KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops NorthPaws are Vancouver Island bound as they look to right the ship after suffering another sweep. The Edmonton Riverhawks earned a trio of wins over Kamloops at Dearborn Ford Field at Norbrock Stadium to push the Kamloops losing streak to 13 straight. The Nanaimo NightOwls sit fifth in the North Division standing at 7-10 as they welcome the NorthPaws to town for a three game set beginning on Tuesday.
GAME 1 It was a bend but don’t break attitude from the Kamloops NorthPaws pitching staff on Friday night as they would allow 15 hits to the Edmonton Riverhawks in the ballgame, but give up only 4 runs in a 4-2 loss.
Josh Berenbaum got the start but was forced to leave with an apparent upper-body injury in the third inning after giving up 2ER, 5H, 4K. Casper Rammeloo was forced into action providing 3.0 IP, 4H, 0R baseball.
The Riverhawks would strike first in the second inning on a Kaden Zarowny RBI single. Kamloops responded in the bottom half as Jacob Schlesselman brought home Chris Catalano on a single.
Edmonton would then take the lead for good in the top of the third inning as a Trent Leniham double scored Jakob Poturnak.
With the game at 4-1 in the ninth, Kamloops local Matt MacDonald hit a solo-shot to right, trimming the lead to 4-2 but that is as close as Kamloops would come, dropping their 11th straight decision.
Tate Dearing was credited with the win for the Riverhawks, 6IP, 4H, 1ER, 1K. Hayden Morrison earned the save.
GAME 2
The losing streak looked primed to come to an end on Saturday evening in Kamloops, but five unanswered runs from the Riverhawks stole the win 6-5 in 10 innings.
Kamloops would score first as the ‘Paws would load the bases with nobody out but bring across just a single run on a Chris Catalano double play to second. After the tying run came across in the top of the third, Kamloops put together a 2-out rally with Jacob French bringing home one and then Jaden Bitter doubling to left field to bring home two more.
Kamloops would add an extra run in the sixth inning on a Matthew Olivares RBI sac-fly to make it 5-1.
The Edmonton comeback would begin in the 8th inning with three runs scoring all with 2-outs to trim the lead to 5-4.
Due to a lack of arms available, Kamloops went to catcher Jerry Nix to pitch the ninth, but a two-out double from Same Kane brought home the tying run. A diving play from Tyler Glowacki in right prevented the go ahead run from scoring on a Russell Young liner one batter later.
The winning run would score on a passed ball in the 10th, before the Paws went 1-2-3 in the bottom half.
Dominic Giustino suffered the loss.
GAME 3
The final game of the weekend set saw the return of former NorthPaws pitcher Vic Domingo as he got the start for Edmonton and spun a gem on the mound.
Domingo pitched 7IP, 4H, 0ER, 9K and at one point between the 2nd and 7th innings, retired 15 consecutive Kamloops NorthPaws hitters as the Riverhawks swept the ‘Paws with a 7-2 win.
The Riverhawks would tally 14 hits against the Kamloops pitching staff which saw Cade Johnson, Manato Teteno, Chase Taylor and Manny Recchi all toe the rubber.
Six different Edmonton players would be credited with an RBI in the win, with Bryce McFeely leading the charge on a 3-5 day with two doubles.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE Monday, June 24 – Off-Day Tuesday, June 25 @ Nanaimo, first pitch 6:35 Wednesday, June 26 @ Nanaimo, first pitch 6:35 Thursday, June 27 @ Nanaimo, first pitch 6:35 Friday, June 28 vs Walla Walla, first pitch 6:35 Saturday, June 29 vs Walla Walla, first pitch 6:35 (Pre-Canada Day Celebration) Sunday, June 30 vs Walla Walla, first pitch 2:05 (Save on Foods Family Day) Monday, July 1 @ Kelowna, first pitch 6:35 Tuesday, July 2 vs Kelowna, first pitch 6:35 Wednesday, July 3 @ Kelowna, first pitch 6:35
FOR MEDIA REQUESTS Jenna Forter General Manager Kamloops NorthPaws 250-200-1415 www.northpawsbaseball.ca
The Kamloops NorthPaws have lost their first series at home this season following a 9-1 defeat against the Bellingham Bells. Despite out-hitting Bellingham, the NorthPaws couldn’t come up with a big inning.
The Bells got off to another quick start, scoring two in the top of the first. Bellingham’s first run came from two walks, a past ball, and a sacrifice ground ball. A base hit would score the second run.
The NorthPaws got off to another slow start at the plate, registering their first hit in the third inning. The Bells took advantage in the top of the fourth when they had two runners on with two outs. A double that turned into a triple via an error put two more runs on the board. The next Bells hitter sent a two-run home run over the wall in left field, making it 6-0.
In the bottom half, Drew Schmidt and Tanner Hornback hit back-to-back singles and would later advance 90 feet on a balk call. Left fielder Joey Rico sent a ball to center field that was deep enough to score Schmidt. Fans felt optimistic, given last night’s comeback effort, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the inning.
That would be the first and only run scored for the NorthPaws as they left five runners on base through the following five innings. Kamloops couldn’t get a rally going despite having runners on and getting hits.
“We had hits pretty much every inning and had guys on, but just no follow-up,” said first baseman Jared Hall.
