jeon (Coppell, TX) was the winner in relief. He too pitched one inning, walking two and striking out one. His record is 1-2.

Offensively, Kamloops was led by Tyler Glowacki (San Diego, CA). Glowacki was 2-5 with two runs scored. Robin Villeneuve was 0-2 but had three runs batted in and had two walks. Catcher Matthew Ward was 1-4 with a run scored. Ward was playing his first game with Kamloops after being picked up off waivers from the Nanaimo Night Owls.

Kelowna’s top batsman were Cameron Mercucio (Modesto, CA) who was 2-3 with a run batted in and a run scored. Trevor Wilson (Fresno, CA) was 2-4 and score da run. Jonas Salk (Fairfax, CA) was 2-5 with a run batted in.

Link to Scoresheet: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=598684

Sunday, July 2, 2023 in Kamloops: NorthPaws 6 Falcons 0

The NorthPaws broke open a scoreless tie with two runs in the bottom of the third. They added two more in the fourth and singles in both the fifth and seventh innings.

New Zealander MacLain Roberts got the start on the hill for Kamloops. The left earned his first win of the season to move to 1-4. It was his seventh start of the campaign. Roberts pitched five innings of four hit ball with six walks and six strikeouts. He was the first of three pitchers for the NorthPaws.

Jaxon Byrd (Sacramento, CA) went three and a third innings and was tagged with the loss. It was his first decision of the year after starting two previous games. He gave up five hits, three runs, struck out four and walked one.

Kamloops was led offensively by Anthony Manuel (Antioch, CA) was 2-4 with a run batted in. Robin Villeneuve (Gatineau, QC) was 1-2 with two runs scored. Cooper Neville (Glendale, AZ) was 2-4 with a run scored and ended the game as he one timed a ‘hot shot’ to shortstop. Phoenix Sommay was 1-2 with a run batted in and two runs scored.

Kelowna catcher Konnor Palmeira (Kahului, HI) was 2-3 while Griffen Palfrey (West Vancouver, BC) was 1-4.

Link to Scoresheet: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=598685

HEAD COACH KEITH FRANCIS:

“The weekend was good for us. We played at their place on Friday and we played terrible. I am going to chalk it up to a long eight days on the road. We came home and had a nice big crowd the last two nights and played very well.”

NORTHPAWS OUTFIELDER TYLER GLOWACKI (SAN DIEGO, CA):

“These wins have been great. The guys have been working really hard but the balls haven’t fallen our way. It is starting to pay off. It is a great group of guys. We have to trust in the process. At the end of the day, how you regroup and regather. It is all about how you respond.”

NORTHPAWS INFIELDER COOPER NEVILLE (GLENDALE, AZ):

“It was how the game is supposed to be played (referring to the home sweep over Kelowna). We did what we could. There is more room to grow for sure. But we are finally coming together as a team. We have the capability and the talent to compete with any team in this league.”

NORTHPAWS PITCHER TYRELLE CHADWICK (KAMLOOPS, BC):

“It feels like we are back on the right track after starting slow this year. We have everyone moving in the same direction. With the Kamloops-Kelowna rivalry, its great to take a couple off of them.”

NEXT UP FOR THE NORTHPAWS:

As mentioned, the Paws are living out of a suitcase the next six games beginning Tuesday July 4th in Bellingham. Then it is onto Wenatchee against the Apple Sox for three games.

Their next home series will be Tuesday July 11th when the Edmonton RiverHawks come to town. Opening pitch that night along with Wednesday and Thursday July 11-12th will be 6:35 PM.

If you can’t make the home games, they are all webcast on https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv/ . Some home games will also be shown on Shaw TV in Kamloops (Cable 10 or 105 with Blue Curve).

TAILGATE PARTY:

The Molson’s Tailgate Party is hoppin’ before every NorthPaws home game. It runs Tuesday through Saturday 5-630 PM. The Party runs Sundays noon-1 PM. Hotdogs and a Pilsner are sold for $ 12.00 plus tax.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Pitching Shuts Down Elks to Clinch Series

Published

10 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria, B.C. – Victoria’s pitching staff put on a show tonight in a 5-0 shutout over the visiting Bend Elks.

The Cats got the engine running early in game two, driving in the first run of the game on a Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) double in the bottom of the second inning. Second-year HarbourCat Logan Shepherd (Mercer) kept it rolling the very next inning, crushing his second homer of the year to double the lead.

BOX SCORE

Starting pitcher Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) put on an absolute clinic on the mound in his sixth start of the year. The Waco, Texas product went six innings and struck out 11 (yes, 11) Elks while only giving up two hits. No wonder he’s a WCL All-Star.

Arnett’s excellent start laid the groundwork for a robust Cats win. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Victoria honoured an impressive start by widening the lead further in the bottom of the sixth. After Rohne Klein (San Jose State) found his way on base on a fielder’s choice, high-contact outfielder Tristan Buehring (Whitman) squeaked a single through the infield to drive him in. A Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) double kept the line moving and brought Buehring home to make it 4-0.

