Summer Collegiate

Kamloops takes two of three from Bellingham

Published

2 years ago

August 3, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

Photo Credits – Allen Douglas Photography

KAMLOOPS — Thompson Rivers University WolfPack pitcher Kolby Lukinchuk is officially the all-time leader in innings pitched for the Kamloops NorthPaws, and the righty showcased his skills on Thursday night, pitching 8.1IP in a come from behind victory for Kamloops as they took the series off the Bellingham Bells.

“I know hitting is a hard game and I know that if I just throw strikes the guys behind me will make the plays and bail me out,” said Lukinchuk. “I had to do some begging in between innings (to get the 9th), he let me start it but we had to play a matchup and I fully understand that, And I totally respect (Jose Bautista) for it.”

“I always believe in (Kolby Lukinchuk), the first two years I was just teaching him how to pitch, he picked it up really well,” said Manager Jose Bautista. “He can pitch backwards, throw strikes and get people out.”

Lukinchuk, with ice on his throwing elbow, joked he’s willing to pitch every game of the last six. He’ll likely get one more start on the road next week in Yakima.

A newcomer helped lead the offense in the rubber match of the series and ensure Lukinchuk got the win, as Keegan Drinkle went 3-5 2-2B, 2RBI.

“It means everything, I wasn’t doing anything they asked me to come out and get some reps. Glad to help the team out,” said Drinkle. “We battle, battle hard, compete to the end.”

As the WCL season wraps up next week a number of Paws have left the team and returned to their college rosters including Tuesday’s star TJ Wachter and a number of pitchers.

“I don’t have any (players left). You see today we had to pitch Matt (MacDonald) in the 9th inning to work through it,” added Bautista. “Going to be tough, because right now we don’t have too much (in terms of pitchers available).”

The NorthPaws have two home games remaining in 2024, both this weekend on Friday and Sunday against the Interior rival Kelowna Falcons.

“Very excited. See how it goes, see the rivalry, never really be part of a rivalry before,” said Drinkle.

GAME 1

TJ Wachter put on a show in his final game with the NorthPaws in 2024. The Kamloops first-baseman led the offense in a dominant 13-4 victory in game one versus the Bells going 4-5 with 6 RBI at the dish and finishing a triple shy of the cycle.

Wachter got the game rolling in the first with a 2-out RBI double that brought home Anthony Manuel and the Paws would never look back.

The big inning for the Paws would be the 5th, with Kamloops sending 12 men to the plate as they would score 8 runs, highlighted by a Wachter 3-run homer to left.

Lucas Smith got the start for Kamloops pitching 4.0IP 3H 0ER and earning a no-decision. The win went to newcomer Owen Fernandes 2.0IP, 2H, 0ER.

Wachter would get a chance at the cycle in the seventh, hitting a 2 RBI double to the gap but would be tagged out after putting on the brakes around second.

Kamloops locals Matt MacDonald and Nolan Austin both toed the rubber in the contest with Austin pitching a clean ninth.

GAME 2

The Bells would return serve in the middle game of the set, shutting out the NorthPaws 7-0.

Layton Haywood got the start for Bellingham and pitched six dominant innings of 2 hit, no run baseball before being lifted despite throwing under 60 pitches. Jack Svinth and Nic Peterson would complete the shutout on the mound.

Cade Webber took the loss for Kamloops, giving up all seven runs over 5.0IP.

Nate Kirkpatrick was the offensive hero in the contest going 3-5 at the plate, including a 3-run homer in the first to get the Bells rolling.

GAME 3

The rubber match of the three game set was a perfect example of a game of two halves, with the contest split directly in between the top and bottom of the 5th.

It was the Bells starting out hot, and in the second straight game would smoke a homer to left in the 1st inning as Roman Martin would club a 2-run shot off Kamloops starter Kolby Lukinchuk. Bellingham would add on three more runs in the fifth, including another 2-run homer from Jacob Meija making the score 5-0.

