KAMLOOPS — After claiming an exhibition game victory on Thursday versus rival Kelowna, the Kamloops NorthPaws dropped three straight to the visiting Nanaimo NightOwls over a hot and smokey weekend in the Tournament Capital.
The trio of losses moves the Paws to 5-8 in the second half of the WCL Season, 3GB of the North Division leading Wenatchee AppleSox, who the NorthPaws are set to see for three games starting on Tuesday south of the border.
GAME 1
A low-scoring pitchers duel took place on Friday night as the Nanaimo NightOwls squeaked out a 2-1 victory.
TRU’s Kolby Lukinchuk toed the rubber for Kamloops, taking a hard luck loss after tossing 7.0IP 5H 2ER. Lucas Smith followed with 2.0IP 2H 0R.
Kamloops did strike first in the third inning on an Anthony Setticasi double that scored Anthony Manuel from second.
The NightOwls responded with a single run in both the fifth and sixth innings to take the lead. Joshua Torres, RBI double, and Mitchell Middlemiss RBI single.
Jacob Fleury got the win for the NightOwls after silencing the bats of Kamloops over 6.0IP, 1H, 1ER, 2BB.
The Paws would get the tying and winning run into scoring position in the ninth as TJ Wachter missed a two-run walkoff by a matter of inches off the left field wall before a ground out secured the win for the visitors.
Ryan Inouye was credited with the save.
GAME 2
One bad inning spelled disaster for the NorthPaws on Saturday night, as once again the offense scuffled in a 6-4 Nanaimo victory.
Just like in game one, it was an early lead for Kamloops, as TJ Wachter singled home Joey Rico to make it 1-0.
Cade Johnson got the start for Kamloops pitching in and out of danger through 5.0IP, 7H, 1ER.
After Nanaimo leveled the score at 1-1 in the third, the NorthPaws would take a 4-1 lead in the sixth. Matthew Olivares doubled home Rico, followed by a pair of 2-out RBI singles from Jerry Nix, and Jacob Schlesselman.
From there the NightOwls would score 5 unanswered to secure the series win. Trailing by one in the eighth, Nanaimo scored three unearned runs against Paws’ closer Rico, as a ground ball slipped under the glove of Madden Ocko.
Ocko would single in the ninth to give the NorthPaws a shot, but he would be stranded.
GAME 3
The final game of the three game set was entirely one-sided, with the Nanaimo NightOwls completing the sweep in dominant fashion 12-2.
Keith Manby from the TRU WolfPack got the start for Kamloops in the contest and struggled to get outs, allowing 6ER, 7H 1K in 3.1IP. David Betancourt, Manato Tateno, Nolan Austin and Manny Recchi would also toe the rubber on Sunday evening, allowing six more runs to cross the plate in a crushing defeat.
The Paws managed just four hits in the ballgame, three of which came from Kamloops’ own Matt MacDonald who went 3-4 at the plate with an RBI.
Aidan Boice recorded the win for Nanaimo, allowing just two MacDonald hits over 6.0IP, with 7K.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE Monday, July 22 – Off-Day Tuesday, July 23 at Wenatchee, 6:35 first pitch Wednesday, July 24 at Wenatchee, 6:35 first pitch Thursday, July 25 at Wenatchee, 6:35 first pitch Friday, July 26 at Victoria, 6:30 first pitch Saturday, July 27 at Victoria, 6:30 first pitch Sunday, July 28 at Victoria, 1:00 first pitch Monday, July 29 – Off-Day Tuesday, July 30 vs Bellingham, 6:35 first pitch Wednesday, July 31 vs Bellingham, 6:35 first pitch Thursday, August 1, vs Bellingham, 6:35 first pitch
FOR MEDIA REQUESTS Jenna Forter General Manager Kamloops NorthPaws 250-200-1415 www.northpawsbaseball.ca
Please join us as we usher in the Holiday Season with our annual Christmas Open House!
When: Thursday and Friday, November 28 and 29 Time: 12 Noon to 7 PM each day Where: HarbourCats office 101-1814 Vancouver Street.
Come by to say hello and enjoy some hot cider and other beverages and snacks and talk about our upcoming 2025 season!
Plenty of merchandise on hand for the HarbourCats fan on your Christmas list – all at 20% off for the month of November! Plus plenty of HarbourCats and Victoria Golden Tide items available on our special $10.00 clearance rack!
Season tickets and 10-game flex packs will also be available for sale and as a special BLACK FRIDAY bonus, we will throw in a free-gift with the purchase of any 10-pack or season ticket package.
Wirthgen has MLB bloodlines as the nephew of former MLB slugger and manager Phil Nevin, the first overall pick in the 1992 draft who played for six teams and hit 41 home runs for the Padres in 2001 as part of a 1,200-game career. A strong defensive catcher with power potential, Wirthgen played in the Alaska summer league in 2024.
