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Summer Collegiate

NorthPaws break out the late-game theatrics to sweep the AppleSox

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The Kamloops NorthPaws completed the sweep of the Wenatchee AppleSox, defeating them 6-3 on Wednesday night. Catcher Kalen Applefield drove in five of the six runs for Kamloops, including a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth. 

“Credit to him, he’s been showing up early every day hitting in the cages before batting practice and working his butt off trying to get himself back on track and he came up big tonight which is awesome,” said Assistant Coach Trey Newman.

Applefields teammate at UC Berkley, righty JM Harduvel, was on the mound for the NorthPaws and had his best outing of the summer, going three innings, giving up two earned runs on four hits while striking out a season high five batters.

“He’s one of the hardest workers on this team, and everything that’s coming towards him he’s earned, and I think he’s going to keep getting better,” said Pitching Coach Jack Slominski.

Harduvel’s only rocky inning was in the second when the AppleSox put up a pair of runs. A hit by pitch, a stolen base and a single scored the first run, while a pair of two-out singles scored the second run, putting the AppleSox up 2-0.

In the bottom of the second, the NorthPaws responded as center fielder Connor Clark singled to begin the inning. With Applefield at the plate, the hit and run was on as Clark broke for second. The NorthPaws catcher sent a double down the right field line that scored Clark, cutting the lead in half.

In the bottom of the third, second baseman Tanner Hornback singled to begin the inning. Two batters later, first baseman Joey Rico sent a double of his own down the right field line, scoring Hornback and tying the game at two.

In the fourth, the AppleSox put together a two-out rally with a walk and a base hit. Wenatchee took the lead on an infield error. From there, the bullpen shut the door. Righties Landon Guiterriez, Nolan Austin, and Cade Webber threw a combined five scoreless innings, giving up just three hits, including another unbelievable outing from Austin, giving up just one hit in three scoreless innings.

In the bottom of the eighth, the third baseman, Drew Schmidt, walked. Rico followed that up with a base hit. Left fielder Matt MacDonald reached base via a throwing error from the pitcher off a bunt attempt. Clark struck out, setting Applefield up for the most significant opportunity of the season. He had been hitless in his last six games and came into the contest with just four RBI’s. With his go-ahead grand slam, he had five on Wednesday night alone.

The NorthPaws would complete the sweep as Cade Webber came on and got the save. The series was entertaining to say the least. Two one-run victories and two come-from-behind wins for the NorthPaws. After struggling to get timely hits over the weekend, Hornback, Burke and Applefield all delivered on different nights, playing crucial roles in the victories.

“They’re good players, that’s why they’re here. Good players find ways to make good moments happen, so it was cool to see those guys come through in three separate games,” said Head Coach Riley Jepson.

The team will now have a couple of days off before playing an exhibition double header against Webber Academy on Saturday. The team will resume West Coast League action on Tuesday, July 8th. After a gruelling schedule to this point, Jepson and the rest of the team are looking forward to their days off.

“It will be nice for the guys to reset and let their bodies catch up to them, it’s not easy coming off long spring schedules at school and start playing six days a week,” said Jepson. 

You can stay up-to-date with the team and follow along on social media. Stay tuned for more stories coming over the weekend. 

 

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Allen leads offensive outburst as Cats beat Owls

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July 3, 2025

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The HarbourCats clinched the Island Cup with games to spare, winning six of eight against the NightOwls this season (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

July 2, 2025

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. – The Victoria HarbourCats picked up where they left off on Canada Day, putting up season highs in runs and hits Wednesday night, beating the Nanaimo NightOwls 15-9.

It was the visitors who got off to the perfect start in the top of the first inning when Talan Zenk took a Hudson Lance (Coastal Carolina) hanging breaking ball over the left field wall for a three-run home run. It was the second baseman’s second long ball in as many days and his fourth of the season.

JC Allen extended his hit streak to seven games and has seven hits in this series (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

In the next inning, it was Tyler Arnold who took another hanging slider from Lance over the fence for a solo shot, making it 4-0 Nanaimo.

BOX SCORE

The Cats answered back immediately in the bottom half when Jack Johnson (Baylor) drove home Victoria’s first run of the game with an RBI single. Tanner Beltowski (Westmont College) followed that up with a two-run single, making it 4-3. JC Allen (UC San Diego) tied it up at four with a two-out single, and Logan Shepherd (Mercer U) gave the HarbourCats the lead with an RBI single of his own.

Nathan Davis levelled things up at five in the top half of the third with a two-out RBI single. Victoria restored their lead, putting four more runs on the board in the bottom of the third, highlighted by a Jacob Doyle (Nevada) RBI double.

WCL STANDINGS

The scoring kept coming when Zenk drove in two more runs with a double to make it 9-7 HarbourCats after four innings.