After 13.2 innings of shutout ball, the NorthPaws would rally with two outs in the fifth to show some life, newcomer Keegan Drinkle had the biggest hit of the inning a 2-RBI double. Jerry Nix would add an RBI on an infield single to make the contest 5-3 Bells.

Kamloops would claw one closer in the 7th thanks to a passed ball that allowed Kamloops’ Manny Recchi to score. In the 8th, Anthony Manuel would double home Jacob Schlesselman all the way from first to tie the contest at 5-5. Then with two outs in the inning, Madden Ocko legged out an infield single to bring across Manuel to give Kamloops a 6-5 lead.

After giving up 5ER in 5IP, Lukinchuk would find his groove, pitching 8.1IP before giving way to Matt MacDonald who recorded the final two outs for the save and a series win for Kamloops.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Friday, August 2, vs Kelowna, 6:35 first pitch (Fan appreciation night)
Saturday, August 3 @ Kelowna, 6:35 first pitch
Sunday, August 4 vs Kelowna, 2:05 first pitch (FINAL HOME GAME OF THE SEASON)
Monday, August 5 – Off-Day
Tuesday, August 6 vs Yakima Valley, 6:35 first pitch
Wednesday, August 7 vs Yakima Valley, 6:35 first pitch
Thursday, August 8 vs Yakima Valley, 7:05 first pitch (FINAL GAME OF THE SEASON)

FOR MEDIA REQUESTS
Jenna Forter
General Manager
Kamloops NorthPaws
p. 250-200-1415
www.northpawsbaseball.ca

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Final Game of the Season Cancelled Due to Health Concerns

Published

10 hours ago

August 5, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Wenatchee, WA – While Wednesday’s matchup between the Victoria HarbourCats and Wenatchee AppleSox was originally intended to be the last HarbourCats action of the 2026 West Coast League season, the game has been cancelled due to unsafe conditions in Wenatchee created by wildfire smoke.

The outcome of the game would have no impact on the playoff seeding of any teams in the North Division, with Wenatchee already clinching the #1 seed and Victoria being eliminated from playoff contention. Ultimately, it was decided that the conditions were unsafe and the game would be cancelled for the safety of players, staff, and fans.

With the Wenatchee series now over, this brings the 2026 HarbourCats season to an end with a record of 26-26. We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our wonderful fans who showed such incredible support and brought an electric energy to HarbourCats baseball this season!

Stay tuned to our website and socials for info on renewing season tickets, as well as 12-pack and 32-pack flex packages for the 2027 season!

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – SIBL All-Stars Win Exhibition Clash

Published

2 days ago

August 4, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

A sold-out crowd gathered at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park for the final fireworks night of 2026. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats’ split squad and the SIBL All-Stars put on a show in a Monday night exhibition match, with the All-Stars taking a 10-8 victory after an explosive matchup.

The SIBL All-Stars jumped out to an early lead in this exhibition showdown, loading the bases and knocking in a couple of runs in the top of the first to take the upper hand. The away squad added another in the second inning on a sacrifice fly, pushing the lead to 3-0.

The HarbourCats launched an attempted counterattack in the bottom of the third, taking advantage of a shaky inning on the mound for the SIBL to run the bases full and score their first run. A strong sign of life, but still with some ground to make up for the visiting All-Stars.

The lead grew ever larger in the fourth inning, as the All-Stars scored two runs on a double and a wild pitch to make it a 6-1 ballgame. That production was backed up by former HarbourCat Flynn Ridley, who sliced and diced his way through the side in the fourth and fifth innings to keep the All-Stars well in front.

The HarbourCats stormed back with a parade of hits in the back half of the game and managed to tie it up in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out rally! Despite that effort to even the odds, the All-Stars threw a counter-punch in the top of the ninth in the form of two more runs, giving them the edge in a close 10-8 win.

