Summer Collegiate

NorthPaws take two of three from defending league champs

Published

4 months ago

June 12, 2023

Dugout Wire Service

Author: Larry Read

KAMLOOPS BC—It was a noteworthy weekend for the Kamloops NorthPaws.

The NorthPaws finally got into the win column in the West Coast Baseball League. It took them six games to do it, but the North Paws won a game. They did it against the six-time league champion Corvallis Knights. Friday night (June 9), the Paws shutout the Knights 1-0.

They then did something they have done only twice before since entering the league: that was play a doubleheader. After being rained out Saturday (June 10), the Paws and Corvallis played a ‘double dip’ on Sunday (June 11) playing a pair of seven inning affairs.

The first game saw a brilliant pitching performance from Hayden Walker propel Kamloops to a 2-0 victory. The night cap saw the Knights shutout Kamloops 9-0 as they hammered out 15 hits and scored six runs in the sixth inning.

Kamloops moves to 2-7 on the year while Corvallis is 6-3.

The NorthPaws hit the road now for three games in Edmonton against the Riverhawks. The set begins June 13th at ReMax field. The Knights are off until June 15th when they begin a nine game homestand with a trio of contests against the Bend Elks. Three of those home games will be against the NorthPaws. They will hook up beginning June 24th.

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

DOUBLEHEADER HISTORY:

The Paws played two doubleheaders in their inaugural West Coast League season. All of them were on Dearborn Ford Field at Norbrock Stadium. June 2, 2022, Kamloops swept the Edmonton RiverHawks 8-7 and 4-3. On July 23, 2022, they split with the Nanaimo Night Owls. They lost the opener 8-0 but won the nightcap 8-7.

SERIES RECAP:

Friday, June 9, 2023-Kamloops NorthPaws 1 Corvallis Knights 0

526 people were on hand to see the NorthPaws notch their first win of the young season. All the scoring was done in the first inning. Tommy Green (Courtenay, BC) singled to start the inning. He scored on an RBI triple off the bat of third baseman Drew Giannini (Tracy, CA). Giannini was one for three at the plate. Green was one for four.

Griffin Almond (Thornbury, ON) made his second start of the year and went six innings for the win. Almond surrendered two hits, walked one and struck out three. Kolby Lukinchuk (Prince George, BC) earned the save in one inning of work. He was the fourth pitcher of the game for Kamloops.

Lefty Merit Jones (Idaho Falls, ID) struck out eight and had two walks in five innings of work. He was the losing pitcher. Tyler Quinn (Mililani, HIJ), Tyler Howard (Vancouver, WA) and Ty Yukumoto (Waipahu, HI) were all one for four at the dish for the Knights. They fell to 5-2 on the year with the setback.

Link to Scoresheet: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=598108

Sunday, June 11, 2023-Game 1-Kamloops NorthPaws 2 Corvallis Knights 0

The first game of the doubleheader saw a brilliant pitching performance from lefthander Hayden Walker (Corrales, NM). Walker, who transferred to New Mexico State this year after two seasons at Pepperdine threw 90 pitches over six innings. He had seven strikeouts, gave up four hits and walked one for his first victory of the year. Noah Louw (Chelon, WA) came on in the seventh to earn the save as he struck out three.

The Knights were threatening in the top of the seventh with two men on before Louw struck out the side.

Both Kamloops runs were scored in the fifth inning. Catcher Joey Adge (Parker, CO) walked and scored on a wild pitch delivered by Knights losing pitcher Neil Feist (Torrance, CA). The other Kamloops run was scored by Landon Clark who was hit by a pitch and plated on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Drew Giannini.

Stanley Schoppe (Tigard, OE) and Johnathan Stone (Roseberg, OE) were both one for three.

Kamloops had only one hit in the ball game. That came from Tommy Green (Courtenay, BC). He singled in the third inning.

Link to Scoresheet: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=601168

Sunday, June 11, 2023-Game 2-Corvallis Knights 9 Kamloops NorthPaws 0

The Knights had a 3-0 lead until the sixth inning when they scored six runs on five hits. Corvallis was led offensively by right fielder Sam Stern (Erie, CO) who was four for five with an RBI and two runs scored. Third baseman Tyler Quinn (Mililani, HI) who was two for five with two runs scored. Catcher Tyler Howard (Vancouver, WA) was three for four with three RBI. JC Ing (Foster City, OE) was one for three with two runs batted in and a run scored.

Ethan Collins (Rossmoor, CA) went three innings for the win. He gave up one hit, struck out four and walked three. Wyatt Hardy (Parker, CO) went the first two and two thirds’ innings and was tagged with the loss. He gave up three runs on seven hits, with two strikeouts and two walks.

Catcher Joey Aldge was the only NorthPaw to garner a hit. The Parker Colorado backstop is hitting .350 for the season.

