KAMLOOPS — A rainout led to a mini home and home set between Kamloops and Kelowna. Both teams ended up earning a win in each other’s ballpark, with 11 runs being the magic number. The split moves the Paws record on the year to 7-19, winners of 3 of their last 4 contests. Joey Rico also extended his hitting streak to 10 games with 5 hits in two games.
Kamloops will be making the long bus trip to Alberta to face the Edmonton RiverHawks for a three game set beginning on Friday.
GAME 1
Game one in Kelowna was rained out on Canada Day. The game will be made up at a later time this season.
GAME 2
The series switched back to Kamloops for game two, with the Falcons not forgetting to back their bats in a dominant 11-1 victory.
Kelowna starter Gus McKay pitched a gem, throwing 8.0IP 6H 1ER 5K. The only run he would give up in the game came via a sac-fly from TJ Wachter.
Trey Duffield led the attack for the Falcons going 2-5 4RBI 1BB. Trevor Wilson, and Raphael Smeenk added a pair of RBI each as well on the night.
Reigning WCL player of the week Joey Rico went 2-3 in the loss, extending his hitting streak to 9 games in the process.
Jaden Bitter would get tagged with the loss giving up 5ER in 3.0IP. Cade Webber, Manny Recchi, and Tyler Glowacki would also appear on the mound for Kamloops.
GAME 3
Game three of the shortened series returned to Kelowna for a high-scoring affair between the BC Interior rivals with Kamloops coming out on top 11-8.
TRU’s Kolby Lukinchuk got the starting nod for Kamloops pitching 4.0IP, 5ER, 2K. The Paws would be the first to strike putting up three runs in the top of the first inning as Anthony Manuel doubled home three runs for an early 3-0 lead. Kamloops would extend out their lead in the second thanks to local product Matt MacDonald crushed a 2-run homer.
Kelowna would finally respond in the bottom half as Eddie Fines would single home Nate Castellon. MacDonald would add onto his great night at the plate with a 2RBI single in the third to make the score 7-1 at the time.
With the ball flying out of the ballpark, Gavyn Jones would take advantage, clubbing a three-run dinger to trim the lead to 7-4.
Lucas Smith and Manato Tateno combined to pitch 3.0IP, 3ER after Lukinchuk exited.
After an add-on runs in the fifth and seventh innings for Kamloops, the Paws would tack on a pair in the eight to restore a 3 run lead at 11-8.
While he didn’t record an RBI, Joey Rico extended his hitting streak to 10 straight games with a 3-4 night at the dish, scoring a pair of runs.
In the ninth, Dutch National Casper Rammeloo came in and locked down the save and a series split.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE Friday, July 5 @ Edmonton, first pitch 7:05 Saturday, July 6 @ Edmonton, first pitch 7:05 Sunday, July 7 @ Edmonton, first pitch 1:05 Monday, July 8 – Off-Day Tuesday, July 9 vs Port Angeles, first pitch 6:35 Wednesday, July 10 vs Port Angeles, first pitch 6:35 Thursday, July 11 vs Port Angeles, first pitch 6:35
FOR MEDIA REQUESTS Jenna Forter General Manager Kamloops NorthPaws 250-200-1415 www.northpawsbaseball.ca
The HarbourCats were inches away from scoring in the third inning on a close play at the plate. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)
Victoria, B.C. – The Victoria HarbourCats and Kamloops NorthPaws faced off in the decider of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon, with Kamloops battling their way to a 7-3 win.
It was somewhat of a rocky start in the early going for Shea Lake (West Texas A&M) on this rainy Sunday afternoon, hitting the first batter he faced and allowing a run in the opening inning to give Kamloops an early lead. Lake found his footing for a moment in the third inning with an efficient three-up three-down frame.
Victoria came close to evening the score in the bottom of the third with Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) on second base. Rohne Klein (San Jose State) hit a line-drive single into centre field, but Bradshaw was cut down at the plate to end the inning. The NorthPaws responded by hammering a three-run homer in their next turn on offence, growing their lead to 4-0 in the fourth inning.
The top of the fifth required the services of Northern Kentucky reliever Daniel Tovar, who let up a pair of singles but held Kamloops scoreless in his first inning of work. The going got tougher in the sixth, when the NorthPaws led off the inning with a bomb to left field, and add on another solo shot before the end of the frame.
Shea Lake exited the mound after a four inning start, in which he allowed four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)
The HarbourCats’ first run came at long last in the bottom of the sixth by way of a sacrifice fly off the bat of Rohne Klein. The home team was able to keep the line moving in inning number six, netting another run when Jacob Silva (UTSA) scored from third on a wild pitch.
Tristin Thomas (West Texas A&M) took over from Tovar for the top of the seventh. Thomas worked quickly, putting a zero on the board and getting the Cats back on the offensive. The bottom of the eighth saw another blow dealt by the Victoria offence, as Declan Brown (Ottawa University) laced a single into centre field to drive in a run and chip away at the lead.
The Cats gave it their all but ultimately came up short, coughing up the series to the NorthPaws with a 7-3 loss.
With the weekend series complete, the HarbourCats will return to action for a three-game set against Port Angeles this week, starting on Tuesday night at 6:35 pm.
There are only four home games remaining in the 2026 regular season including a mid-week set against the Port Angeles Lefties this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday! Then on August 3rd, we end the season with a bang! Our final fireworks show and Fan Appreciation Night! Don’t miss your chance to catch a game in 2026! Get your tickets now at http://Harbourcats.com/tickets.
ATTENTION VOUCHER HOLDERS: Just a reminder that all ticket vouchers must be exchanged for one of our remaining regular season games! They are not eligible for playoffs, nor can they be carried over to 2027.