Right-handed reliever Will Zielinski came into the game in the top of the seventh and picked up right where Arnett left off. The Victoria local hit the ground running out of the bullpen, striking out the side in 15 pitches. Zielinski wasn’t done there, though, as he picked up two more strikeouts in the eighth before giving way to Jake Rafferty (Tacoma CC) to close out a shutout win.

WCL STANDINGS

The Cats will go for the sweep over the Elks in the final game of the series at 6:35 pm on Thursday night!

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 Stun Elks with Thunderous 18-5 Victory

Published

1 day ago

July 8, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats welcomed the Bend Elks to Victoria this evening with a monumental 18-5 takeover to start the series off right.

Although the Elks opened the scoring with a single to centre field in the top of the second, the Cats answered back quickly in the bottom half of the frame. With runners on the corners and nobody out, Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) dug in for a sacrifice fly, driving in Rohne Klein (San Jose State) from third and tying the game at one apiece.

BOX SCORE

Cats starter and freshly-crowned All-Star Erik Rico (Fresno State) called it a night after three solid innings of work. Rico allowed one run and struck out seven to push his league-leading strikeout count to 40. Flynn Warren (Hawaii Pacific) filled the gap for the fourth, striking out two before letting one batter get away and surrendering a two-run homer. The New Zealand product eventually got the final out he needed, but not before the Elks took a 3-1 lead.

Erik Rico’s league-leading 40 strikeouts are just part of the reason he was selected as a WCL All-Star. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Warren returned for the fifth and gave up a solo homer, but that was the only damage sustained before the Cats defence returned to the dugout down by three.

Victoria finally found some contact in the bottom of the fifth, putting runners on the corners with nobody out once again. A Bend throwing error allowed a run to come in, but a big baserunning mistake by the Cats led to the Elks getting two outs on the play as well.

Inning the sixth showed yet more promise for the HarbourCats, as a couple of early base knocks made it – stop me if you’ve heard this before – runners on the corners with nobody out. The home side continued to put wood on the baseball, eventually bringing in five runs on base hits from Rohne Klein, Tristan Buehring (Whitman), and WCL All-Star David Krahn (UBC). Unsatisfied with a one-run lead, Matt Westley (George Mason) stepped up to the plate with two outs and banished a baseball to the great unknown, busting the game wide open with a three-run homer to make it 10-5.

Matt Westley’s home run was a back-breaker for the Elks. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Patience was the name of the game in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Elks walked the bases loaded and bounced a pitch in front of the plate that allowed Jacob Silva (UTSA) to score. Tristan Buehring followed that up with an RBI single, and David Krahn obliterated his seventh homer of the season. 15-5 for the Cats with two innings to go.

The Cats kept the pressure on, adding a Rohne Klein homer for good measure before Spencer Kratt closed out a three-inning relief appearance, securing a much-needed blowout win for the good guys.

WCL STANDINGS

The HarbourCats are back on the hunt tomorrow night for the second of three games this week against the Elks.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Former HarbourCat Austin Russell, a WCL all-star, hired to coach Collegiate Cats program

Published

3 days ago

July 6, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

July 5, 2026

VICTORIA, B.C. — Former HarbourCat and WCL All-Star Austin Russell has been handed the reins of Victoria’s year-round collegiate baseball program.

The local product has been hired to lead the Victoria Collegiate Cats of the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC), effective August 1. The team formerly called the Golden Tide will enter its sixth season this fall, based primarily out of Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park.

“I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity and excited to help build a Victoria Collegiate Cats program that the players, alumni and community can be proud of,” said Russell, who played with his brother Ty on the 2013 HarbourCats team. “My time playing college baseball had a tremendous impact on my growth as a person, both on and off the field, and my priority is to provide these young men with that same opportunity — an experience they can look back on with pride and one that helps prepare them for success as they move forward in life.”

Russell, 34, was a member of the inaugural HarbourCats team and the outfielder was selected to play in the WCL all-star game in 2013. He also played summer collegiate baseball in Moose Jaw, and played collegiately at Colby Community College, Southern Polytechnic State, and MacPherson College.

Russell won conference awards as a player at Colby and MacPherson, and still plays in the Mavericks League locally. He represented Victoria in the 2018 Baseball Canada Men’s Nationals on home soil, earning a silver medal.

Russell (left), along with Nick Pivetta (centre) and Connor Russell (no relation)(right) were three of the first HarbourCats players to be signed for the 2013 season (Photo: Christian J. Stewart).

He coached for many years in the Victoria Mariners youth system, and is excited to return to the college level. Pitching Coach Darius Opdam Bak and Assistant Coach Colton O’Brien will return and round out the coaching staff.

Russell will also join Opdam Bak and other WCL HarbourCats coaches in taking an active role with community development initiatives and youth camps.

“This is an exciting announcement for us and we could not be happier to put Austin into the leadership role with the Collegiate Cats as Head Coach,” said Jim Swanson, Managing Partner of the group that owns the Collegiate Cats, the Victoria HarbourCats and Nanaimo NightOwls (West Coast League), and the Edwards Family Training Centre (EFTC) indoor facility.

“Austin is well-known and respected in the baseball world, especially locally, and we know he will put tremendous effort and skill into the role as we continue to grow the Collegiate Cats. He’s excited to get started.”

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