The NorthPaws couldn’t string together a big inning on Saturday night. The Bells staff walked just three batters, while the NorthPaws issued seven walks. The Bells hitters took advantage and gave Kamloops no hope of a comeback effort.
“We just have to flush tonight and put together a full team effort tomorrow and save the series,” said Hall.
The NorthPaws will conclude the series on Sunday afternoon for a matinée game beginning at 12:05.
NANAIMO, B.C. — The Nanaimo NightOwls took the second game of the series against the Edmonton RiverHawks 2-0 in game two and moved closer to an even record on the season at 11-12. The pitching was stellar on the day as the NightOwls combined for a six-hit shutout on Saturday at Serauxemen Stadium.
The bats weren’t there all the time for Nanaimo, but they were there at the right time in the Bottom of the sixth inning. A two-run double was all the scoring the NightOwls needed as their pitchers were all throwing fire. Nanaimo finished with two runs on seven hits and one error, while the Edmonton Riverhawks had no runs on six hits and no errors. That brings the winning streak to three games for the NightOwls as they seem to be getting in mid-season form.
The four pitchers for the NightOwls combined for a seven-hit shutout, walking only 3 and striking out 7. The bulk of those stats go to starting pitcher Aidan Boice. Aidan, from Holladay, Utah, went five innings, giving up just 3 hits and one walk while striking out five of the twenty batters he faced on the night. He left with a no decision, but I spoke to him after the game about his start.
I asked what he thought of his performance on the mound tonight for the NightOwls, “You know I thought it was good, I came back from some behind counts and got some big outs with runners, I’m pretty happy with it.” He would also speak about the play of the team behind him and how it makes it easier to pitch knowing they have his back defensively, “Yeah the defense has been amazing these past few weeks, especially the outfield and they’ve been giving me a lot of help so it’s been awesome.”
Other pitchers for the NightOwls on the night were Cody “Cowboy” Carmichael, who pitched one inning, giving up zero hits and one walk. Cody got the win for Nanaimo and moves to 1-1 on the season in six appearances. Brady Morse also pitched a great inning before Brennan Kettle came on for the six-out save. The Junior from Hawaii Pacific University went two innings and gave up just one hit and walked one.
The NightOwls didn’t generate much offence on Saturday night, but they got it at the perfect time. Spencer Sullivan was once again at the forefront of things and hit a two RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning. On the night, Spencer went one for three with two RBI and a walk. first baseman Jacob Hayes went two for four on the night with two singles and a run scored. It looks like he wants to start another hit streak as that is back to back games for Hayes.
We have one more game in the series against the Edmonton Riverhawks on Sunday June 29th. It’s Family Fun Day at the ball park so we have a 1:05 pm first pitch. It’s also our mascot, Ney-Te The NightOwls Birthday so come out and help celebrate his big day as the Nanaimo Bars look to bring the brooms out of the janitors closet and sweep the series.
Monday the NightOwls have an exhibition game on June 30th against the Nanaimo Selects before our big Canada Day festivities against Island rivals, the Victoria HarbourCats. Make sure to get out early for that one as we are going to be packed. We have fireworks presented by the Kwumut Lelum Foundation.
General manager of the NightOwls said this about the night, “This fireworks game is becoming a must-see tradition in Nanaimo, with more than 3,100 at last year’s game,” said GM Tina Cornett. “The Kwumut Lelum Foundation is all about community and doing great things in the Nanaimo region.” For more information check out this link here and we hope to see you out at the ballpark on Tuesday! #IlluminateTheDark
WENATCHEE, Wash. – The Victoria HarbourCats held a three-run lead late, but the Wenatchee AppleSox battled back to walk it off in the ninth, winning game two of the series 5-4.
The HarbourCats got going early, taking a 1-0 lead in no time through a JC Allen (UC San Diego) RBI single that scored Hudson Shupe (Gonzaga) in the first inning.
The AppleSox answered back immediately when Jake Sanko drove in a run with a single of his own. The scoring stopped until the top of the fourth when Isaiah Afework (Tacoma CC) hit a triple to the wall and was then brought home on a sacrifice fly by Connor Ross (Cal Baptist) to restore their one-run advantage.
Thomas Bridges (Northwestern U) has been Victoria’s ace this year and started the game Saturday night. After a relatively shaky opening to the game by his high standards, he settled down and completed four innings, giving up one run on six hits, while striking out five. He walked no one, and has still only walked one batter in 20 innings of work this season.
The Cats extended their lead in the seventh when Shupe singled to centre, scoring Tanner Beltowski (Westmont College). The shortstop came home two batters later when Logan Shepherd (Mercer U) hit an RBI double, making it 4-1 Victoria.
Carson Burks (Hill College) was first out of the bullpen for Todd Haney’s team and was dominant the first time through the order. The lefty from Buna, Texas, retired the first 10 batters he faced before Jehee Lee hit a home run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 4-2. Later in the inning, a bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly did the job for the hosts, tying up the game at four heading into the ninth.
Marcus Janovsky (UBC), who came in to pitch in the eighth, was out for the ninth inning and gave up a single and hit a batter, which allowed the AppleSox to walk it off through a Kyle Panganiban sacrifice fly, giving Wenatchee a 5-4 win.
The HarbourCats will look to salvage something from this series tomorrow at 5:35 PM. After that, they return home on Monday, June 30, for the second fireworks night of the season! There is no better way to celebrate the long weekend. 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.
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