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Summer Collegiate

RiverHawks take two of three against NorthPaws

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Author: Larry Read

KAMLOOPS, BC—Fans saw a little bit of everything as the Edmonton RiverHawks took the host Kamloops NorthPaws 2-1 in a three-game set at Dearborn Ford Field at Norbrock Stadium.  The two teams evened their six game West Coast League regular season series at three a piece.

This time: Edmonton won the opener 5-2 on Tuesday (July 11), The NorthPaws needed extra innings to snap their seven-game losing streak winning 5-4 in 10 innings Wednesday (July 12).  Edmonton rallied from a 4-0 deficit to score twice in the fifth and seven times in the sixth inning en route to a 9-5 win on Thursday (July 13).

Edmonton moves to 3-4 in the second half and has an overall record of 10-23.  Kamloops falls to 2-8 in the back half with an overall record of 8-28.

The Paws will have five days off before their next series.  They don’t play again until Tuesday, July 18th when they visit the Lefties in Port Angeles.

Edmonton is moving down Highway 97 to play the Falcons in Kelowna.  That three-game set at Elks Stadium will begin tomorrow (July 14).

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

SERIES RECAP:

Tuesday, July 11, 2023: RiverHawks 5 NorthPaws 2

The NorthPaws saw their winless streak extend to seven as they fell to Edmonton by three.  The RiverHawks scored two in the second and third innings and added one in the fourth.  Kamloops scored both their runs in the seventh.

The 661 fans on hand saw Kamloops have a chance to close the gap in the bottom of the eighth when they loaded the bases but couldn’t push anything across.

Catcher Nico Libed (Chula Vista, CA) was 1-3 with two runs batted in. Will Gardner (St Albert, AB) was 1-4 with a run scored and an run batted in for the RiverHawks.  Halen Knoll (Edmonton, AB) started and was the winning pitcher going seven innings surrendering three hits, two runs, striking out four and walking one.  He is 4-3 on the year in his seven starts.   Shaun Atamanchuk (Beaumont, AB) pitched the last inning and two thirds for his third save.

Kamloops starter Griffin Almond (Thornbury, ON) went seven and two thirds for the loss (2-3).  He gave up four hits, four runs and walked three.

Offensively, Tommy Green (Courtenay, BC) and Cooper Neville (Glendale, AZ) were both 1-3.  Green had two runs batted in. Neville scored a run.

Link to Scoresheet: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=598686

Wednesday, July 12, 2023: NorthPaws 5  RiverHawks 4  (10 innings)

The NorthPaws battled back in this one as the snapped a seven-game losing skid and their third victory in five meetings with Edmonton this year.

Kamloops scored three times in the bottom of  the fifth to erase a 4-1 deficit.  In the 10th, Phoenix Sommay (Temecula, CA) led off with a walk.  The NorthPaws loaded the bases before Bennett Freiter (White Rock, BC) hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Sommay with the winning run.

David Jeon (Coppell, TX) pitched the last inning to get the win for Kamloops. He struck out two as he moved to 2-2 on the year. He was the third of three Paws pitchers.  Noah Bourqouis (Surrey, BC),  the third of three RiverHawks pitchers took the loss.  He is 0-2 on the year as he went two and a third innings, giving up a hit, a run, walking four and striking out two.

Joey Baran (Austin, TX) was 2-5 with two runs scored and a run batted in.  Sommay was 2-5 with a run scored and an run batted in while Neville scored a run and was 2-3.

For Edmonton, Gardner was 2-3 at the dish with two runs batted in.

Link to Scoresheet: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=598687

Thursday, July 13, 2023: RiverHawks 9 NorthPaws 5

Kamloops opened a 3-0 lead after the first inning and were up 4-0 until Edmonton scored twice in the top half of the fifth.   After the NorthPaws make it 5-2, The RiverHawks sent nine men to the plate and spit out three Kamloops pitchers en route to a seven run sixth inning.  That inning included two home runs—by Mark Mossanna (Chandler, AZ) and Jakob Poturnak (Vancouver, BC). 

Edmonton had 11 hits in the ball game along with six errors.   Kamloops had only four hits and left 14 men on base.

Brendan Lopeppky (Calgary, AB), the fourth of five RiverHawk pitchers earned the win.  He pitched three innings, giving up three walks, one hit and had three strikeouts.   Anthony Manuel (Antioch, CA)  was tagged with the loss, responsible for all nine runs through an inning of work.

