Connect with us

Summer Collegiate

NorthPaws Add Trio of NCAA Division I Players

Published

on

The Kamloops NorthPaws have deepened their inaugural roster with the addition of three players at the beginning of their NCAA Division I seasons.

Catcher Marshal Luiz, shortstop Zane Skansi and outfielder Hunter Swapp have been signed for the 2021 West Coast League season.

Marshal Luiz

Photo Credit: JSU Athletics

Luiz is a Canadian sophomore catcher at Jackson State University who will bring another left-handed bat to the NorthPaws lineup.

He played in 46 games as a freshman with a .252 batting average and 18 RBIs. He played in nine games in 2020 before the season came to an early close.

“I don’t strike out a lot so I’m a really tough out. My freshman year I only struck out like 12 or 15 times in 40 to 50 games. That’s something I’m proud of that I’m not an easy guy to get out,” Luiz said. “I’ll do anything it takes to get on base. I’ll lay down a bunt every now and then and I definitely want to help the team win. So, if we need a sac bunt or a hit and run, I’m your guy.”

Luiz, who grew up in Surrey, jumped at the opportunity to play summer ball close to home and learn from head coach Cole Armstrong, who played 10 professional seasons behind home plate.

“It’s pretty cool to have a West Coast League team not too far from home and be able to play competitive baseball in such a highly touted summer collegiate league. Being a BC guy, it’s going to be really cool to experience that and be a part of it.”

Jackson State were swept in their three-game series against Mercer University to open the 2021 season. They were ranked to finish second in the Southwest Athletic Conference East Division in preseason rankings.

Zane Skansi

Photo Credit: Utah Utes

Skansi is a freshman middle infielder at the University of Utah.

He is from Gig Harbor, Wash. and was a multi-sport athlete in high school playing baseball and football before choosing the diamond over the gridiron for his collegiate career.

“I’m a power hitter. I like to hit doubles and home runs. I can go gap to gap. I take pride in my defense as well,” Skansi said. “I love making the great plays but making the routine plays consistently is something I pride myself in too.”

Skansi picked up his first collegiate at-bat on Sunday when he pinch hit in a loss to Cal State Fullerton during the season-opening series.

Utah was picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West Conference preseason coaches’ poll.

Hunter Swapp

Photo Credit: BYU Athletics

Swapp is a sophomore at Brigham Young University (BYU).

He is entering his first full collegiate season as he was limited to seven at-bats in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Swapp, from Heber City, Utah, will bring speed to the NorthPaws outfield. His fastest posted time is a 6.30 60-yard dash, the same as Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout. By comparison, the Major League average is 6.90.

“I’m a competitor. I pride myself in having competitive at bats. I can run, so I like to implement that in my game,” Swapp said. “I feel like I can get to anything in the outfield and leg out some extra bases and extra base hits. I can hit for a little bit of power. I think I have some variety in my game.”

BYU will wrap up a four-game, season-opening series against Texas State University on Tuesday. They were picked to finish fourth in the West Coast Conference preseason coaches’ poll.

NorthPaws fans can follow the progress of all the Kamloops-bound players, as all three of the signees continue their 2021 season with multiple games this week.

The Kamloops NorthPaws are an expansion West Coast League franchise bringing the highest calibre baseball Canada’s Tournament Capital has ever seen. The West Coast League, founded in 2005, has 15 teams across Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alberta featuring some of the top collegiate players during a 54-game summer season. Find the NorthPaws online at www.northpawsbaseball.ca, @northpawsbaseball on Instagram and Facebook, or @northpawsbb on Twitter.

Source

Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Summer Collegiate

Clutch Owls edged in extras in Edmonton

Published

on

EDMONTON, Alta. — The comeback kids came up a bit short.

Two runs by the Edmonton Riverhawks in the bottom of the 10th inning broke the hearts of the Nanaimo NightOwls on Thursday night at Remax Field, with a stellar crowd of 6,132 looking on for an eventual 8-7 win for the home club.

The NightOwls scored two runs in the ninth to take a lead and had the Riverhawks down to their last strike in the bottom of that inning.

The Owls then went ahead 7-6 in the top of the 10th, and nearly held on — Edmonton found a clutch two-out hit to right field to provide the winning run.

The NightOwls, who outhit the Riverhawks 10-9, scored four times in the fifth inning, the key hit being a two-run double from outfielder Owen Wessel (Hawaii Pacific). Wessel was one of four NightOwls to record two hits — Ryder Florence, Raoul Fabian Jr. and Trevor Goldenetz being the others.

Vinny Bruno and Jaedeyn Edwards put up impressive relief appearances, Bruno throwing 1.2 innings with just one hit and no runs, and Edwards going three innings after Bruno exited, with one hit, two strikeouts, and no runs. Jayden Gabrillo threw well in his 1.2 innings recorded, striking out two.

The NightOwls fly back from Edmonton on Friday morning.

There are just three more regular season home games for the NightOwls in 2025, a weekend series against Kamloops that starts Friday (August 1-2-3), with the Friday and Saturday games at 6:35pm and the Sunday capper at 1pm. The NightOwls complete their fourth WCL regular season with a road series in Bellingham, August 4-5-6.

Those home games are the only chance to use remaining vouchers purchased at Save On Foods, or as part of 10packs.

Source

Continue Reading

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats complete sweep with dominant win

Published

on

Jack Johnson’s three hit night raised his batting average to .303 on the season (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

July 31, 2025

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. – The Victoria HarbourCats took care of business this week, completing the sweep of the Kamloops NorthPaws with a resounding 18-3 win Thursday night.

