Summer Collegiate

KAMLOOPS — Walla Walla was the tonic that the Kamloops NorthPaws needed as they took two of three from the South Division foes.

Published

2 years ago

July 23, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

Photo Credits – Allen Douglas Photography

Rico chants fill Dearborn Ford Field after big weekend set

A big crowd at the Park on Saturday night began chanting Joey Rico’s name as he walked up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, looking to walk off the Sweets.

“You dream of that situation, to win the game, bases loaded, bottom of the ninth. Take it in the moment, take what they give you, try to stay calm as much as possible and don’t let the moment get too big,” said Rico. “It was awesome to see all the fans out and play for them.”

Less than 24 hours after the walk-off single, Rico stepped up in the 7th inning and hit a ball 106 mph off the barrel for a 396 foot homer. After the homer Rico toed the rubber pitching a clean 9th for the save.

“I knew it, 3-1 count ready for a fastball and got it, so just put a good swing on it,” said Rico. “Just doing what I can to help the team win.”

The back to back wins represent the first winning streak and first series win for Kamloops since the second series of the season.

“It was big because we have struggled and we are coming back and fighting. This series was big to show us who we are and keep playing,” added Rico.

For a team that has been scuffling it was a crucial weekend set.

“The important thing is keeping positive, keeping the guys relaxed. We know we are going to lose and we are going to win so keep ourselves on the right track and play the right way,” said Manager Jose Bautista. “Continue to do the best we can and I think we are going to turn it around.”

GAME 1

The Kamloops NorthPaws opened up a three game set versus the Walla Walla Sweets at home on Friday night (June 28), getting shutout by the visitors 12-0.

The Sweets, who arrived at the ballpark just three hours before first pitch, got the bats going early, pushing across four runs in the opening frame and never looking back.

Cade Webber got the start for Kamloops pitching 3.0 IP, giving up 7ER, 7H, 3K. Logan Meyer led the offense for Walla Walla for a 2-4 night with 4RBI, the big swing of the bat coming in the first inning with a bases clearing triple to right centre.

The Paws would only muster 6 hits in the shutout, with Zach Hangas throwing a complete game for the Sweets, 9.0IP, 6H, 0ER, 2K.

GAME 2

Joey Rico played hero on Saturday night in Kamloops, as the NorthPaws right fielder hit a walkoff single in the 9th to secure a 3-2 win over the Sweets.

Keith Manby made his ‘Paws debut on the mound and pitched well in a ballpark he’s quite familiar with as he plays for the TRU WolfPack. Manby went 5.0IP, 2ER, 4BB, 3K and earned a no-decision in the Kamloops win.

The ‘Paws struck first, in the third innings as Michael Weber brought home Chris Catalano on a sac-fly to make it 1-0.

A pair of wild-pitches from Manby would set up a pair of runs from Walla Walla in the 5th as they held a 2-1 lead until the 7th.

Potentially the turning point of the game was when Casper Rammeloo allowed a leadoff triple in the sixth but would strand the runner and escape the jam. Rammeloo collected the win pitching 4.0IP, 1H, 0ER baseball, striking out two and not walking a soul.

Weber would collect his second RBI of the game to tie things at 2-2 in the seventh as he dumped a single just over the head of the second baseman scoring Anthony Setticasi.

Anthony Settacasi walked to open the bottom of the ninth, which was followed by a double to right by Jacob French. With the winning run 90 feet away, Walla Walla intentionally walked Catalano to set up a force out at any base and pitch to Rico.

Rico would take a 1-1 pitch into left-centre to walk off the Sweets, and earn a split of the first two games of the weekend set.

GAME 3

Both Walla Walla and Kamloops traded runs of five unanswered during the Sunday finale to the series before Joey Rico would play hero for a second straight contest as Kamloops won 7-5.

The Paws struck first on Sunday, scoring a pair in the second inning thanks to a Jerry Nix RBI single and a sac-fly from Anthony Setticasi.

Then it was time for Walla Walla to return serve with five straight runs as they would put up a pair in the fourth and three in the fifth to take the lead 5-2.

From there Lucas Smith (4.0IP, 3ER) who relieved starter Cade Johnson (4.0IP, 2ER) would lock things down and not allow another run in the ballgame.

Kamloops would tie things back up in the sixth with Jerry Nix, Anthony Manuel, and Nolan Austin all collecting RBI singles to make it 5-5.

The first batter of the bottom of the seventh was Joey Rico who hammered a 3-1 pitch 296 feet to right field to give the Paws a lead they would never surrender. Michael Weber would score an insurance run on a Walla Walla error to make it 7-5.

After crushing the go-ahead homer, Rico would be called upon to pitch the ninth, striking out two for his first save of the season.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Monday, July 1 @ Kelowna, first pitch 6:35
Tuesday, July 2 vs Kelowna, first pitch 6:35 (next home game)
Wednesday, July 3 @ Kelowna, first pitch 6:35
Thursday, July 4 – Off-day
Friday, July 5 @ Edmonton, first pitch 7:05
Saturday, July 6 @ Edmonton, first pitch 7:05
Sunday, July 7 @ Edmonton, first pitch 1:05

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

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Smother NightOwls for 5-2 Win

Published

13 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Solid offence in the early stages of the game led to an important game one win. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Nanaimo, B.C. – The HarbourCats kicked off the Nanaimo series the right way with a 5-2 win over their hosts, the Nanaimo NightOwls.