Offensively: Poturnak was 3-4 with a run scored.  Mossanna was 1-5 with two runs batted in and a run scored while Jonny McGill (Richmond, BC) was 1-3 with two runs batted in and a run scored as well for Edmonton. 

Neville was 0-3 with two runs batted in and a run scored. Sommay was 0-4 with two runs batted in.   Green  and Tyler Glowacki (San Diego, CA) were both 1-5 with runs scored.

Green was playing his last game with Kamloops as he joins NCAA Div I Purdue this fall.

Link to Scoresheet: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=598688

HEAD COACH KEITH FRANCIS on Thursday’s loss:

“We had the lead with one hit. They had made several errors and gave us many opportunities to put the game away and we didn’t take advantage of it. We had guys in scoring position again but couldn’t get that hit.  We can’t when it counts and it comes back and bites you.  Baseball Gods have a way of turning against you if you don’t score when you have to.”

On the seven-run inning: “Did he leave Manuel in too long?”  “I did a horrible job. I told the team that too. I thought that was the worst job I have done all year with my pitching staff. It’s on me. I should have done better.”

SHORTSTOP TOMMY GREEN (COURTENAY, BC) on Edmonton Series:  “We lost a close one on night one. Night two the walk off crew did it again. We gave it to the fans.  Good crowd tonight, we were hanging in there but one tough inning did us in.  It was very symbolic of how this season has gone for us.  There is still time for the guys to turn it (the season) around.”

OUTFIELDER CASEY WAYNE (PHOENIX, AZ):

“I thought we played hard in this series. Our energy was there in comparison to our previous two series. Playing at home really helped.  The fans were amazing. They did a great job of keeping us involved.  We did a lot better on the field and in the dugout to keep the energy high.  Sometimes it doesn’t roll our way.”

NEXT UP FOR THE NORTHPAWS:

After their break and a three game set in Port Angeles,  the next home game for Kamloops is Friday, July 21st against the Bellingham Bells.The teams met in Washington State July 4-6th.

Opening pitch on Friday, July 21st will be 6:35 PM at Dearborn Ford field at Norbrock Stadium.

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).

NEW FAN PROMOTION:

The NorthPaws are looking for their newest fans.  The team is running a promotion right now which sees you capture a $15 ticket for any home game for the remainder of the season. There are only 100 of these tickets avvilable.  Visit tickets.northpawsbaseball.ca and click “Find tickets” on the game you would like to attend. Enter “NEWESTFAN’ into the promo code box and the tickets are unlocked!.

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.

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Summer Collegiate

NightOwls Make It Four Straight With A 6-5 Win Over The AppleSox

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NANAIMO, B.C. — The NightOwls are on a roll as they make it four games in a row with a 6-5 victory over the Wenatchee AppleSox. It was a packed crowd of close to 1100 people at Serauxmen Stadium Friday night to cheer on Nanaimo, and despite going down 4-0, they kept their voices strong and cheered on the team to a big comeback.

NightOwls Make It Four Straight With A 6-5 Win Over The AppleSox

Nanaimo NightOwls vs Wenatchee AppleSox (Photo Credit: Chad Frostad)

Wenatchee put two runs on the board in the third inning and one each in the fourth and fifth to jump out to a 4-0 lead. The NightOwls stormed back in the bottom of the fifth inning with 4 runs of their own to tie things up 4-4. The AppleSox got one more in the sixth, but the fans cheered on the team for a seventh inning rally and scored two runs to take the 6-5 lead and didn’t look back to get their fourth win in a row and move back to .500% at 17-17.

Nanaimo finished the night with six runs on 12 hits with three errors that almost cost them the game. The Wenatchee AppleSox had five runs on 13 hits and one error.

http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=621653

Starter Aidan Boice was dealt a daunting task with the number of pitchers the NightOwls and pitching coach Gorman Heimueller had to use in the last series against Kelowna. He was a beast for the NightOwls, going five innings and striking out four of the Wenatchee batters. He left the game, giving his team a chance to win at the end of the fifth inning.

Ricardo Villegas got back in the lineup and threw one inning for the Nanaimo NightOwls. Cole “Cowboy” Carmichael came into the game in the seventh inning and pitched a scoreless inning giving up just one hit. He got the win for the Nanaimo NightOwls, as he is now 2-0 on the season in relief.

