Summer Collegiate

Offers they couldn’t refuse: How a pair of Scottsdale natives ended up in interior B.C.

Published

3 weeks ago

May 31, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

Ahead of the 2025 season, Head Coach Reilly Jepson has brought in a set of best friends from Arizona to round out his coaching staff. Trey Newman will serve as the assistant coach, and Jack Slominski will be the team’s pitching coach.

It won’t be the first time these two friends are on the same coaching staff. Last summer, the two friends coached in the Arizona summer league, and it offered them a chance to build a special dynamic beyond playing the game they love.

Newman’s name may sound familiar to fans, and that’s because he was the first player signed in franchise history. Trey spent the 2022 season as a NorthPaw, where he hit .218 in 16 games.

“It’s cool to see how far this place has come with the money being put into the team and the players were getting as well as the support from the community,” said Newman.

Newman started his Collegiate career at Utah Valley State. After a sophomore season in which he hit .230 in 23 games, the catcher decided to return to his home state. Still, he didn’t play Division I baseball. Instead, Newman transferred to Central Arizona College in Coolidge, Arizona, to play Junior College Baseball. He would play 54 of the team’s 55 games en route to an NCJAA World Series crown.

From there, Trey would receive the call from Arizona State and head back to the valley where he was born. As a Sun Devil, he would appear in 26 games of two seasons, with 18 of those being starts. After the 2024 season, Newman decided Coaching was his calling, but based on his upbringing, many weren’t surprised.

Trey’s Grandfather, Jeff, was a nine-year MLB veteran with the Oakland A’s and Boston Red Sox. After his career ended in 1984, he quickly returned to Oakland as the bullpen coach. In 1986, when Manager Jackie Moore was fired, Jeff Newman was named interim manager, where he guided the A’s to a 2-8 record.

He remained with the organization at the minor league level until 1991. From 1992 to 1999, he was the third base coach for the Cleveland Indians and eventually landed in Seattle, where he retired from Coaching in 2005.

Trey Uncle Ryan Newman also has plenty of coaching experience, having served as a manager in various independent professional leagues. Today, he serves as the infield coordinator for the Chicago White Sox.

“Growing up, I spent a lot of time in the coach’s office, and I started to think from a young age that this is what I wanted to do,” Said Newman

Today, Newman serves as the Offensive Strategy and Analytics Director at the University of California, Berkeley. Growing up around Coaching planted the seed, but Newman says being behind the plate opened his eyes to Coaching.

“You look at the game in a different way when you are behind the plate. You start to think about the other eight guys as well as yourself and what the other team is trying to do, so it definitely got me into more of a coaching mindset as my career went on”, Said Newman.

Joining Trey this summer is long-time friend Jack Slominski. Despite going to rival high schools in Scottsdale, the two have been close friends since they were 14. Slominski is excited for the opportunity and said it was one he couldn’t pass up.

“He’s one of my best friends in the world, so to have someone like that here, it was a no-brainer to come up,” said Slominski.

Like Trey, Jack’s career took a couple of turns. After graduating from high school, he got recruited to attend Grand Canyon University, located across town in Phoenix. In two seasons there, he made only nine appearances, so he also decided to pursue the Junior College route, moving back across town to Scottsdale Community College.

Like Newman, the 2022 season was a huge bounceback for Slominski, during which he made 13 appearances, 11 of which were starts. He carried a 4-3 record with a 3.75 ERA over 57 and two-thirds innings pitched. The following season, he moved out of state to attend the Metropolitan State University of Denver.

In his final two seasons of eligibility, Slominski appeared in 30 games, making 27 starts. His record was 15-7, and he logged 149 innings, striking out 133 hitters over that time. After finishing his career, he accepted an assistant coaching job at his alma mater, Scottsdale Community College. After just one season of Coaching, Slominski has been promoted to the team’s pitching coach and is excited to build his skills.

“This will be a time where I can start brainstorming my own ideas and philosophies around pitching; I feel like having more responsibility this year will be a great opportunity for me to grow as a coach,” said Slominski.

Being a pitching coach in Summer Baseball can be difficult at times, managing players’ innings limits and the health of pitchers going back to school in the fall. This mentality can sometimes take the competitive spirit out of the game, but Slominski’s message to his staff was simple.

“We’re going to have fun and give you guys innings, but I want to win,” said Slominski.

Slominski believes that a skill that can be developed is learning how to win, something often not talked about by Summer Baseball coaches.

“Winning is fun, and knowing how to win is a great skill to take back to school with you,” said Slominski.

Away from the ballpark, the two friends have been known to take their competitive spirit to the golf course. With both being from a premier golf destination, they’re excited to spend a summer surrounded by great courses. However, Newman is also eager to learn a thing or two from his friend.

