Summer Collegiate

NorthPaws Upping Entertainment In 2024 West Coast League Season

Published

2 years ago

February 26, 2024

Dugout Wire Service

KAMLOOPS, BC—With the weather getting better, it’s time to get excited about the 2024 edition of the Kamloops North Paws baseball team. The third year West Coast League club has unveiled its schedule for the coming year.

The 57-game season includes 31 at home. The NorthPaws have non-league games against Kamloops Minor Baseball, the Kelowna Falcons and Coquitlam Angels.

The NorthPaws home opener will be Friday May 31st at Dearborn Ford Field at Norbrock Stadium. For the second straight season, the Paws will open against the Victoria HarbourCats.

“We are extremely excited for the upcoming season,” states North Paws General Manager Jenna Forter. “Our coaching staff have been hard at work recruiting some great players from across North America and Europe. Although we have several new faces, we have some returning local Kamloops players that we are excited to have on the team. Jose, TC and Riley have all been well received by the players and the community. The coaches and our organization are planning on a strong comeback in 2024.”

She adds: “Our schedule includes 31 home games, with a pre-season exhibition game vs the RiverDogs on May 29th at 6:35 pm at Dearborn Ford Field at Norbrock Stadium, these additional games include seven weekend series and some great theme nights that we are thrilled to announce with our schedule.”

Game times for 2024 will be 6:35 PM for most nights. Sunday games will have 2:05 pm opening pitch.

Again, this coming season, the NorthPaws will have several theme nights. These include Father’s Day, Homer’s Birthday, Canada Day, Family Appreciation night and new this year: “School Spirit Day”.

“School Spirit Day” will be Thursday June 6th where the Paws will tangle with the Bellingham Bells. It will be an 11:30 AM start time. There will be free tickets for students and faculty along with an affordable healthy lunch option.

Says Forter: “The NorthPaws have been occupied in entertainment planning during our off-season and I am happy to share that we have some big theme nights and promotions coming in 2024. We are excited to announce pre-game entertainment, merchandise promotions and major giveaways to kick off our season. Other notable theme nights include our School Spirit Day on June 6 when the NorthPaws invite classes from the schools in Kamloops and surrounding areas for a memorable and educational field trip to our park, Homer’s Birthday – Bark at the Park– sponsored by Bosley’s Valleyview on Friday June 21st.

Forter says, “To celebrate Homer’s Birthday with his furry friends, we are inviting fans to bring their pups for a night of baseball and supporting the BCSPCA.”

Other special events this year include a Pre-Canada Day Weekend Celebration with entertainment and prizes, along with the return of ‘Save On Foods Family Day. Forter adds, “We are introducing Throwback Tuesdays by Molson Coors – the events will feature ticket specials, beer batter drink prices all night and hot dog specials.”

“As we have a huge focus on community engagement this season, “she adds. “We are delighted to also announce that the NorthPaws will be hosting an MLB Pitch, Hit and Run event on July 17th. This MLB event is an exciting addition to our promotions line up and will allow participants aged 7-14 to compete in a free competition to show off their baseball skills and get one-on-one time with our coaching staff and players. Participants with the highest scores will have the chance to move onto the National competition and the finals hosted by one of the Major League Teams – this is one of the community events we are most excited to offer Kamloops in 2024.”

The NorthPaws are making a concerted effort to make their fans happy both on the field and in the stands, but also in the pocketbook.“Our fans are exceptionally loyal, we are extremely grateful for them especially after the challenging 2023 season – it’s something that is not only recognized by our organization, but throughout the West Coast League.” The NorthPaws GM states. “ We are planning on bringing more value to our fans through the introduction of youth and seniors passes, and promotions throughout the season including Fan Appreciation Night to thank them for their devotion for the past two seasons.”

For information on sponsorship, the schedule, and seasons tickets: visit the Kamloops NorthPaws website: www.northpawsbaseball.ca

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact: Jenna Forter

NorthPaws General Manager

Jforter@northpawsbaseball.ca

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Smother NightOwls for 5-2 Win

Published

4 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Solid offence in the early stages of the game led to an important game one win. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Nanaimo, B.C. – The HarbourCats kicked off the Nanaimo series the right way with a 5-2 win over their hosts, the Nanaimo NightOwls.

BOX SCORE

It didn’t take long for the HarbourCats to put themselves in front, battling with two outs to take the lead in the top of the first. Two walks and a single loaded the bases with two away, and a couple of passed balls opened the door for both Logan Shepherd (Mercer) and Rohne Klein (San Jose State) to score. The Cats came back and tacked on another in the second inning with a Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) sac fly and would then load the bases up again in the third, scoring another run by way of a walk from Cameron Chee-Aloy (Illinois).

While the bats were heating up, starting pitcher Shea Lake (West Texas A&M) held up his end of the bargain and then some. In the four innings he oversaw, Lake notched seven strikeouts and denied Nanaimo any hits at all, putting up a zero in the run column. Houston Tomlinson of Arkansas State covered for Lake in the fifth and continued his legacy, striking out two in a clean inning on the mound.