Austin Lindsey (Hill College) has been a constant out of the bullpen this season, making 11 appearances, but was tasked with the start tonight. The first three batters he faced all reached, but he escaped the bases-loaded jam, limiting the damage to just one run.

Jai Berezowski (Golden Tide) levelled it up for the Cats at 1-1 in the second inning on a sacrifice fly.

Lindsay was rolling after the shaky start, retiring six in a row before a bang-bang play at first was called safe to extend the third inning. A stolen base put the runner in scoring position for Matthew MacDonald, who restored the visitors’ one-run advantage, making it 2-1 with a single. The Lufkin, Texas native completed three innings, giving up two runs on five hits, while striking out five and walking none.

BOX SCORE

The HarbourCats bats started to come alive in the third inning when Logan Shepherd (Mercer U) tied the game at two with an RBI double to the gap. He then came home on a Kamana Nahaku (Hawaii) RBI single to give the Cats their first lead of the evening. Nahaku scored on a wild pitch later in the frame to double the lead, making it 4-2.

Kamana Nahaku has 16 RBIs in nine games this season (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

In the fourth inning, Jack Johnson (Tulane U) crushed a two-run home run over the left field fence to extend his team’s advantage to 6-2, his fourth of the campaign.

The NorthPaws made it 6-3 through a Jared Hall double in the top of the fifth inning, but the home team then exploded for eight runs in the bottom half. Jake Butler (George Mason) continued to torment Kamloops pitching, driving in a pair with a double to the gap to make it 8-3. Dominic Archila (Texas Tech) recorded an RBI for the second straight night with a single before Shepherd and Nahaku both drew bases-loaded walks to bring home two more runs. Garrett Brooks (St. Mary’s) plated a pair with a single up the middle before Butler recorded his second hit of the inning, this time an RBI single to cap off the huge inning.

WCL STANDINGS

Declan Brown (Ottawa U) came off the bench for Victoria and hit his first home run as a cat, a solo shot in the seventh, extending the lead to 15-3. Tanner Beltowski’s (Westmont College) second hit of the game was a two-run double down the left field line, pushing the lead to 17-3.

Butler hit another RBI double in the eighth inning for his fifth RBI of the game and seventh of the series.

Dustin Davidson (Freed Hardeman), Tristin Thomas (West Texas A&M), and Ethan McNish-Heider (Niagara) all pitched in relief to close out the 18-3 win.

Garrett Brooks recorded a season high of four hits and also scored four times (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

With this sweep, the HarbourCats stay top of the North Division second-half standings with a 16-5 record. The Edmonton Riverhawks are still just one game back after they completed a sweep of the Nanaimo NightOwls with a walk-off win tonight.

The HarbourCats travel down to Port Angeles tomorrow for the final road series of the season. Friday and Saturday are 6:35 PM first pitches while Sunday is a 1:35 PM afternoon start. Watch the games HERE.

VOUCHER REMINDER: The Victoria HarbourCats only have three remaining home dates this season. A doubleheader on Monday, August 4, that starts at 4:05 PM, and evening games Tuesday, August 5, and Wednesday, August 6. Don’t forget to redeem your vouchers. You can do so at harbourcats.com/tickets, and if you have any questions or need help exchanging your vouchers, call the HarbourCats office at (778) 265 0327.

10 Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are on sale for all home games and “Showcase” events through the HarbourCats’ one-and-only ticketing partner SHOWPASS at harbourcats.com/tickets.

Tickets and merchandise can also be purchased in person at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street or by calling 778-265-0327.

For more updates, be sure to follow @HarbourCats on all social channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

Source

Continue Reading

Summer Collegiate

Road warrior NightOwls battle hard in loss in Alberta

Published

on

EDMONTON, Alta. — The Nanaimo NightOwls have been anything but a pushover this season, refusing to make things easy on the opposition.

Five late runs by the host Edmonton Riverhawks turned a 1-0 lead by the NightOwls, that lasted for six innings, into a 5-1 victory by the Albertans on Tuesday night at Remax Field, a game played in front of a legitimate crowd count of 7,108. Edmonton is the unquestioned attendance leader in the WCL.

Outfielder Spencer Sullivan’s sacrifice fly in the first inning, scoring Trevor Goldenetz, actually looked like it might hold up as all the scoring needed — until the bottom of the sixth inning.

Dawson Schultz was masterful in his starting pitching role for the NightOwls (20-26 overall, 8-11 in second half), throwing four innings with just one hit allowed — he walked none, and used his defence with no strikeouts recorded.

Reliever Cole Carmichael was effective in two innings, surrendering one run, but had the NightOwls in position to still find a way to win. The Riverhawks scored once each in the sixth and seventh innings, and broke open a 2-1 game with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Third baseman Ryder Florence was 2-4, and Goldenetz stole his fifth base of the season for Nanaimo.

The NightOwls stay in Edmonton for two more games in the Alberta capital, evening games on Wednesday and Thursday before heading home on Friday morning.

There are just three more regular season home games for the NightOwls in 2025, a weekend series against Kamloops that starts Friday (August 1-2-3), with the Friday and Saturday games at 6:35pm and the Sunday capper at 1pm. The NightOwls complete their fourth WCL regular season with a road series in Bellingham, August 4-5-6.

Those home games are the only chance to use remaining vouchers purchased at Save On Foods, or as part of 10packs.

Source

Continue Reading

Trending