Author: Larry Read

BELLINGHAM, WA—The Kamloops NorthPaws might not have earned any points but they did earn some respect as they dropped a three game set to one of the top teams in the West Coast League: the Bellingham Bells. 

Capping off the series on Thursday (July 6), the NorthPaws held a 5-0 lead before falling 7-5 to the Bells.

Kamloops falls to 7-23 on the year while Bellingham moves to 20-7.

Other scores in the series had the Bells winning 5-1 on Tuesday (July 4) and 2-0 on Wednesday (July 5).

Bellingham was led in the series by Canadian Yohann Desseureault.  The resident of Trois Rivieres, Quebec went four for eleven with four runs scored and four runs batted in.

The win Thursday moved Bellingham atop of the WCL North Division. They are a game ahead of the second place Wenatchee AppleSox.  The AppleSox, who are the next opponents for the NorthPaws starting tomorrow (Friday, July 7) fell 3-2 to Port Angeles on Thursday.  The AppleSox have lost their last two starts.

The Paws and Wenatchee will be playing the next three games against each other at s Paul Thomas Senior Field . The Bells are also on the road on Friday as they meet the Raptors in Ridgefield.

All West Coast League games are available via their website: https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv/

SERIES RECAP:

Tuesday, July 4, 2023: Bellingham 5 Kamloops 1

3,299 people spent Independence Day at Joe Martin Field where they saw their home team win their 18th game of the season. Bellingham took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second and added three more in the bottom of the third and one in the sixth—all off NorthPaws stater Tyrelle Chadwick (Kamloops, BC).  Chadwick was playing his last game with the Paws before returning to Illinois State University.   He went five and two thirds’ innings striking out three and walking two.  Chadwick was 0-4 this summer in five starts.

Daniel Paret (Miami Lakes, FLA) went to 2-0 on the year pitching four innings of two hit ball with nine strike outs.

Offensively, Ty Saunders (Anacortes, WA) was two for three with three runs batted in. Dessureault  went two for four with two runs scored and a run batted in.  Colton Bower (Poulsbo, WA) was one for three with a run scored.

Kamloops saw Gabe Mestas (Durango, CA) go two for four with a run scored. Cooper Neville (Glendale, AZ) went one for four with a run batted in. Drew Giannini (Tracy CA) was one for four with a run scored.

Link to Scoresheet:  http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=596802

Wednesday July 5, 2023:Bellingham 2 Kamloops 0

The NorthPaws stuck with the Bells until the fifth inning when Nate Kirkpatrick (Surrey, BC)  led off the inning hitting a single off reliever Liam Reynolds (Trumansburg, NY).  Kirkpatrick was the first batter Reynolds faced after replacing starter Griffin Almond (Thornbury, ON). 

Kirkpatrick later scored on a single by Anthony Kodama (Mill Creek, WA).  Kirkpatrick was 1 for three with a run scored in the game.  Kodama was one for two with a run batted in and a run scored.  He was brought home by the next batter-Dessureault.  He was one for three with a run batted in.

Reynolds was tagged with the loss and is 0-1 in eight appearances this season.  He pitched three innings giving up the two runs and striking out two.

For Kamloops: Joey Baran (Austin, TX) was two for four. Nevillle was one for three while Robin Villeneuve (Gatineau, QC) was one for two.    

Trevor Moore (Golden, CO), the second of four Bellingham pitchers got the win. He is 1-0 on the year as he pitched three innings giving up one hit, striking out three and walking four 

Kamloops outhit Bellingham 6 -5 but left 10 runners on base.

Link to Scoresheet: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=596803

Thursday, July 6, 2023: Bellingham 7  Kamloops 5

The NorthPaws jumped out to a 5-0 lead scoring all their runs in the top of the third inning. That would account for all their offense as the Bells scored seven consecutive runs.  They cut the deficit to 5-2 after four innings and added three in the bottom of the sixth along with single runs in the seventh and eighth.

Bellingham outhit Kamloops 9-4 and committed four errors to the NorthPaws one.

Two Canadian players did the most offensive damage for Bellingham. St Albert, Alberta’s Max Hartman was two for four with a triple and a home run. He had two runs batted in. Dessaurault of Trois Rivieres, Quebec was one for four with a run scored and an RBI.  His one hit was a triple.

Coleman Schmidt (Reno, NV) was two for four. He scored twice and had a run batted in.

Kamloops was led offensively by Mestas .  He was one for three with two runs batted in and a stolen base. Phoenix Sonmay was one for three with a run scored while Neville was one for four with a run scored.

Treven Hope notched the win for the Bells. The Blaine, Washington resident went three innings giving up two walks and a hit. It as his first win in three starts.  Gianluca Shinn (Menlo Park, CA) earned his first save striking out a single batter in one inning of work. He has made five appearances on the mound this year.

Noah Loew (Chelan, WA) suffered his first loss in six appearances. On in relief, he went an inning and a third giving up a run, a hit and a walk.   Hayden Walker (Albuquerque, NM)  got the start for Kamloops and went five and two thirds innings, giving up five runs  on seven hits with a walk and two strike outs.

Link to Scoresheet: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=596804

NEXT UP FOR THE NORTHPAWS:

As mentioned, the Paws are in Wenatchee against the Apple Sox for three games beginning tomorrow.

Their next home series will be Tuesday July 11th when the Edmonton RiverHawks come to town. Opening pitch that night along with Wednesday and Thursday July 12-13 will be 6:35 PM.  Kamloops then has a four day break.

PLAYERS TO WATCH ON THE RIVERHAWKS:

KJ Ward – RHP – Park University Gilbert

Jonny McGill – OF – University of British Columbia

Jack Wheatley – MIF – Liberty University

Kelly Corl – MIF – Niagara University.

If you can’t make the home games, they are all webcast on  https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv/ .   Some home games will also be shown on Shaw TV in Kamloops (Cable 10 or 105 with Blue Curve).

TAILGATE PARTY:

The Molson’s Tailgate Party is hoppin’ before every NorthPaws home game.   It runs Tuesday through Saturday 5-630 PM.  The Party runs Sundays noon-1 PM.  Hotdogs and a Pilsner are sold for $ 12.00 plus tax.

Featured Image Credit: Makayla Sparks

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