BOX SCORE

It didn’t take long for the HarbourCats to put themselves in front, battling with two outs to take the lead in the top of the first. Two walks and a single loaded the bases with two away, and a couple of passed balls opened the door for both Logan Shepherd (Mercer) and Rohne Klein (San Jose State) to score. The Cats came back and tacked on another in the second inning with a Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) sac fly and would then load the bases up again in the third, scoring another run by way of a walk from Cameron Chee-Aloy (Illinois).

While the bats were heating up, starting pitcher Shea Lake (West Texas A&M) held up his end of the bargain and then some. In the four innings he oversaw, Lake notched seven strikeouts and denied Nanaimo any hits at all, putting up a zero in the run column. Houston Tomlinson of Arkansas State covered for Lake in the fifth and continued his legacy, striking out two in a clean inning on the mound.

Dillon Lopez was active on the scoresheet in this one, going 2/4 with a walk. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Jacob Silva (UTSA) began the top of the sixth frame with a display of power, slinging a ball over the right field wall to extend the lead. The NightOwls had no answer in the home half of the inning, as Tomlinson continued to shut them down.

Nanaimo finally found their first hit of the ballgame in the top of the seventh inning, a double socked over the centre fielder Chee-Aloy to leadoff the bottom of the frame. Tomlinson got himself into a bit of a pickle with the bases loaded, which Nanaimo capitalized on to score their first two runs. Shea Lake’s West Texas A&M teammate Tristin Thomas was next out of the bullpen with the bases full. Unfazed by the pressure, Thomas struck out both batters he faced to preserve the lead.

Nathan Mueller (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) was summoned to finish the job in the ninth inning and did just that, locking in after a leadoff single and getting a double play and a strikeout to end the game.

WCL STANDINGS

The HarbourCats and NightOwls will gear up for a rematch on Wednesday night, with Victoria gunning for the series win.

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.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Defeated by AppleSox in Game Three

Published

3 days ago

July 19, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The HarbourCats have been kept quiet in two straight games after a powerful offensive showing in game one. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Victoria, B.C. – In a winner-take-all matchup against the Wenatchee AppleSox, Victoria’s bats came up short, falling 3-1 to the visiting AppleSox and losing the series.

The AppleSox claimed the first advantage in game three of this head-to-head series, rocking a rare double off of Erik Rico (Fresno State) and cashing in the run for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

BOX SCORE

It wasn’t until the top of the fifth when Wenatchee would add on, smashing a two-run homer with two outs in the top of the fifth. That bomb ended the outing for Rico, who gave up three runs today on five hits and notched nine strikeouts. Leif Friedrich (Concordia-Nebraska) took his place and finished off the inning

The HarbourCats finally got themselves on the board in the bottom of the eighth, with a costly Wenatchee error allowing Lukas Le Gras (Westmont) to score from second. Michael Rodda (Palomar) got on base due to the error, but ended up being stranded by a popup to end the inning.

Davis Lee hit the ground running to retire the side in the top of the ninth. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Friedrich ended up going a solid 3.1 innings, allowing just two baserunners and striking out three. He was swapped out for Davis Lee (Calgary) prior to the top of the ninth, and Lee worked quickly and carefully to retire the side and get two strikeouts of his own.

The HarbourCats offence struggled tonight, coming up with only one run. Logan Shepherd (Mercer) and Declan Brown (Ottawa University) both walked in the bottom of the ninth to get the tying run on base, but Victoria was unable to capitalize with runners on and eventually dropped the rubber match of the series 3-1.

WCL STANDINGS

After an off-day tomorrow, the Cats will head up island to Nanaimo for a three-game weekday series before returning home for the weekend.

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.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – AppleSox Surge Back Late to Tie Series

Published

3 days ago

July 19, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The Cats got off to a hot start but fell behind in the late stages of the game. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Victoria, B.C – The second game of this head-to-head series swung the other way, with Wenatchee taking a 7-2 victory over the HarbourCats.

BOX SCORE

It was home run derby champion Logan Shepherd that got things started tonight! The Mercer University infielder yanked a smooth line drive to the pull side to cash in Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) from second and claim a 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning.

Both sides’ bats fell silent until the home half of the fourth, which Rohne Klein (San Jose State) led off. Klein only needed to see one pitch before absolutely detonating a fastball and sending it far, far over the opposite field wall at an unofficially measured distance of about a million feet.

Quincey Brown (UCSD) exited the game after an absolute gem of a start. The Seattle-born freshman went five innings without giving up a run, and refused to even allow a single baserunner over the last four. Daniel Tovar (Northern Kentucky) took over for him in the sixth, and his first inning of work went off without a hitch as the AppleSox were felled in order.

Quincey Brown added another exquisite start to his 2026 resume. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Tovar’s next frame wasn’t so quick and easy. The AppleSox found the right pitch and blasted it over the fence for a solo shot, cutting the Cats’ lead in half in the top of the seventh. The predicament grew when a few consecutive singles loaded the bases and two more runs scored on an error and a balk. When the dust settled on a chaotic seventh inning, Wenatchee found themselves up by one.

Carson Ackermann (Tacoma) was chosen to toe the slab in the eighth inning, and he let up a sacrifice fly that put the AppleSox up by two with one inning left to go. The right-hander returned for the ninth and Wenatchee got to him once again, bashing a two-run triple for a 7-2 lead.

Rohne Klein flexed his power with an oppo homer in the fourth. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Try as they might, the HarbourCats could not recover from the AppleSox’ late-game onslaught, dropping the middle game of the three-game set by a score of 7-2.

WCL STANDINGS

The decider between Victoria and Wenatchee takes place tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 3:05 pm.

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