Teper, also from D1 powerhouse Cal Baptist, is an aviation major who plans to fly planes once his days in pro baseball are over. The lefty will be counted on in key situations this summer, and made 11 appearances, including three starts, in the Alaska league in 2024.
Three players will arrive from the University of Pikeville, where they play for new NightOwls coach Cody Andreychuk — including returning lefty Richtter Castillo, a Venezuelan fan favorite who pitches with a lot of emotion and did strong work out of the bullpen for pitching coach Gorm Heimueller in 2024. Castillo was 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 12 innings.
Shaye McTavish, a Canadian addition from Lethbridge, has been a starter at UPike and in the Western Canada summer league. Schultz, another power arm from Lethbridge, has summer experience in the WCBL in Swift Current and is developing into a high leverage righty for Andreychuk.
Season tickets and 10packs are available for 2025 and information can be found by emailing GM Tina Cornett — tina@nanaimonightowls.com
The West Coast League’s 2025 regular season schedule has been announced, and the new Head Coach, a product of the Nanaimo system, can start to plan all the details needed to make the playoffs and a run at the WCL championship.
The NightOwls will open at home in 2025, on Friday, May 30, vs. the Bellingham Bells, the start of a three-game series at historic Serauxmen Stadium that continues with games Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
The team again plans a Canada Day fireworks show on the evening of July 1, with the arch rival Victoria HarbourCats as the opposition.
General Manager Tina Cornett and staff are already working on promotional dates that will span the entire season, giving extra reasons for fans to enjoy the sunshine, the down-home concessions and the outstanding baseball played in the WCL.
The NightOwls will play 27 road games, 27 regular season home games, and no fewer than five additional home games against non-league opponents, including the Caged Athletics Selects — a home city series that has been popular since the start of the NightOwls, with games on either side of the WCL all-star game.
Nanaimo’s fabled park will see visits from Bellingham, Victoria, Kelowna, Kamloops, Port Angeles, Wenatchee, and the first-ever visit by the South Division powerhouse Corvallis Knights.
The regionalized WCL schedule NightOwls will make road trips to division rivals Victoria, Bellingham, Kamloops, Kelowna, Edmonton, Wenatchee and Port Angeles.
May 30th: Bellingham Bells – HOME May 31st: Bellingham Bells – HOME June 1st: Bellingham Bells – HOME June 3rd: Port Angeles Lefties – AWAY June 4th: Port Angeles Lefties – AWAY June 5th: Port Angeles Lefties – AWAY June 6th: Wenatchee AppleSox – HOME June 7th: Wenatchee AppleSox – HOME June 8th: Wenatchee AppleSox – HOME June 10th: Victoria HarbourCats – HOME June 11th: Victoria HarbourCats – HOME June 12th: Victoria HarbourCats – AWAY June 13th: Kelowna Falcons – AWAY June 14th: Kelowna Falcons – AWAY June 15th: Kelowna Falcons – AWAY June 17th: Victoria HarbourCats – AWAY June 18th: Victoria HarbourCats – AWAY June 19th: Victoria HarbourCats – AWAY June 20th: Port Angeles Lefties – HOME June 21st: Port Angeles Lefties – HOME June 22nd: Port Angeles Lefties – HOME June 27th: Edmonton Riverhawks – HOME June 28th: Edmonton Riverhawks – HOME June 29th: Edmonton Riverhawks – HOME July 1st: Victoria HarbourCats – HOME July 2nd: Victoria HarbourCats – AWAY July 3rd: Victoria HarbourCats – AWAY July 4th: Edmonton Riverhawks – AWAY July 5th: Edmonton Riverhawks – AWAY July 6th: Edmonton Riverhawks – AWAY July 8th: Kelowna Falcons – HOME July 9th: Kelowna Falcons – HOME July 10th: Kelowna Falcons – HOME July 11th: Wenatchee AppleSox – HOME July 12th: Wenatchee AppleSox – HOME July 13th: Wenatchee AppleSox – HOME July 18th: Wenatchee AppleSox – AWAY July 19th: Wenatchee AppleSox – AWAY July 20th: Wenatchee AppleSox – AWAY July 22nd: Corvallis Knights – HOME July 23rd: Corvallis Knights – HOME July 24th: Corvallis Knights – HOME July 25th: Kamloops NorthPaws – AWAY July 26th: Kamloops NorthPaws – AWAY July 27th: Kamloops NorthPaws – AWAY July 29th: Edmonton Riverhawks – AWAY July 30th: Edmonton Riverhawks – AWAY July 31st: Edmonton Riverhawks – AWAY Aug 1st: Kamloops NorthPaws – HOME Aug 2nd: Kamloops NorthPaws – HOME Aug 3rd: Kamloops NorthPaws – HOME Aug 4th: Bellingham Bells – AWAY Aug 5th: Bellingham Bells – AWAY Aug 6th: Bellingham Bells – AWAY
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