Summer Collegiate

Ninth inning heroics secure series win for the NorthPaws

Published

12 months ago

July 2, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

The Kamloops NorthPaws defeated the Wenatchee AppleSox 1-0 on Tuesday night, taking the first two games of the series. It was a pitchers’ battle all night as both teams combined for just eight hits, with the lone run of the ballgame coming from catcher Brendan Burke. Center fielder Connor Clark scored the winning run on a single from the catcher, giving the NorthPaws their 16th win of the season.

“It was cool to see him (Burke) come through in that moment, he’s been a guy who’s hit some balls hard recently but hasn’t seen them fall for hits, so definitely nice for him to get one,” said Head Coach Riley Jepson.

New left-handed pitcher Nolan Livsey from the Metropolitan State University of Denver was on the mound, making his first start as a NorthPaw. Livsey impressed in his debut, throwing four scoreless innings, not allowing a hit. Livsey struck out four and walked two AppleSox.

Livsey came to Kamloops primarily because of his connection with Pitching Coach Jack Slominski. The two were teammates during the spring of 2024 at MSU Denver. Slominski remarked on his character on the mound, having a pitch count nearing the 70s before getting pulled.

“He’s been my teammate before, and he’s just a fighter; he competes at all times. He’s a mature kid, so even when he loses it a bit up there, he knows how to get himself right,” said Slominski.

After a fantastic debut from the lefty, Kamloops turned to righty Keith Manby out of the bullpen. Manby delivered another quality outing, going four scoreless innings, giving up four hits and striking out four batters as well.

Manby ran into some trouble in the eighth with the AppleSox loading the bases with one out on a single, an error in the infield and an intentional walk. Manby got out of the jam with a big strikeout on a full count pitch and a fly out to center field as Wenatchee left the bases loaded.
“When he gets in jams like that, as a team we’re not worried because he’s done that all year for us,” said Slominski.

The AppleSox weren’t the only team to leave the bases loaded. In the fourth, Kamloops took advantage of a pair of errors from Wenatchee, loading the bases. Clark was at the plate but hit a line drive right at the AppleSox shortstop.

In the top of the ninth, right-hander Matt MacDonald was on the mound and, with one out, saw a walk, followed by a hit by pitch, which put runners on first and second. Wenatchee was threatening yet again, but MacDonald stayed strong and got a fly out and a ground out, giving the NorthPaws a chance to walk it off.

With one out, Connor Clark worked a seven-pitch at bat and earned himself a walk. After a strikeout, it was Burke’s turn at the plate. In the third pitch of the at-bat, Clark advanced to second on a wild pitch, putting him in scoring position. Burke shot a ball through the left side, and Clark was heading to the plate. The throw was on line and going to beat Clark by several steps when the Wenatchee catcher bobbled it, allowing Clark to score, making Burke the hero.

The fans left happy on a fantastic Canada Day in Kamloops. The two teams will conclude the series on Wednesday, as the NorthPaws seek their first sweep on their home field. The team will then take some well-deserved time off, with their next game not scheduled until Saturday, when they will face Webber Academy in an exhibition game.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Matt Westley is the Extra Innings Hero in Walk-Off Victory

Published

7 hours ago

June 14, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats battled all night to claim a walk-off win in extra innings!

Victoria pitcher Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) made his mark immediately in his Saturday night start. The big Texan struck out three batters in the top of the first inning, an early warning to the Drifters that they would need their A-game to take him down.

BOX SCORE

Springfield was not deterred, however, scoring on an error in the bottom of the second for the first run of the ballgame. Arnett kept the visiting bats quiet otherwise in the second inning, adding two more K’s to his total.

The Cats created a juicy RBI opportunity by way of a couple singles and stolen bags in the bottom of the third. The heart of the lineup took advantage, cashing in two runs to take a narrow lead by the end of the inning.

Jeremiah Arnett (Rice University) put together a solid start with eight strikeouts. (Photo by Raphael Oliveira)

The offensive production continued as Rohne Klein (San Jose State) battled with two outs and drove a base hit to right field to keep the fourth inning alive for the Cats. Inspired by his comrade’s effort, local catcher Jai Berezowski (Victoria Collegiate) blasted a triple to widen the home team’s lead to 3-1.

Springfield answered back with two runs in the top of the fifth to end Jeremiah Arnett’s night. Arnett went 4.2 innings with eight strikeouts, walking three batters and allowing two earned runs. Davis Lee (Calgary) came in to cover for the starter, securing a huge strikeout in a messy situation to preserve a tie game.

