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NorthPaws Upping Entertainment In 2024 West Coast League Season

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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

Clutch Owls edged in extras in Edmonton

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EDMONTON, Alta. — The comeback kids came up a bit short.

Two runs by the Edmonton Riverhawks in the bottom of the 10th inning broke the hearts of the Nanaimo NightOwls on Thursday night at Remax Field, with a stellar crowd of 6,132 looking on for an eventual 8-7 win for the home club.

The NightOwls scored two runs in the ninth to take a lead and had the Riverhawks down to their last strike in the bottom of that inning.

The Owls then went ahead 7-6 in the top of the 10th, and nearly held on — Edmonton found a clutch two-out hit to right field to provide the winning run.

The NightOwls, who outhit the Riverhawks 10-9, scored four times in the fifth inning, the key hit being a two-run double from outfielder Owen Wessel (Hawaii Pacific). Wessel was one of four NightOwls to record two hits — Ryder Florence, Raoul Fabian Jr. and Trevor Goldenetz being the others.

Vinny Bruno and Jaedeyn Edwards put up impressive relief appearances, Bruno throwing 1.2 innings with just one hit and no runs, and Edwards going three innings after Bruno exited, with one hit, two strikeouts, and no runs. Jayden Gabrillo threw well in his 1.2 innings recorded, striking out two.

The NightOwls fly back from Edmonton on Friday morning.

There are just three more regular season home games for the NightOwls in 2025, a weekend series against Kamloops that starts Friday (August 1-2-3), with the Friday and Saturday games at 6:35pm and the Sunday capper at 1pm. The NightOwls complete their fourth WCL regular season with a road series in Bellingham, August 4-5-6.

Those home games are the only chance to use remaining vouchers purchased at Save On Foods, or as part of 10packs.

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Victoria HarbourCats – Cats complete sweep with dominant win

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Jack Johnson’s three hit night raised his batting average to .303 on the season (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

July 31, 2025

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. – The Victoria HarbourCats took care of business this week, completing the sweep of the Kamloops NorthPaws with a resounding 18-3 win Thursday night.

Austin Lindsey (Hill College) has been a constant out of the bullpen this season, making 11 appearances, but was tasked with the start tonight. The first three batters he faced all reached, but he escaped the bases-loaded jam, limiting the damage to just one run.

Jai Berezowski (Golden Tide) levelled it up for the Cats at 1-1 in the second inning on a sacrifice fly.

Lindsay was rolling after the shaky start, retiring six in a row before a bang-bang play at first was called safe to extend the third inning. A stolen base put the runner in scoring position for Matthew MacDonald, who restored the visitors’ one-run advantage, making it 2-1 with a single. The Lufkin, Texas native completed three innings, giving up two runs on five hits, while striking out five and walking none.

BOX SCORE

The HarbourCats bats started to come alive in the third inning when Logan Shepherd (Mercer U) tied the game at two with an RBI double to the gap. He then came home on a Kamana Nahaku (Hawaii) RBI single to give the Cats their first lead of the evening. Nahaku scored on a wild pitch later in the frame to double the lead, making it 4-2.

Kamana Nahaku has 16 RBIs in nine games this season (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

In the fourth inning, Jack Johnson (Tulane U) crushed a two-run home run over the left field fence to extend his team’s advantage to 6-2, his fourth of the campaign.

The NorthPaws made it 6-3 through a Jared Hall double in the top of the fifth inning, but the home team then exploded for eight runs in the bottom half. Jake Butler (George Mason) continued to torment Kamloops pitching, driving in a pair with a double to the gap to make it 8-3. Dominic Archila (Texas Tech) recorded an RBI for the second straight night with a single before Shepherd and Nahaku both drew bases-loaded walks to bring home two more runs. Garrett Brooks (St. Mary’s) plated a pair with a single up the middle before Butler recorded his second hit of the inning, this time an RBI single to cap off the huge inning.

WCL STANDINGS

Declan Brown (Ottawa U) came off the bench for Victoria and hit his first home run as a cat, a solo shot in the seventh, extending the lead to 15-3. Tanner Beltowski’s (Westmont College) second hit of the game was a two-run double down the left field line, pushing the lead to 17-3.

Butler hit another RBI double in the eighth inning for his fifth RBI of the game and seventh of the series.

Dustin Davidson (Freed Hardeman), Tristin Thomas (West Texas A&M), and Ethan McNish-Heider (Niagara) all pitched in relief to close out the 18-3 win.

Garrett Brooks recorded a season high of four hits and also scored four times (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

With this sweep, the HarbourCats stay top of the North Division second-half standings with a 16-5 record. The Edmonton Riverhawks are still just one game back after they completed a sweep of the Nanaimo NightOwls with a walk-off win tonight.

The HarbourCats travel down to Port Angeles tomorrow for the final road series of the season. Friday and Saturday are 6:35 PM first pitches while Sunday is a 1:35 PM afternoon start. Watch the games HERE.

VOUCHER REMINDER: The Victoria HarbourCats only have three remaining home dates this season. A doubleheader on Monday, August 4, that starts at 4:05 PM, and evening games Tuesday, August 5, and Wednesday, August 6. Don’t forget to redeem your vouchers. You can do so at harbourcats.com/tickets, and if you have any questions or need help exchanging your vouchers, call the HarbourCats office at (778) 265 0327.

10 Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are on sale for all home games and “Showcase” events through the HarbourCats’ 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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Road warrior NightOwls battle hard in loss in Alberta

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EDMONTON, Alta. — The Nanaimo NightOwls have been anything but a pushover this season, refusing to make things easy on the opposition.

Five late runs by the host Edmonton Riverhawks turned a 1-0 lead by the NightOwls, that lasted for six innings, into a 5-1 victory by the Albertans on Tuesday night at Remax Field, a game played in front of a legitimate crowd count of 7,108. Edmonton is the unquestioned attendance leader in the WCL.

Outfielder Spencer Sullivan’s sacrifice fly in the first inning, scoring Trevor Goldenetz, actually looked like it might hold up as all the scoring needed — until the bottom of the sixth inning.

Dawson Schultz was masterful in his starting pitching role for the NightOwls (20-26 overall, 8-11 in second half), throwing four innings with just one hit allowed — he walked none, and used his defence with no strikeouts recorded.

Reliever Cole Carmichael was effective in two innings, surrendering one run, but had the NightOwls in position to still find a way to win. The Riverhawks scored once each in the sixth and seventh innings, and broke open a 2-1 game with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Third baseman Ryder Florence was 2-4, and Goldenetz stole his fifth base of the season for Nanaimo.

The NightOwls stay in Edmonton for two more games in the Alberta capital, evening games on Wednesday and Thursday before heading home on Friday morning.

There are just three more regular season home games for the NightOwls in 2025, a weekend series against Kamloops that starts Friday (August 1-2-3), with the Friday and Saturday games at 6:35pm and the Sunday capper at 1pm. The NightOwls complete their fourth WCL regular season with a road series in Bellingham, August 4-5-6.

Those home games are the only chance to use remaining vouchers purchased at Save On Foods, or as part of 10packs.

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