“Jack is really good, so hopefully, he gives me some swing lessons this summer,” said Newman.

When asked about this, Slominski took the humble road.

“I think my schedule allows me to play more, so maybe that’s why I’m a little better.”

With these two long-time best friends, their competitiveness has served them well in their short coaching careers and will be welcomed additions this summer as the NorthPaws embark on another season.

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Summer Collegiate

The Losing Streak Continues For The Nanaimo NightOwls

Published

11 hours ago

June 22, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

NANAIMO, B.C. — The losing streak continues for the Nanaimo NightOwls as they were on the wrong side of a 5-0 score line against the Port Angeles Lefties. That brings the losing streak up to five games and drops the NightOwls to 8-12 on the season. The good thing is they are back at it tomorrow at 1:00 pm for the final game of the series, with a chance to salvage a game of the series and get back to their winning ways.

They couldn’t capitalize on runners in scoring position and finished the game with nine left on base. Nanaimo finished with zero runs on seven hits and one error. The Lefties had five runs on seven hits and no errors.

https://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=621644

Starting pitcher Aidan Boice took the loss, giving up four runs on eight hits and four strikeouts in 6.0 innings. He had a rough start to the game, giving up four runs in the first inning before settling in nicely and only giving up three hits in the next five innings of work.

Nanaimo NightOwls Pitcher Aidan Boice

Relievers Dillon Thompson and Asher De Leo pitched solid in relief combined for three innings of one hit one run ball. Thompson also struck out two while De Leo struck out four of the eight batters he faced to end the game.

Once again it was Spencer Sullivan with a multi-hit game. After going two for two in the first game of the series against the Port Angeles Lefties, he followed it up with a three for four night with 3 singles. He currently has five of the 12 hits for the Nanaimo NightOwls in the series and is hitting a crazy .833, lets hope it continues for the final game of the series.

Drew Giannini continues to hit well contributing with a single and stolen base and going one for four on the evening. Eli Watson, centerfielder Owen Wessel, and Nanaimo product Easton Mould all added singles for the Nanaimo NightOwls.

In the field the NightOwls were able to turn 3 double plays. Shortshop Andrew Nykoluk, from Simi Valley, California, was a man one wrecking crew in the middle of the infield. At one point in the fourth and fifth innings he made five straight outs including a highlight reel diving catch to rob the Lefties of a base hit. Should probably have that highlight!

One more game in the series against the Port Angeles Lefties on Sunday June 22nd where the NightOwls will look to end their 5 game losing streak. Then the Redmond Dudes come into Serauxemen Stadium for a two game series on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 24th and 25th.

Sunday after noon we will be wearing our Nanaimo Bar jerseys and it’s a Family Fun Day where kids get to run the bases after the game. It’s also Halloween in June! So show up to the stadium in a costume and cheer on the team. Make sure to follow all of our social media accounts for the latest news and updates about the Nanaimo NightOwls and all the team. Stay tuned this week for a special player profile on one of your Nanaimo NightOwls!

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Summer Collegiate

Great pitching, solid defense and almost no offense. A wacky double header gets split on Saturday

Published

22 hours ago

June 22, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

The Kamloops NorthPaws split Saturday’s doubleheader with the Victoria HarbourCats winning the first game 1-0 and losing the second game by the same score. After Friday’s contest was rained out, the two teams were back at it for a pair of seven-inning games that saw just two runs and nine hits combined between the two teams in 15 innings of baseball.

“That’s a first for me,” said Head Coach Reily Jepson. “The pitchers threw well today, and both teams hitters just couldn’t hit; it happens in baseball sometimes.”

Game one saw righty Keith Manby get the start and throw four scoreless innings, walking and striking out two batters, all while not allowing a hit. Lefty Mac Gatzke came on in relief and pitched three scoreless innings. In the fifth, he gave up back-to-back singles but got a nifty 4-6-3 double play to escape the jam. Righty Julio Garcia was called upon in the eighth and hit the first batter he faced but got out of the inning unscathed.

At the plate, it was a struggle for Kamloops as HarbourCats starter Thomas Bridges gave them five scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and striking out seven batters. Unlike the HarbourCats, the NorthPaws never really had a dangerous opportunity to score, only leaving one runner on base. That stranded runner came in the bottom of the seventh with Right Fielder Connor Clark at second base and first baseman Jared Hall failing to drive him in with two outs.

The NorthPaws eventually would put together good at-bats in the eighth. Catcher Kalen Applefield led off with a walk. Tanner Hornback pinch hit and reached base via an error and would later steal second base. The next two NorthPaw hitters failed to convert with Applefield 90 feet away, bringing up a two-out situation. Center fielder Ethan Kodama walked, loading the bases and setting up Elijah Clayton to be the hero. Clayton found himself in a two-strike count but worked a walk, scoring the lone run of the game and giving Kamloops the win in a bizarre fashion.

