KAMLOOPS, B.C. — For the Nanaimo NightOwls to reach their first berth in the West Coast League playoffs, the formula is simple — start winning series, home or road.
The first step is complete but a bonus is within grasp after a 6-4 come-from-behind victory in toasty conditions over the host Kamloops NorthPaws. The NightOwls can sweep the series in the Sunday evening (6:35pm, time adjusted for heat.
The NightOwls scored the last five runs of the game — two in the seventh, three in the eighth — and outhit the NorthPaws 10-8 one night after Nanaimo took the first game of the series 2-1.
Sammy Kahler scored three runs and Joshua Torres was 2-5.
Caden Pearlman went four strong innings with two hits allowed and five strikeouts, giving up one unearned run.
Hayden Cuthbertson, Richtter Castillo and Paul Montgomery, who earned the save, held the NorthPaws scoreless in relief efforts.
The NightOwls and NorthPaws will play again tonight in Kamloops, in what are expected to be very hot conditions, and the game originally slated for Sunday afternoon has been moved to a 6:35pm start in order to mitigate the heat factor.
From there, the NightOwls head northeast to Edmonton and a Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday battle with the Riverhawks, one of the teams Nanaimo will want to get ahead of in the very tight North Division standings.
The next home action for the NightOwls, after a Thursday off day, is hosting the Bellingham Bells at historic Serauxmen Stadium for a Friday-Saturday-Sunday series. Every game counts with how tight the standings are for playoff positions with three spots from the North still to be determined.
Cats hitters have racked up a total of 28 hits over two games in this series so far, 12 of them coming from tonight. (Photo by JPM Photography)
Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats clinched a series win over the Bellingham Bells on Saturday night, outworking the Bells on the way to a 6-2 victory.
Seattle native Quincey Brown (UCSD) was not messing around in his first start as a HarbourCat. Brown sat down three Bells on strikes on the first inning and stacked up two more punchouts before stepping aside for Davis Lee (Calgary) in the third inning.
The Cats finally broke the deadlock in the bottom of the fourth inning. Shortstop Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) got on base with a leadoff single and stole second, later wheeling around third on a Rohne Klein (San Jose State) base hit to score the first run of the game. Lukas Le Gras (Westmont) doubled the lead with a double off the wall, bringing Klein in to score before stealing home on a wild pitch to widen the lead to 3-0. David Krahn (UBC) clubbed his second homer in two games over the left field fence, and a double from Jacob Silva (UTSA) capped off the inning with an RBI double to widen the lead to 5-0.
Davis Lee called it a night in the top of the sixth after holding the line for 2.2 innings and keeping Bellingham’s score at a nice round number. Leif Friedrich (Concordia-Nebraska) came in for his HarbourCats debut and kept it rolling, securing the outs needed to move on to the bottom of the inning.
Lukas Le Gras had a strong offensive showing, going 2/4 with a double. (Photo by JPM Photography)
The Cats added some insurance in the bottom of the sixth, a Tristan Buehring (Whitman) sacrifice fly for Victoria’s sixth run. Carson Ackermann (Tacoma) was the next arm out of the pen for the HarbourCats. The right-hander quickly found himself in a bases-loaded jam and allowed the first two runs of the ballgame for the Bells before escaping the frame.
Ackermann stuck it out until the top of the ninth, when Anson Stuckly (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) took over, stranding a couple of runners and closing out a 6-2 win.
The Bellingham series comes to a close at 1:05 pm on Sunday afternoon, preceding a midweek series against the Nanaimo NightOwls beginning on Tuesday night.
Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games and the 2026 West Coast League All-Star Game and Home Run Derby 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.
Victoria unleashed 11 runs in the sixth inning, paving the way to a resounding win over the top team in the West Coast League. (Photo by JPM Photography)
Victoria, B.C. – A grand slam followed by an 11-run inning led to a robust win over the Bellingham Bells on Friday night, with the Cats claiming a 17-6 win.
