NANAIMO, B.C. — It took a walkoff in the ninth to overshadow the De-show.
On a night when Deshon Thomas was 4-4 and threw out the potential winning run at the plate to end the top of the ninth inning at historic Serauxmen Stadium, it was a double by Nevan Noonan and a run-scoring single by Aaron Marsh that stole the headline — in a team sport, that really doesn’t matter.
The Nanaimo NightOwls prevailed 4-3 in walkoff fashion over the visiting Kamloops NorthPaws on Thursday night, securing the series win for Nanaimo, now 9-12 on the season. Nanaimo had won the first game handily, with Kamloops breaking a 14-game losing streak with a win on Wednesday.
Thomas, the Arizona Christian right-handed hitter playing left field, had three singles and a double, raising his batting average to .258. He also scored a run.
Noonan, thanks in part to his leadoff double in the top of the ninth, was 2-4 with a run, and Wylie Waters drove in two runs — a home run in the first inning, two batters after Riley Paulino had tripled to open the bottom of the first, that helped the NightOwls lead 3-0 by the fourth inning, a lead they milked until the fourth inning. Marsh, who played second base, was 2-5 with an RBI and run scored, and his single was a solid line drive into the left-centre gap, easily scoring his middle-infield partner Noonan.
Kamloops (4-16) was held without a run until the ninth inning when they pushed three across to set up the dramatic bottom of the ninth. Ryan Inouye gave up three hits and was relieved by Hayden Cuthbertson, who held the damage to the three runs — thanks in part to the throw by Thomas, on the mark to catcher Ayden Hadley to cut down the possible go-ahead run.
Aiden Russell was strong in his start, going three innings, striking out six ,walking two and giving up four hits — but no runs. Payton Robertson was spotless in three innings, giving up three hits and a walk, followed by two perfect innings from Lawson Minshew.
The NightOwls now get a rare Friday day off, then are home at Serauxmen Stadium on Saturday against the arch-rival Victoria HarbourCats, the seventh game of the RE/MAX Alex Burns Real Estate Island Cup. The two teams play Sunday in Victoria at Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP, a fireworks night in Victoria, and then revert to Nanaimo on Monday for Canada Day, July 1, and the first-ever on-field post-game FIREWORKS show presented by Kw’umut Lelum Foundation and Maxxam Insurance.
Cats pitching struggled to keep runners off the bases on the way to a 18-9 loss. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)
Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats hosted the Springfield Drifters on Friday night, failing to keep the visiting team in check and dropping the first game of the series 18-9.
The Drifters’ lineup spelled trouble from the beginning for Schuyler Fairchild (Wenatchee Valley). The visitors filled up the bases and drove in two runs in the top of the first before the starter locked down a couple of K’s to vacate the mound.
Determined not to fall behind, the Cats fought back during their turn at the plate. A 94 mph screamer off the lumber of Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) brought home a run and set up another to score on a sacrifice fly in the next at bat. Even Steven after the initial frame.
Springfield ran up the opener’s pitch count in the first inning, making room for a relief appearance from Austin Lindsey (Hill College) to begin the second. The Drifters gave Lindsey some difficulty as well, ending the inning with three more runs across to make it 5-2.
Schuyler Fairchild saw a shortened outing, battling through a long first inning. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)
Outfielder Marcus Nolen (Fresno State) was sharp in the bottom of the third inning, drawing a walk, stealing a base, and coming around to score on a Kade Davis (UTSA) single.
The next arrival from the bullpen was Landon Marchetti (San Jose State), who threw two clean innings in the fourth and fifth to earn a much-needed respite for the Cats defence.
Things drew even once again in the bottom of the fifth thanks to Rohne Klein (San Jose State). The first baseman muscled a ball out to centre field to drive in a pair and tie the game at five runs each.
Rohne Klein (San Jose State) snapped his slump tonight with a clutch base hit. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)
Flynn Warren (Hawaii Pacific) inherited the mound from Marchetti for the top of the seventh inning. Marchetti was lights out over three innings, allowing only a single hit and shredding through the Drifters’ lineup for five strikeouts. Warren found himself in a jam, loading the bases and letting four runs slip by to give the lead back to Springfield.
A grand slam for the Drifters in the top of the eighth broke the game wide open, bestowing a 14-5 lead upon the visitors. The Cats showed some life in the back half of inning the eighth, highlighted by a Logan Shepherd (Mercer) RBI triple, but the deficit proved insurmountable as Victoria eventually fell 18-9 in the series opener.