David Krahn made some noise in his first start since returning from injury, hitting 2/3 with 3 RBI and a home run. (Photo by JPM Photography)
Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats bounced back after Friday night’s loss and thumped the visiting Kamloops NorthPaws 14-4 on Saturday night.
It’s impossible to predict the future in baseball, but tonight’s first inning was a pretty good sign of how this ballgame would go. Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) drove a liner over the shortstop to lead it off for the Cats, getting a runner on base for one of the most dangerous bats in the WCL, the unstoppable David Krahn. The UBC infielder watched a couple of pitches out of the zone before teeing off on a no-doubter to Pembroke Street for his second bomb in his last two at-bats. Krahn’s ninth homer of the year not only gave an early lead to the HarbourCats, but also tied the franchise record for home runs in a season! Cameron Chee-Aloy (Illinois) drove in another on a sacrifice fly, and suddenly the home team had a three-run advantage after the first inning.
The NorthPaws barked back in the top of the second with back-to-back doubles to drive in their first run of the game. Determined to maintain the upper hand, starting pitcher Erik Rico (Fresno State) sliced through his next challengers to earn a pair of strikeouts and end the inning. There would be no such nonsense in the third, as Rico recovered from a couple of walks to set down three NorthPaws in a row.
It was only a matter of time before the Cats were back on the prowl. Krahn came up in a big spot with the bases loaded and lined a ball hard into left-centre field to widen the lead for the HarbourCats. Logan Shepherd (Mercer) followed up with a bases-clearing double to really break the game open and make it 7-1.
Rico backed up the bats with five innings of shut-down pitching. (Photo by JPM Photography)
Erik Rico’s night came to an end after five excellent innings of one-run ball, over which he allowed just two hits and racked up a tidy nine strikeouts – just a regular Saturday night for this all-star arm.
The HarbourCats kept their foot on the gas in the fifth inning with another three-run frame. Bryan Bradshaw smacked a single to drive in two, and a Logan Shepherd singe brought David Krahn home. Entering the back half of the ballgame, Victoria now held a commanding 10-1 lead.
Davis Lee (Calgary) assumed control of the mound in the sixth inning and worked quickly, torching through the Kamloops lineup with a three-strikeout frame. The next inning was handed off to the capable hands of Houston Tomlinson (Arkansas State), who tossed a clean inning to keep the HarbourCats well out in front.
The Cats found themselves in a bases loaded jam in the top of the ninth, but the lead held strong and Victoria walked away with a 14-4 blowout victory in game two.
Kamloops and Victoria will face off one more time at 1:05 pm on Sunday with the series up for grabs!
There are only five home games remaining in the 2026 regular season including our final weekend homestand of the year against Kamloops this weekend and then a mid-week set against the Port Angeles Lefties next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday! Then on August 3rd, we end the season with a bang! Our final fireworks show and Fan Appreciation Night! Don’t miss your chance to catch a game in 2026! Get your tickets now at http://Harbourcats.com/tickets.
ATTENTION VOUCHER HOLDERS: Just a reminder that all ticket vouchers must be exchanged for one of our remaining regular season games! They are not eligible for playoffs, nor can they be carried over to 2027.
Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats ran out of time to complete their comeback in a Friday night matchup against the Kamloops NorthPaws, falling 9-5 to the visitors.
Contrary to how things have been going lately for the HarbourCats, it took until the fifth inning for either team to make their mark on the scoreboard. In what was otherwise an airtight start through the first four frames by Quincey Brown (UCSD), a single and two walks loaded the bases for Kamloops in the fifth. Brown plunked a batter to bring in the first run, and a single after that cleared the bases to put the NorthPaws out in front with a four-run lead.
The Cats struck back in the home half of the inning, sparked by a leadoff walk from Riley Kwak (Bossier Parish). A couple of groundouts moved Kwak over to third and Logan Shepherd (Mercer) came up with a two-out base hit to score Victoria’s first run of the game and cut into the Kamloops lead.
Cats starter Quincey Brown saw five innings of work in which he gave up four runs on three hits with four strikeouts. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)
Taylor Franklin (George Fox) stepped in as Brown’s replacement on the rubber, coming in for the top of the sixth and allowing an RBI double to restore a four-run lead for the NorthPaws. Franklin was back for the seventh and got to two outs before an error at first base allowed two more runs for Kamloops. The NorthPaws followed that up with the first homer of the night, a two-run bomb to left-centre that widened the lead to 9-1.
Victoria mounted the beginnings of a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with nobody out for Home Run Derby champion Logan Shepherd. Shepherd popped a ball up that miraculously dropped just fair in a sea of NorthPaws to drive in a run, and Dillon Lopez (St. Mary’s) notched a sacrifice fly soon after.
Hawaii Pacific reliever Flynn Warren took the mound in the top of the eighth and worked quickly en route to a clean inning. The bottom of the eighth brought the return of David Krahn (UBC), who wasted no time rattling off a solo moonshot to deep left to chip away at the deficit.
Victoria loaded the bases again in the bottom of the ninth, but ran out of chances before any real damage could be done. In the end, the comeback fell short and the NorthPaws come out on top in game one by a score of 9-5.
The HarbourCats and NorthPaws will continue to duke it out throughout the weekend, hitting the field again for game two on Saturday night.
There are only six home games remaining in the 2026 regular season including our final weekend homestand of the year against Kamloops this weekend and then a mid-week set against the Port Angeles Lefties next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday! Then on August 3rd, we end the season with a bang! Our final fireworks show and Fan Appreciation Night! Don’t miss your chance to catch a game in 2026! Get your tickets now at http://Harbourcats.com/tickets.
ATTENTION VOUCHER HOLDERS: Just a reminder that all ticket vouchers must be exchanged for one of our remaining regular season games! They are not eligible for playoffs, nor can they be carried over to 2027.
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