Meanwhile, the HarbourCats’ A-squad fought tooth and claw in Wenatchee with a playoff spot still in the balance. Victoria was defeated 5-2 in the first contest of a three-game series and will give it their all on Tuesday night with the sands in the postseason hourglass draining.

WCL PLAYOFF PROCEDURES HERE

PLAYOFF TICKETS: Should the HarbourCats clinch a playoff spot (which may not be determined until Wednesday), they would host Game 1 of the best of three Divisional Series on Friday August 7th at 6:35 PM. Tickets for that series will NOT go on sale until a playoff position is confirmed. Season Ticket holders will be e-mailed their tickets (if we clinch) on Thursday August 6th.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats go quietly as Bells complete series sweep

Published

3 days ago

August 3, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

By Christian J. Stewart

August 2, 2026

Bellingham, WA – Bellingham pitchers combined to limit the Victoria HarbourCats to just four hits in a 5-0 Bells win over the HarbourCats in West Coast League (WCL) action Sunday afternoon at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham.

FULL BOX SCORE

The loss gave the Bells a sweep of the three-game series and put a serious damper on the playoff aspirations of the HarbourCats, who now head to Wenatchee to finish the season against the league’s top team and needing at least two or three wins and help from others to secure a spot (more on that below).

The HarbourCats sent WCL Pitcher of the Year candidate Jeremiah Arnett to the mound in this one, but the Bells jumped on him early, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first on the strength of three hits, including a two-RBI double from Matt Churchill.

The Bells would score another in the third and two more in the eighth off Arnett, before he left the game and gave way to reliever Davis Lee.

Arnett did finish with four strikeouts to move his season total to 66, which is a new HarbourCats single-season team record.

In the meantime, Bellingham starter Kole Laubach (4 innings pitched) and David Wiser (5 innings pitched) were at the top of their game, allowing no runs on just the four HarbourCats hits, while striking out nine and walking only one.

Offensively for the Bells, Churchill led the way with two hits and three RBI, while Noah Cassie and Tyler Peshke also contributed a pair of hits to the winning effort.

PLAYOFF PICTURE
With the win last night and today, the Bells secure the second seed in the North and will host a first round match-up against whoever finishes third in the North. At the moment, that team is Nanaimo, who defeated Port Angeles 8-0 to move their record to 28-23. Meanwhile, the Kelowna Falcons registered another comeback win (10-8) over Edmonton to move both of those teams to a record of 27-24 and dropping the Riverhawks into the fourth seed by virtue of holding the direct tie-break over the Falcons. The HarbourCats, with the loss, drop to 26-25 and are effectively in sixth place at the moment.

So what’s next? The HarbourCats travel to Wenatchee to play the AppleSox and will need at least two wins there, possibly three, to have a chance at grabbing the third or fourth seed. The NightOwls will host the Kamloops NorthPaws and need at least one win, possibly two to clinch a spot. Kelowna travels to Port Angeles, where a couple of wins could secure their berth and Edmonton travels to Bellingham, where they will be in tough against the Bells, in the hopes of winning one or two to stay in their current playoff position.

Four teams, within two games of each other, with three games left to play….does it get any better than this? The possibilities are endless and this author does not event want to attempt the math if there ends up being a four-way tie between these teams.

WCL PLAYOFF PROCEDURES HERE

BC DAY FIREWORKS & FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT APPROACHING CAPACITY CROWD!
Just a note that all reserved seating is effectively sold out for Monday’s fireworks and Fan Appreciation night, the final home game of the regular season. Select single reserved seats, general admission and some VIP area tickets are still available at harbourcats.com/tickets. If you are holding general admission tickets for this game, gates open at 5:00 pm and you are advised to arrive early to get your best choice of seating.

VOUCHER HOLDERS
With all reserved seating sold out, ALL voucher holders wishing to attend Monday’s game will be issued general admission tickets. Vouchers must be used Monday and can not be used for playoffs, or carried over into next season.

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