NANAIMO, B.C. — Giving up a late lead hurt. Winning in walkoff fashion healed the wound.

Aaron Marsh blasted a three-run shot to right field in the bottom of the ninth to give the Nanaimo NightOwls a 9-6 win over the visiting Wenatchee AppleSox in front of 985 people at historic Serauxmen Stadium.

Marsh took a 3-2 pitch deep off Micah Bujacich beyond the massive Save On Foods sign to plate with teammates Riley Paulino and Michael Easter on base. Wenatchee had scored two runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game 6-6 after the NightOwls had led the game pretty much from the second inning on.

Mitchell Middlemiss was 3-4 with two runs scored, and Hsu He-Chieh was 2-5 in the leadoff spot. Ayden Hadley hit his first home run of the season, in the fourth inning, and Easter added a solo shot in the fifth. The NightOwls outhit Wenatchee 12-8 but committed the games two errors.

Josh Torres had another strong start, going four innings and yielding just two hits and one run, striking out five. Grant Jakobson, David Stewart and Paul Montgomery pitched in relief before Ryan Inouye came on for the ninth inning with two runners aboard, eventually getting the win.

The NightOwls are back on the island for a stretch now, completing this series with Wenatchee in perfect weather on Sunday afternoon (1pm).

The Kelowna Falcons then arrive for a Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday set at Serauxmen.

Tickets are available online, at the gate, or get general admission vouchers at all Save On Foods locations in Nanaimo, Ladysmith and Parksville. The NightOwls are expecting more strong crowds for this homestand after setting a franchise record on Monday with 3,127 in attendance for the Canada Day Classic doubleheader and fireworks show.

Tickets Link

Next week, the games on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, ticketed fans will all get a chance to win highly valued concert tickets for the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, arriving in Vancouver in December.

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Joshua Cunnigan is batting .300 in his first four games as a HarbourCat (Photo: Christian J. Stewart)

July 6, 2024 

For immediate release 

VICTORIA, B.C. — Once again Kelowna Falcons pitching got the better of Victoria HarbourCats hitters, winning 8-2.

Victoria native Jack Finn (Illinois State) made his fifth start of the season but only managed to complete two innings. The southpaw struggled with control walking two and also hitting two. Finn gave up four runs on three hits, including a Christian Salazar two-run home run.

Logan MacNiel (Campbellsville) was impressive in his relief outing, throwing two scoreless innings while striking out three.

BOX SCORE

Falcons starter Reece Bueno was dealing from the start, striking out five HarbourCats over four innings while giving up just one hit.

Ben Hewitt (Everett CC) pitched a scoreless fifth inning while striking out two, lowering his season ERA to 1.80.

Victoria got on the board in the fifth inning through a Tyrus Hall (Bossier Parrish) RBI groundout that scored Cam Schneider (Fresno State), who led off the inning with a single.

LEAGUE STANDINGS

The Falcons loaded the bases in the sixth against Cats right-hander Nick Frers (VCU) and increased their lead to 5-1 on an RBI fielder’s choice.

Brooks Brewster (Panola College) came into pitch midway through the seventh and set down all the hitters he faced, striking out one over 1.2 innings pitched.

Tate Shimao (Hawaii) went 2-4 including an RBI single in the eighth inning to make it a 5-2 ballgame, giving his team hope of a late comeback.

WATCH GAMES HERE

That hope disappeared in the top of the ninth when the Falcons tallied three more runs, giving them an 8-2 lead.

Willem Heilker (Everett CC) and Mason Chamberlain (Missouri Valley) pitched the ninth inning for the HarbourCats.

Victoria is back in action against Kelowna on Sunday at 1:05 PM. It’s Harvey the HarbourCat’s birthday! You will not want to miss the celebration of the best mascot in the WCL! Get tickets at http://harbourcats.com/tickets, by coming to the office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street in advance, or by calling 778-265-0327. You can also purchase general admission vouchers at all Save On Foods in the South Island.

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NANAIMO, B.C. — Not getting insurance runs earlier came back to haunt the Nanaimo NightOwls in a 5-4 home field loss to the Wenatchee AppleSox on Friday.

The AppleSox scored two runs in the ninth, on an awkward infield chopper, to go from trailing to leading at Serauxmen Stadium. This was the first game of a three-game series in Nanaimo between the two North Division teams.

Boxscore Link

The NightOwls came out looking very much like the team that hadn’t had to travel all day, as Wenatchee had. Nanaimo scored three times in the first inning, keyed by triples from Wylie Waters and Mitchell Middlemiss, then added another run in the fourth to hold a 4-2 lead.

Wenatchee got within one in the sixth, setting the stage for the come from behind ninth inning. The NightOwls had two runners on base when the final out was recorded.

Standings Link 

The NightOwls outhit Wenatchee 11-9 thanks in part to Middlemiss going 3-5. Nanaimo made the only errors of the game, and two of those three were charged in the final inning.

nightowls.tv / WCL Pixellot

Jake Fleury was strong in his start on the mound, striking out four in four innings with no walks, but allowing three hits and two runs. Landon Welter followed him, with Armaan Drar coming in to make clutch pitches to escape a jam and go two scoreless innings. Hayden Cuthbertson took the loss.

The NightOwls are back on the island for a stretch now, completing this series with Wenatchee with games Saturday evening (6:35pm) and Sunday afternoon (1pm).

The Kelowna Falcons then arrive for a Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday set at Serauxmen.

Tickets are available online, at the gate, or get general admission vouchers at all Save On Foods locations in Nanaimo, Ladysmith and Parksville. The NightOwls are expecting more strong crowds for this weekend series after setting a franchise record on Monday with 3,127 in attendance for the Canada Day Classic doubleheader and fireworks show.

Next week, the games on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, ticketed fans will all get a chance to win highly valued concert tickets for the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, arriving in Vancouver in December.

Tickets Link

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