Lance lasted three innings, giving up five runs on seven hits, walking none and striking out three. He was replaced by Jacob Thompson (Minot State), who walked three and surrendered two runs on three hits. Oliver Mabee (Nebraska Omaha) took over from there and pitched a season-high 3-1/3 innings, giving up two runs on three hits, and striking out three.

Garrett Brooks has three hits in his first two HarbourCats games (Photo: Christian J. Stewart) 

WATCH GAMES HERE

Allen hit a two-run home run for his third long ball of the season in the fifth inning to extend the Cats’ lead to 11-7. Hudson Shupe (Gonzaga) and Allen hit back-to-back RBI doubles in the sixth inning to make it 13-7. The NightOwls scored a pair in the top of the seventh before a Beltowski RBI double in the bottom half gave the Cats a 14-9 lead late on.

Allen capped off his player-of-the-game performance by crushing a solo home run in the eighth inning, bringing the score to 15-9. The first baseman went four for four with two home runs, a double, and five RBIs.

Every HarbourCat starter had at least one hit, with Beltowski and Dillon Lopez (St Mary’s) recording three hits each. As a team, Victoria recorded 18 hits and drew 10 walks.

BUY TICKETS HERE

Jake Finkelstein (Georgia Gwinnett) and Ethan McNish-Heider (Niagara) both pitched a scoreless inning to close out the game.

The HarbourCats go for the sweep tomorrow at 6:35 PM. Buy tickets at harbourcats.com/tickets.

Season Tickets, 10 and 32-Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are now on sale for all 33 home games and four “Showcase” events through the HarbourCats’ new and 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).

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Ninth inning heroics secure series win for the NorthPaws

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July 2, 2025

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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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NightOwls Fall To The HarbourCats In Canada Day Clash 8-2

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July 2, 2025

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NANAIMO, B.C. — There were skydivers, fireworks, and some great baseball, as the Nanaimo NightOwls took on their Rival, the Victoria HarbourCats, on July 1st at Serauxmen Stadium. Unfortunately, Nanaimo couldn’t get the win in game one of the series, losing 8-2. That didn’t stop the crowd of 3500 from enjoying their evening at the ballpark. I mentioned we had skydivers fall into centerfield before the game, and a ton of great events and promotions.

Nanaimo jumped out to an early lead in the first inning thanks to another Talan Zenk home run. The NightOwls would tack on one more before Victoria would tie things up with single runs in the third and fourth innings before taking the lead with one more in the fifth. The game was close until Victoria went off for 5 runs in the sixth and seventh innings, and Nanaimo just couldn’t muster up any offense to get back in the game.

https://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=621649

The Nanaimo NightOwls had two runs on nine hits with no errors. The HarbourCats had eight runs on 16 hits with one error. The starting pitcher for the NightOwls had a good game, going four innings. Teague VanDyke gave up seven hits and just two runs while striking out two.

Nanaimo NightOwls Vs. Victoria HarbourCats (Photo Credit: Chad Frostad)

Brady Morse, from Bellarmine University, came in for the Nanaimo NightOwls in relief in the eighth inning and pitched two scoreless giving up no hits and no walks. Brady has been good on the mound and in the field for the NightOwls this season.

https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv/

It was Talan Zenk once again crushing the ball out of the park tonight for Nanaimo. He finished off the day going one for four with a home run and an RBI. You can see from the stats in the tweet below he has been on fire of late and he will look to continue down in Victoria.

This is becoming a reoccurring thing since he keeps hitting bombs out the park, but I spoke with Talan about his approach at the plate, “Yeah, my main goal the past couple games have just been to load slow and early up at the plate. As well as focusing on getting my swing off and providing for the team anyway possible.”

Catcher Brock Wirthgen (Photo Credit: Chad Frostad)

Catcher Brock Wirthgen also had a good night at the plate for the home side. He went two for four with two singles on the evening. Look out for a player profile about Brock coming out soon. Tyler Arnold went 1one for four and contributed the other RBI on the night.

http://Nanaimonightowls.com/tickets

It was a great night at the ballpark despite the loss to the HarbourCats. Thanks to everyone who came out and supported the team as we sold out tonight! It’s a fun night at the ballpark with you here so come join us all summer. Link for tickets is above and you can book the Bathtub Bar or Bus for a summer party or birthday, message us on social media or call the office.

The series continues for the Nanaimo NightOwls against the Victoria HarbourCats, but it shifts down Island for the final two games at Royal Athletic Park. The two teams will finish off the series on Wednesday, July 2nd, and Thursday, July 3rd. Then the NightOwls head off to Edmonton for a rematch with the RiverHawks. It should be a hard-fought series, as Edmonton will have been swept by the NightOwls fresh on their minds. Make sure to watch the game on the link above and cheer on your team on social media with the Hashtag #IlluminateTheDark.

Good night Nanaimo!

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