The Springfield series continues at 6:35 pm on Saturday night and concludes with a 1:05 pm Sunday matinee.
Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games and the 2026 West Coast League All-Star Game and Home Run Derby are now on sale at http://harbourcats.com/tickets. Season tickets, 12-pack and 32-pack game vouchers may also be bought online or by stopping by the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.
Victoria made four costly errors in this one to give Edmonton an advantage (Photo by JPM Photography)
Edmonton, AB – The HarbourCats were unable to complete the sweep, falling 9-5 to the Riverhawks on Thursday night.
Edmonton knocked Bryson Toner (Hawaii) around a little in the first three innings, but the right-hander stayed locked in and only let one run slip by on six hits.
The Cats returned fire in the top of the fourth, putting pressure on the Riverhawks defence to load the bases and score a run off the bat of Kade Davis (UTSA).
Easton Reimers (North Dakota State) entered the game with the score tied at one apiece, striking out two batters in the fourth inning to keep Victoria’s momentum going.
The Riverhawks made some noise in the fifth to take back control of the game, shaking down Reimers for four more runs and ending the inning with a 5-1 lead over the HarbourCats.
Tate Collins (Arkansas State) took the field for the Cats in the bottom of the sixth and wasted no time getting the job done, tossing a clean inning out of the pen.
The Cats were stricken with the error bug in inning number seven, coughing up a handful of runs as a result of some less-than-stellar defensive play.
Victoria loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the eighth and closed the distance with four more runs before inning’s end, but the comeback was unsuccessful en route to a 9-5 Edmonton victory.
With this series complete, the HarbourCats will be back in Victoria starting Friday night for a three-game series versus the Springfield Drifters.
Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games and the 2026 West Coast League All-Star Game and Home Run Derby are now on sale at http://harbourcats.com/tickets. Season tickets, 12-pack and 32-pack game vouchers may also be bought online or by stopping by the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.
The Cats’ bats have been hot since arriving in Edmonton, scoring a total of 12 runs in two games. (Photo by JPM Photography)
Edmonton, AB – The HarbourCats secured their second consecutive win in Edmonton on Wednesday afternoon by a score of 8-5.
Just like last night, the upper hand belonged to Victoria early in the ballgame. Lukas Le Gras (Westmont) drove a ball back up the middle into centre field, booking two Cats runners a return flight to home plate to make it 2-0.
The HarbourCats starting pitcher was utterly dominant once again, with Erik Rico (Fresno State) locking things down in this one. Rico went four innings, only allowing one hit and amassing a tidy five strikeouts while setting down ten batters in a row to finish off his outing.
David Krahn (UBC), who has been all over the scoresheet in this series, dashed home on an Edmonton error to widen the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Logan Shepherd (Mercer) cruised into second base on a double smashed to right field and would eventually score on yet another error committed by the Riverhawks infield. Tristan Buehring (Whitman) was more than happy to add on a couple more runs before inning’s end, and suddenly the Cats were out front 6-0 with four unearned runs in one frame.
Logan Shepherd (Mercer) was a force in this one, going 3-5 with a double and a run scored (Photo by JPM Photography)
Houston Tomlinson (Arkansas State) was deployed from the bullpen to take over for Erik Rico. The Riverhawks finally earned their first run of the series, but were otherwise contained by Tomlinson, who went back to the dugout leading by five runs.
After a lengthy rain delay, the Cats returned none worse for wear and batted in two more runs in the top of the seventh, extending the lead to 8-2.
The rain necessitated a pitching change, and it would be Asher Clark (Northern Colorado) who got the nod. Clark got into some hot water in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases and coughing up a couple of runs before being swapped out for the other Clark. Jack Clark (CSU San Marcos) secured a double play and struck out a batter to deftly escape the jam with the lead intact, if a little bruised.
Jack Clark returned for the eighth and ninth and was airtight, giving up just one hit over three total innings to nail down an 8-5 victory for the HarbourCats.
The Edmonton series will come to an end tomorrow night, and the Cats return home this weekend for three games against the Springfield Drifters!
Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games and the 2026 West Coast League All-Star Game and Home Run Derby are now on sale at http://harbourcats.com/tickets. Season tickets, 12-pack and 32-pack game vouchers may also be bought online or by stopping by the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.
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