NightOwls Make It Four Straight With A 6-5 Win Over The AppleSox

Nanaimo NightOwls vs Wenatchee AppleSox (Photo Credit: Chad Frostad)

That led the way for Jayden Gabrillo to come in for the six out save in the eighth inning. He gave up just one hit, one walk while striking out four to seal things for the Nanaimo NightOwls.

https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv/

It was our All-Star Jacob Hayes that lead the way for the NightOwls on Friday as he went three for three with a double, two singles, an RBI and than Wenatchee just got tired of it and intentionally walked him. I spoke with him after the game about his performance, “I feel like I’m seeing it well, kind of back to what I said earlier [From a previous interview], just trusting to stay up the middle and trusting Cody [Andreychuk] and what he says, I think, plays a big thing, and then stepping up for the guys and coming through in those big moments.”

NightOwls Make It Four Straight With A 6-5 Win Over The AppleSox

Nanaimo NightOwls vs Wenatchee AppleSox (Photo Credit: Chad Frostad)

He also spoke about the play of the team of late, on a four game winning streak currently, “Yeah, definitely, definitely. After a sweep you want to you want to keep it going and I know the AppleSox haven’t had their way, so they’re down, and just as long as we can, kind of kick them in the teeth and keep our ship rolling so I think it’s good.”

Multiple players had two hit nights as Raoul Fabian Jr. went two for five with two RBI and a double. Spencer Sullivan and catcher Hunter Stencil also had two hits for the Nanaimo NightOwls in the 6-5 victory. Raoul had a clutch double off the Save on Foods monster to start the pivotal seventh inning, he missed a home run by about a foot.

Tyler Arnold and Brock Wirthgen also chipped in with an RBI for the NightOwls. Make sure to check out the first player prolife on catcher Brock Wirthgen that is up now on our NightOwls website, or just click the link!

http://Nanaimonightowls.com/tickets

It was also an important night for us as it was “Help Fill A Dream Foundation Night” at the ballpark. Click the link for more information and to support their great endeavors.

The series continues against the Wenatchee AppleSox on Saturday, July 12th, at 6:35 pm, before a 1:05 matinee on Sunday, July 13th. Monday, the NightOwls have a day off before two exhibition games against the Nanaimo Selects and the All-Star Break. Remember that kids and adults who feel like kids can run the bases on Sunday afternoon!

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Summer Collegiate

NightOwls Bring Out The Brooms Against The Falcons In Extra Innings

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NANAIMO, B.C. — We aren’t curlers, but with the brooms out, we are feeling like it tonight as the NightOwls take all three games in the series against the Kelowna Falcons. It took Nanaimo 11 innings, but the team got the job done in a thrilling 6-5 game Thursday night at Serauxmen Stadium. The 840 fans in attendance got to watch a great baseball game as extra innings in the West Coast League got interesting.

Both teams put two runs on the board in the first inning before the pitchers settled down. Nanaimo was able to take the lead in the fifth inning with one run before taking on two more in the seventh. It looked to be smooth sailing, but the Kelowna Falcons were not going to go away easily and scored three runs in the top of the eighth and sent the game to extra innings.

If you are unfamiliar with the way extra innings work, in the 10th inning, the teams start with a runner on second base. In the eleventh and beyond, the teams start with a runner on second and third base. It makes for some tense times! We got to the bottom of the 11th, and with the bases loaded, Spencer Sullivan came through with a huge single to walk it off for the NightOwls.

NightOwls Bring Out The Brooms Against The Falcons In Extra Innings

Nanaimo NightOwls vs Kelowna Falcons (Photo Credit: Chad Frostad)

https://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=621652

Both starting pitchers settled down after the first inning, and Lino Zepeda finished the night throwing three innings, giving up two runs on three hits and striking out two. Dillon Thompson pitched two scoreless innings for the NightOwls.

Nanaimo NightOwls vs Kelowna Falcons (Photo Credit: Chad Frostad)

A cool moment as we had International Day at the ballpark, and three of our players were on the the broadcast in their native language. Moosa Nonomiya, Vinny Bruno, and Richtter Castillo each did an inning in Japanese, Italian and Spanish.

Not only did Moosa do an innings in the broadcast booth, he also came back down to the field and pitched 2.2 innings of two run two hit ball. That’s going to be a pretty impressive thing to throw (pun intended) on your resume. Then came on Jaedeyn Edwards in relief who took the win on the night. He had one of best performances you will see from a pitcher, coming in with runners on and getting out of a jam in the ninth.