The Cats looked a little trigger-happy in the first third of the game, only seeing 15 pitches from Bellingham’s starter. This enthusiasm didn’t earn much, with just two HarbourCats reaching base in a quick three innings.
On the other side of the coin, Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) made quick work of the Bells as well, refusing to allow them the luxury of a hit through four innings and earning five strikeouts on the side. Jake Rafferty (Tacoma) took up the torch for the fifth, getting himself into a sticky situation with a couple of wild pitches before finding his way out with a zero on the board.
Jeremiah Arnett allowed zero runs in a four-inning start. (Photo by JPM Photography)
The HarbourCats finally dug their claws in for the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases just in time for David Krahn (UBC). The British Columbia local stepped up to the plate and delivered, utterly pulverizing a ball to left field for an electrifying grand slam, breaking the seal and taking a 4-0 lead for the home side.
Bellingham responded passionately in the next inning, sneaking a run in on a base hit followed by a three-run blast off of Cats reliever Spencer Kratt (San Jose State). Victoria shrugged it off and pulled out all the stops in the bottom of the fifth, taking advantage of a Bellingham error and finding hits from Lukas Le Gras (Westmont), Bryan Bradshaw (UC San Diego), Rohne Klein (San Jose State) et al to jump out in front of the Bells. By the time the smoke cleared on a long sixth inning, the Cats were suddenly up 15-4. Not too shabby.
Surrey, B.C.’s Marcus Janovsky (UBC) entered the game in the seventh to face a battered and bruised group of Bells, who snuck home on a sloppy relay from the outfield to scratch away at the 11-run lead standing over them.
Unwilling to let up after taking a comfortable lead, the Cats kept their foot on the gas in the bottom of the seventh. Designated hitter Jacob Silva (UTSA) batted in a pair of runs with a one-out single, pushing the score to a humble 17-6 with two innings to go.
Hunter Daniels (Phoenix College) came in from the bullpen to dot the i’s and cross the t’s on a booming victory for the HarbourCats in their first game against the top team in the West Coast League Standings.
The Cats get another crack at the Bells on Saturday night at 6:35 pm, and the series comes to an end with an afternoon game on Sunday.
Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games and the 2026 West Coast League All-Star Game and Home Run Derby 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.
Despite out-hitting the NightOwls, two solo homers in the fourth inning was all Nanaimo needed to overpower the visiting Cats. (Photo by JPM Photography)
Nanaimo, B.C. – The Island Rivalry Series came to an end in Nanaimo on Thursday evening, with the Cats offence held quiet in a 2-1 loss to the NightOwls.
Erik Rico (Fresno State) was dominant in the opening third of the ballgame, keeping Nanaimo scoreless with six strikeouts. The Cats starter wavered in the bottom of the fourth, surrendering a solo homer for the first blemish on his previously spotless ERA this season. The NightOwls took the opportunity to pummel another ball over the wall, taking a 2-0 lead by the end of the fourth inning.
The Cats had their first real offensive opportunity in the top of the seventh, moving Rohne Klein (San Jose State) over to third after a leadoff single. Nanaimo’s defenses held strong, however, and Klein was stranded to end the inning.
Victoria finally broke through in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Kade Davis, but one run was all they could muster. Nanaimo closed it out in the top of the ninth to claim a series victory in the first Island Rivalry Series of the year.
Northern Kentucky reliever Daniel Tovar was introduced to the ballgame in the fifth inning, powering through two scoreless innings before handing the ball over to Houston Tomlinson (Arkansas State). Tomlinson worked his way across the seventh and eighth, picking up a strikeout and allowing two hits in two innings.
With the Nanaimo series complete, the Cats will now host the Bellingham Bells in a weekend series at home, beginning Friday night at 6:35 pm.
Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games and the 2026 West Coast League All-Star Game and Home Run Derby 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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