Link to Scoresheet: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=598110

NORTH AWS HEAD COACH KEITH FRANCIS:

“If you would have told me Thursday night that ‘Hey Keith..you were only going to get five hits this weekend total between three games but you were going to win two out of three, I would have said you were out of your mind. It was impossible. But that was the case. Our pitching was outstanding the first two nights. It struggled a bit today in the third game. We have some issues at the plate which we have to get worked out. I don’t have a magical answer. We have to start hitting the ball. We can’t win games with five hits over a weekend.”

On pulling Hayden Walker in game two after six innings (of a seven-inning contest):

“ There was some thought of having him pitch a complete game. But when I asked how many pitches he threw and found it was 91, he was done for the day. He has a career ahead of him and this is a long season. It was a short-lived consideration.”

NORTHPAWS PITCHER HAYDEN WALKER:

“It was a good performance by the team all around (when asked about the win in game two). I got the win which was nice. Joey Adge did a great job behind the plate for me getting some throw downs. Today my fastball and changeup were going well. I was able to locate the fastball on both sides of the plate which helped a ton.”

On chemistry with a new catcher:

“It hard to build a relationship super quick. I think we both know we can trust each other with whatever we need to do on the field. It helps us out a lot.

NORTHPAWS CATCHER JOEY ADGE:

“It was a pretty good weekend getting two victories. I thought we could have got more hits but I thought our pitching was great which helped us out a lot.”

On Hayden Walker’s six inning victory in game two:

“He had great command of his three pitches. He pitched with a lot of confidence and was a pleasure to catch.

NEXT UP FOR THE NORTHPAWS:

The NorthPaws and Edmonton Riverhawks will square off at ReMax Field in Edmonton starting Tuesday June 13th. In 2022, These teams met four times with Kamloops sweeping a series at home in early June (8-7,4-3,1-0). The Riverhawks beat the NorthPaws when the teams met in Edmonton. The score was 12-3 on July 26th.

Their next home series will be Friday June 16 th when the Port Angeles Lefties will venture onto Dearborn Field at Norbrock Stadium. Kamloops took four of six games against the Lefties last year including 6-5 and 7-4 at home. They were played June 24-25, 2022.

PLAYERS TO WATCH ON THE RIVERHAWKS:

Tom Poole – 1B/3B – Dallas Baptist University, not quite with the team as DBU made a push at regionals

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.

For “Everything NorthPaws-Go to the website : https://www.northpawsbaseball.ca/ “

Kamloops North Paws tickets: ticketing@northpawsbaseball.ca

West Coast League: westcoastleague.com.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Two key returnees among three Canadians signed for 2024

Published

5 days ago

September 20, 2023

Dugout Wire Service

Green (above), Hall and former Canadian junior team star Chee-Aloy join Cats

September 20, 2023

VICTORIA, B.C. — The reloading of the 2023 North Division champion Victoria HarbourCats has started — not surprisingly, given the team’s history of finding local and Canadian talent — with three players who have maple leaf passports.

Returning infielders Brandon Green of the Victoria Golden Tide and Tyrus Hall of Bossier Parrish JC are joined by prized Illinois recruit Cameron Chee-Aloy of Toronto as the HarbourCats, who have posted just one sub-.500 record since 2014 and have made the playoffs in five of the last six seasons, get ready for the 2024 campaign.

Hall, primarily a shortstop, is a Victoria product who came through the Eagles program, while Green, who can play any infield position, is in his third year with the Golden Tide, hailing from Olds, Alberta. Both played with the HarbourCats in 2023, part of the team that set a WCL record with 25 home wins in 27 home regular season games — 27-2 counting playoffs.

HarbourCats infielder Ty Hall will return to the HarbourCats in 2024 (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

“Ty Hall has tremendous potential and a pro-level arm, with blazing speed — and we saw so much improvement with him under WCL coach of the year Todd Haney,” said Jim Swanson of the HarbourCats. “He will get better yet in college and being back with us next summer. And Brandon, he was one of the great stories of our season, unceremoniously dumped before the season by a summer team in another league in Alberta and given a chance to stay in Victoria at the WCL level, and all he did was earn the trust of Todd and the staff. He had the summer of his life, and he’s not done.”

Green became the first product of the third year Golden Tide program to have a notable impact on the WCL club, part of the mandate of the CCBC entry.

In 24 games, Green had two doubles, two home runs and drove in 10 runs, batting .222 and earning stretches of time at second base, with just one error. Hall got into 26 games, his speed of great value off the bench, and hit .250 with 13 stolen bases — caught just once. Hall was a featured part of a league record 150 stolen bases as a team.

Chee-Aloy (pictured right), a product of the Ontario Terriers, is best described as a plus-speed outfielder who plays the game hard, getting the most out of his 6-0/180 pound frame. The right-handed hitter with a right fielder’s arm had two stints with Team Canada, where he was teammates with Hall.

“We are exited to add Cameron to the 2024 team,” said Head Coach Todd Haney. “His speed will be an asset both offensively and defensively.”