After a game no one expected, the two teams regrouped and returned to the field for game two. No one in the crowd thought another contest like that was possible again, but they would be proved wrong.

The NorthPaws saw their righty starter Lukas Dykstra make his longest outing of the season, going four and a third innings, giving up just one run on two hits. The Harbourcats got to him in the fifth inning after a walk, hit by pitch and a single. From there, the HarbourCats shut the door with their starter going five scoreless innings, giving up just two hits and a six-out save by former NorthPaw Oliver Mabee.
The NorthPaws had a chance in the bottom of the seventh after a Connor Clark single, but Tanner Hornback hit into a game-ending double play, securing the split for the HarbourCats.

Five hits in 15 innings for a team that put up 18 runs in their previous three games in Walla Walla. Heading into the series finale, the Kamloops hitters are going to put more of an emphasis on their team approach at the plate.

“I think we were a bit antsy tonight; I know I was antsy in some at-bats swinging at stuff I shouldn’t be swinging at, but we just need to get back to our approach tomorrow,” said infielder Drew Schmidt.

The pitching on both sides was excellent all night, with just nine combined walks in the doubleheader. Notably, the HarbourCats staff did not walk a single batter in game two. Despite the split, there are plenty of positives to take away, including the performances from the NorthPaw bullpen.

“I think we commanded the inner half really well tonight, and that allowed us to work that outside corner more. Usually, when you throw a lot of strikes and don’t give guys free passes, you give yourself a good chance to win,” said Pitching Coach Jack Slominski.

The series finale will be a crucial one, as both teams are tied for fourth in the North Division at 11-9. The matinée will get underway at 12:05.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – ‘Cats earn split in Saturday double header in Kamloops

Published

1 day ago

June 22, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

For Immediate Release

June 21, 2025

KAMLOOPS, BC – Mother Nature sure put a damper on the HarbourCats offence on Saturday.

After scoring 23 runs and notching 30 hits in their sweep of Nanaimo last week, the HarbourCats could only muster one run and four hits on Saturday in Kamloops, but, thanks to some stellar pitching, that was enough to earn a split with the NorthPaws, taking game two Saturday 1-0, after dropping the first game by that exact same score in extra innings.

After a rain out Friday night that created today’s 7-inning double header scenario, Tommy Bridges (Northwestern) got the start for the HarbourCats in game one and he was brilliant, facing the minimum number of batters and striking out seven in five innings of work.

His only blemish was a fourth inning single by Drew Schmidt, who was then thrown out trying to steal second by HarbourCats catcher Kyle Hepburn (S. Illinois Edwardsville), who came on in the first inning to replace Jacob Silva (TCU), who injured a foot sliding into second earlier in the game.

Unfortunately for Bridges and the HarbourCats, Kamloops starter Keith Manby was also strong, going four scoreless and hitless innings, giving way to Mac Gatzke who went another three scoreless innings to keep the Cats off the board.

BOX SCORE GAME 1

After such great pitching performances on both sides, forcing the game into an extra eighth inning, it would be somewhat ironic that Kamloops would win the game on a bases loaded walk surrendered by Garret Villa (Angelo State) to the NorthPaws Elijah Clayton.

In game two, Logan Rumberg (George Mason) got the start for Victoria and taking a cue from teammate Bridges, he also dominated, going five scoreless innings, giving up just two hits and striking out six.

He got all the run support he needed in the fifth inning when JC Allen (UC San Diego), making his first start as a HarbourCat, walked and then later came in to score on an RBI single from Jack Johnson (Baylor).

BOX SCORE GAME 2

Victoria native Oliver Mabee (Nebraska Omaha) came on to pitch the final two innings and earned the save, giving up one hit and striking out two, and inducing a game-ending double-play to kill a NorthPaws threat in the bottom of the seventh.

The split Saturday moves the HarbourCats record to 11-9 on the season, tied with Kamloops for fourth place and 3.5 games back of Division leading Bellingham.

The HarbourCats and NorthPaws will complete their three-game set with a quick turn around for the rubber match of the series, a 12 noon start on Sunday. Scheduled to take the mound for the HarbourCats is Julian Orozco. That game can be seen on-line live at WCL amd Kamloops streaming site at https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv/events/68413255ee5610062bf7f4d7/

The ‘Cats will then head home to begin a three-game set with the Edmonton Riverhawks on Tuesday, on $12 Tuesday, where select Premium Reserve seats are available for just $12. Tickets for that game are available at http://harbourcats.com/tickets or by calling the HarbourCats office at 778-265-0327.

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