Dillon Lopez was active on the scoresheet in this one, going 2/4 with a walk. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Jacob Silva (UTSA) began the top of the sixth frame with a display of power, slinging a ball over the right field wall to extend the lead. The NightOwls had no answer in the home half of the inning, as Tomlinson continued to shut them down.

Nanaimo finally found their first hit of the ballgame in the top of the seventh inning, a double socked over the centre fielder Chee-Aloy to leadoff the bottom of the frame. Tomlinson got himself into a bit of a pickle with the bases loaded, which Nanaimo capitalized on to score their first two runs. Shea Lake’s West Texas A&M teammate Tristin Thomas was next out of the bullpen with the bases full. Unfazed by the pressure, Thomas struck out both batters he faced to preserve the lead.

Nathan Mueller (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) was summoned to finish the job in the ninth inning and did just that, locking in after a leadoff single and getting a double play and a strikeout to end the game.

WCL STANDINGS

The HarbourCats and NightOwls will gear up for a rematch on Wednesday night, with Victoria gunning for the series win.

Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games are now on sale at http:-//harbourcats.com/tickets. Season tickets, 12-pack and 32-pack game vouchers may also be bought online or by stopping by the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Defeated by AppleSox in Game Three

Published

2 days ago

July 19, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The HarbourCats have been kept quiet in two straight games after a powerful offensive showing in game one. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Victoria, B.C. – In a winner-take-all matchup against the Wenatchee AppleSox, Victoria’s bats came up short, falling 3-1 to the visiting AppleSox and losing the series.

The AppleSox claimed the first advantage in game three of this head-to-head series, rocking a rare double off of Erik Rico (Fresno State) and cashing in the run for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

BOX SCORE

It wasn’t until the top of the fifth when Wenatchee would add on, smashing a two-run homer with two outs in the top of the fifth. That bomb ended the outing for Rico, who gave up three runs today on five hits and notched nine strikeouts. Leif Friedrich (Concordia-Nebraska) took his place and finished off the inning

The HarbourCats finally got themselves on the board in the bottom of the eighth, with a costly Wenatchee error allowing Lukas Le Gras (Westmont) to score from second. Michael Rodda (Palomar) got on base due to the error, but ended up being stranded by a popup to end the inning.

Davis Lee hit the ground running to retire the side in the top of the ninth. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Friedrich ended up going a solid 3.1 innings, allowing just two baserunners and striking out three. He was swapped out for Davis Lee (Calgary) prior to the top of the ninth, and Lee worked quickly and carefully to retire the side and get two strikeouts of his own.

The HarbourCats offence struggled tonight, coming up with only one run. Logan Shepherd (Mercer) and Declan Brown (Ottawa University) both walked in the bottom of the ninth to get the tying run on base, but Victoria was unable to capitalize with runners on and eventually dropped the rubber match of the series 3-1.

WCL STANDINGS

After an off-day tomorrow, the Cats will head up island to Nanaimo for a three-game weekday series before returning home for the weekend.

Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games are now on sale at http://harbourcats.com/tickets. Season tickets, 12-pack and 32-pack game vouchers may also be bought online or by stopping by the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – AppleSox Surge Back Late to Tie Series

Published

3 days ago

July 19, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The Cats got off to a hot start but fell behind in the late stages of the game. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Victoria, B.C – The second game of this head-to-head series swung the other way, with Wenatchee taking a 7-2 victory over the HarbourCats.

BOX SCORE

It was home run derby champion Logan Shepherd that got things started tonight! The Mercer University infielder yanked a smooth line drive to the pull side to cash in Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) from second and claim a 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning.

Both sides’ bats fell silent until the home half of the fourth, which Rohne Klein (San Jose State) led off. Klein only needed to see one pitch before absolutely detonating a fastball and sending it far, far over the opposite field wall at an unofficially measured distance of about a million feet.

Quincey Brown (UCSD) exited the game after an absolute gem of a start. The Seattle-born freshman went five innings without giving up a run, and refused to even allow a single baserunner over the last four. Daniel Tovar (Northern Kentucky) took over for him in the sixth, and his first inning of work went off without a hitch as the AppleSox were felled in order.

Quincey Brown added another exquisite start to his 2026 resume. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Tovar’s next frame wasn’t so quick and easy. The AppleSox found the right pitch and blasted it over the fence for a solo shot, cutting the Cats’ lead in half in the top of the seventh. The predicament grew when a few consecutive singles loaded the bases and two more runs scored on an error and a balk. When the dust settled on a chaotic seventh inning, Wenatchee found themselves up by one.

Carson Ackermann (Tacoma) was chosen to toe the slab in the eighth inning, and he let up a sacrifice fly that put the AppleSox up by two with one inning left to go. The right-hander returned for the ninth and Wenatchee got to him once again, bashing a two-run triple for a 7-2 lead.

Rohne Klein flexed his power with an oppo homer in the fourth. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Try as they might, the HarbourCats could not recover from the AppleSox’ late-game onslaught, dropping the middle game of the three-game set by a score of 7-2.

WCL STANDINGS

The decider between Victoria and Wenatchee takes place tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 3:05 pm.

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