Then the Portal Transfer pitcher from Culver City, California, decided to strike out the next seven of the next nine batters. Edwards finished the night with 3.1 innings, zero runs, zero hits and eight, count them, eight strikeouts! 31 of 43 of his pitches were strikes and he gave the team a chance to win it in the 11th inning.

https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv/

It was all hands on deck for the Nanaimo NightOwls as eight batters had hits in the extra innings win. Raoul Fabian Jr. sparked the offense on Thursday night going two for six with a double, single and scored three runs. Talan Zenk is on a hot streak, which makes sense as he was named an All-Star on Wednesday. He went one for four with a single, two RBI, two walks, and two runs.

NightOwls Bring Out The Brooms Against The Falcons In Extra Innings

Nanaimo NightOwls vs Kelowna Falcons (Photo Credit: Chad Frostad)

Nanaimo local, Easton Mould had a nice night at second base for the NightOwls. He stole a base, went one for four and had two RBI. I mentioned earlier that it was a group effort and despite Jacob not having a hit everyone got on base as the Kelowna Falcons walked 11 batters.

http://Nanaimonightowls.com/tickets

Next up for the Nanaimo NightOwls is a three game series with the Wenatchee AppleSox. The series starts with 6: 35 pm evening games on Friday and Saturday July 11th and 12th, before a 1:05 matinee on Sunday July 13th. Monday the NightOwls have a day off before two exhibition games against the Nanaimo Selects and the All-Star Break.

Jacob Hayes and Talan Zenk will be representing us down in Bellingham for the All-Star game so make sure to check that out on the stream in the link above. Make sure to follow us on social media to see what we are up to tomorrow and use the hashtag #IlluminateTheDark so we can interact with your posts on social media! Go Owls Go!!

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Five-run sixth inning powers Falcons to win

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Jake Butler started at shortstop tonight and had one hit (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

July 11, 2025

For immediate release

VICTORIA, B.C. – The Victoria HarbourCats could not carry the momentum from the road trip across the border as they lost to the Kelowna Falcons 6-3 Friday night.

It was a pitcher’s duel early with Shea Lake (West Texas A&M) making his sixth appearance of the season, and it was his best yet. The right-hander threw five shutout innings, giving up three hits, no walks, and striking out three batters. He retired 11 Falcons in a row to finish his outing.

BOX SCORE

It was scoreless until the fourth inning when Cayden Munster (Fresno State) led off the frame with a double and later scored on a Dillon Lopez (St. Mary’s) sacrifice fly to make it 1-0 HarbourCats.

Many friends around the community showed up to celebrate Harvey the HarbourCat’s Birthday (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

Logan Shepherd (Mercer U) came up in the fifth inning with the bases loaded and hit a grounder to short to score the runner from third, but a throwing error by the shortstop allowed a second runner to come home, and it was 3-0 for the home team.

WCL STANDINGS

Ryne Palmer (Cal Baptist) made his first appearance of 2025 after leading Victoria with 27-1/3 innings pitched last summer. It was a season debut to forget as he gave up five runs on three hits while walking two and striking out a pair. When the score was 3-1, Palmer was one strike away from escaping the jam relatively unscathed, but a wild pitch and a bad hop over Munster’s glove at first allowed the inning to continue. A Tyler Garritano RBI double then made it 5-3 Falcons.

Braxton Thomas hit a solo home run in the eighth inning off Oliver Mabee (Nebraska Omaha) to extend the lead to 6-3. Mabee completed 2-1/3 innings, giving up one run on three hits, while striking out four.

WATCH GAMES HERE

Ethan McNish-Heider (Niagara) made his sixth appearance of the campaign and threw a one-two-three ninth inning.

The Cats brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, but Ethan Coronel shut the door, striking out Isaiah Afework (TAMU-CC) to end the game.

Cayden Munster went one for five with a double (Photo: Justin P. Morash)

The two teams are back in action tomorrow at 6:35 PM, and it is Island Savings’ Fireworks night! Sunday’s matinee is the always popular Bark in the Park game, presented by Woofability, where all dogs are welcome! Get tickets at harbourcats.com/tickets.

10 and 32-Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are on sale for all home games and “Showcase” events through the HarbourCats’ new and 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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