Lee kept a clean slate across his two innings of work, giving way to Hunter Daniels (Phoenix) in the top of the eighth. Daniels surrendered a solo homer to give the Drifters the lead.

The HarbourCats came up big in a crucial eighth inning, loading the bases and getting the game-tying run across. This paved the way for extra innings, in which reliever Pierce Stone (Regis) came up huge with two strikeouts in the top of the tenth to keep the score tied. In the bottom of the tenth inning, with the bases loaded, Matt Westley (George Mason) stepped up to the plate and mashed a line drive to centre field for a HarbourCats walk-off win!

WCL STANDINGS

Catch the Cats back on the field tomorrow at 1:05 pm for the rubber match of the series.

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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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Suffer Gruelling 18-9 Loss

Published

1 day ago

June 12, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Cats pitching struggled to keep runners off the bases on the way to a 18-9 loss. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats hosted the Springfield Drifters on Friday night, failing to keep the visiting team in check and dropping the first game of the series 18-9.

The Drifters’ lineup spelled trouble from the beginning for Schuyler Fairchild (Wenatchee Valley). The visitors filled up the bases and drove in two runs in the top of the first before the starter locked down a couple of K’s to vacate the mound.

BOX SCORE

Determined not to fall behind, the Cats fought back during their turn at the plate. A 94 mph screamer off the lumber of Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) brought home a run and set up another to score on a sacrifice fly in the next at bat. Even Steven after the initial frame.

Springfield ran up the opener’s pitch count in the first inning, making room for a relief appearance from Austin Lindsey (Hill College) to begin the second. The Drifters gave Lindsey some difficulty as well, ending the inning with three more runs across to make it 5-2.

Schuyler Fairchild saw a shortened outing, battling through a long first inning. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Outfielder Marcus Nolen (Fresno State) was sharp in the bottom of the third inning, drawing a walk, stealing a base, and coming around to score on a Kade Davis (UTSA) single.

The next arrival from the bullpen was Landon Marchetti (San Jose State), who threw two clean innings in the fourth and fifth to earn a much-needed respite for the Cats defence.

Things drew even once again in the bottom of the fifth thanks to Rohne Klein (San Jose State). The first baseman muscled a ball out to centre field to drive in a pair and tie the game at five runs each.

Rohne Klein (San Jose State) snapped his slump tonight with a clutch base hit. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Flynn Warren (Hawaii Pacific) inherited the mound from Marchetti for the top of the seventh inning. Marchetti was lights out over three innings, allowing only a single hit and shredding through the Drifters’ lineup for five strikeouts. Warren found himself in a jam, loading the bases and letting four runs slip by to give the lead back to Springfield.

A grand slam for the Drifters in the top of the eighth broke the game wide open, bestowing a 14-5 lead upon the visitors. The Cats showed some life in the back half of inning the eighth, highlighted by a Logan Shepherd (Mercer) RBI triple, but the deficit proved insurmountable as Victoria eventually fell 18-9 in the series opener.

WCL STANDINGS

The Springfield series continues at 6:35 pm on Saturday night and concludes with a 1:05 pm Sunday matinee.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Lose Control of Game Three in Edmonton

Published

2 days ago

June 11, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria made four costly errors in this one to give Edmonton an advantage (Photo by JPM Photography)

Edmonton, AB – The HarbourCats were unable to complete the sweep, falling 9-5 to the Riverhawks on Thursday night.

Edmonton knocked Bryson Toner (Hawaii) around a little in the first three innings, but the right-hander stayed locked in and only let one run slip by on six hits.

BOX SCORE

The Cats returned fire in the top of the fourth, putting pressure on the Riverhawks defence to load the bases and score a run off the bat of Kade Davis (UTSA).

Easton Reimers (North Dakota State) entered the game with the score tied at one apiece, striking out two batters in the fourth inning to keep Victoria’s momentum going.

The Riverhawks made some noise in the fifth to take back control of the game, shaking down Reimers for four more runs and ending the inning with a 5-1 lead over the HarbourCats.

Tate Collins (Arkansas State) took the field for the Cats in the bottom of the sixth and wasted no time getting the job done, tossing a clean inning out of the pen.

The Cats were stricken with the error bug in inning number seven, coughing up a handful of runs as a result of some less-than-stellar defensive play.

Victoria loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the eighth and closed the distance with four more runs before inning’s end, but the comeback was unsuccessful en route to a 9-5 Edmonton victory.

With this series complete, the HarbourCats will be back in Victoria starting Friday night for a three-game series versus the Springfield Drifters.

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