The HarbourCats 2024 schedule in anticipated to be released in late October or early November 2023. Stay tuned to our website and social media channels for news on that once it becomes available.

Season tickets are now on sale and can now be renewed for the 2024 season of HarbourCats baseball! Lock in and renew your existing seats, or purchase new seats by October 31, 2023 to guarantee Early Bird Pricing at the 2023 rates:

General Admission – $375 ($385 after October 31)
Premium Reserved (Sections 6-9 and 11-12) – $475 ($495 after October 31)
Grandstand Reserved (Section 10 Rows E and up) – $525 ($550 after October 31)
Campbell Real Estate Club Seats (Section 10 Rows A-D) – $675 ($700 after October 31)
Diamond Club Field Level – $750 (WAIT LIST – CALL FOR AVAILABILITY) ($775 after October 31)

Season tickets offer the best per-game value per seat and come with the following benefits:

Includes all regular season WCL league home games, and all pre-season and exhibition games
Incudes FREE PLAYOFF TICKETS
Season ticket holders get first right of refusal to purchase tickets for other special events (eg. concerts)
Season-ticket holders do not pay additional Fireworks Game pricing
Service fees and all taxes included in above prices

Please call the office at 778-265-0327 or e-mail chris@harbourcats.com to renew, or to purchase new seats.

You can also stop into the office to take care of this at 101-1814 Vancouver Street. We are open in the off-season Tuesday – Friday from 10AM to 5PM.

Cats merchandise is also on sale now at the office at The Cat Shop, or online at https://victoria-harbourcats-official.myshopify.com/

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Summer Collegiate

2023 Fan Experience Survey – Kamloops NorthPaws

Published

6 days ago

September 18, 2023

Dugout Wire Service

Photo by: Allen Douglas

The Kamloops NorthPaws wanted to thank our fans for another great season at Norbrock Stadium – THANK YOU ‘PAWS FANS!!!

The organization is looking to fans to share their experiences in order to make improvements for 2024. Fans who choose to include their email will be entered into a draw for a 2024 10-game flex plan, the winner will be contacted on October 6, 2023. All anonymous users will not be entered into the draw. The NorthPaws thank you for your reviews and support of our team, we look forward to improving our operations and welcoming you back to the ballpark in 2024!

You can complete the form below:

https://forms.gle/YBfFHvp6eDyRuoUR6

Source

Summer Collegiate

Top player in 2023 returns for third season as a NightOwl

Published

2 weeks ago

September 12, 2023

Dugout Wire Service

Marsh the first NightOwls’ signing for 2024 WCL season

An original NightOwl is coming back for a third season at historic Serauxmen Stadium.

Infielder Aaron Marsh of the UBC Thunderbirds, who shared the 2023 player of the year award with keystone partner Elijah Ickes, will be the key offensive piece that Head Coach Greg Frady will build his lineup around in the summer of 2024.

The Nanaimo product, a former Pirate, has been the picture of consistency for the NightOwls for the team’s first two seasons in the West Coast League. In 2022, Marsh batted .309 and was among team leaders with 38 hits and 20 runs driven in, and followed that up in 2023 with 39 more hits, 24 RBIs, and batting .287 while playing both second and third. He hit two home runs both seasons.

“Aaron is a tough out, gives the team gritty at-bats and is so reliable on defence,” said Jim Swanson, GM of the NightOwls. “He brings so many intangibles to UBC and to the NightOwls, is a leader and you can tell he loves to play the game, and loves to play in front of our great crowds in Nanaimo, in front of people who watched him grow up in our city. He’s the ideal player to have as our first signing for the 2024 season.”

A left-handed hitter with extra-base power, a valuable asset with the exciting fence configuration at Serauxmen Stadium, the 5-10/185 Marsh has played 73 games as a NightOwl, so will be looking to become the first player to play in 100 games for Nanaimo’s young WCL franchise.

“Recruiting is very much underway, between myself and the coaching staff, looking to build a team that can get us to the playoffs and be the first Canadian team to win the WCL title,” said Swanson. “Our 2023 team played everyone hard, one game below .500 — and known for being scrappy and playing the game the right way, with the right approach of effort and sportsmanship. We are building future pro players here, we are also building young men who will be successful in whatever they advance to in life. Aaron is definitely one of those people.”

Season tickets are now on sale for the 2024 campaign — renewals and new fans, the best seats at the park available for as low as $400 for the season (roughly $12.50 per seat per game). Included in season tickets are gratis playoff tickets, with the NightOwls in the hunt for a post-season spot until the final week in both of the team’s initial seasons.

“If you haven’t yet made it to a game — you’re missing out on a great spot and a special energy that only Serauxmen creates,” said Swanson.

For information on season tickets, email tina@nanaimonightowls.com

Team merchandise is also in hot demand, find the shop site at nanaimonightowls.com for a variety of offerings from hats to hoodies to shirts and miscellaneous items.

Source