Summer Collegiate

Weird, Wild and Wacky: NorthPaws get the W in their home opener

Published

1 year ago

June 7, 2025

Dugout Wire Service

The Kamloops NorthPaws finally returned home after a six-game road trip and treated their fans to a 12-8 victory over the Kelowna Falcons on Friday night. The team’s home opener had a little bit of everything. The two teams combined for 20 runs, 23 hits and eight errors, keeping the crowd on the edge of their seats.

Kelowna would waste no time getting on the board, with three singles propelling them to a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the first, shortstop Elijah Clayton would walk and then steal second base. A high throw by the catcher sent the ball into center field; additionally, the center fielder misplayed the ball, allowing Clayton to score.

Back-to-back walks and a base hit loaded the bases with no one out as first baseman Keegan Drinkle sent a sacrifice fly to left field, tying the game. Later in the inning, right fielder Jared Hall doubled, bringing in two more runs and taking the lead.

The seesaw battle would begin as the Falcons scored in the second via a wild pitch and took a 5-4 lead off a fielder’s choice and an error in the third. In the bottom of the fourth, Ethan Kodama singled, tying the game, and would later advance to third after an error on a failed pickoff attempt. Kodama scored via a sacrifice fly to restore the NorthPaws lead.

The Falcons would stay pesky by driving in a run in the fifth and score two more runs in the seventh, taking an 8-7 lead. Kamloops tied the game after yet another RBI from Jared Hall. This time, it was a sacrifice fly. The seventh inning ended strangely, however, as second baseman Anthony Setticassi sent a single through the left side. Keegan Drinkle rounded third and was heading for home when the throw beat him. As he tried to avoid the tag, he ran into the side of the Kelowna catcher, knocking the ball loose from his glove.

Drinkle stepped on home and was initially called safe, but the Falcons catcher was furious and tried to go after him but was held back. Drinkle continued to walk toward the dugout, but the home plate umpire ejected him from the game right there, and he was called out, negating the potential game-tying run.

Kalen Applefield would replace him at first base, but the NorthPaws were determined to retake the lead in the eigth. A pair of Falcon errors put runners on second and third. Third baseman Kieran Gaffney sent a single to right field that tied the game. Outfielders Austin Coyle and Jared Hall both doubled, scoring four runs and sending the crowd into a frenzy.

“My teammates put me in a great position, and I’m thankful I was able to come through tonight,” said Hall

The five-run eighth inning was enough, as hometown kid Nolan Austin shut the door, securing the fifth win of the season for the NorthPaws. Austin was terrific on the mound, going two and two-thirds innings, giving up just two hits while not surrendering a run.

“Nolan was fantastic; he had all of his pitches working and was going after hitters all night,” said Pitching Coach Jack Slominski.

After a series in Bellingham that saw the NorthPaw bats cool down, it was a refreshing sight to see situational hitting work in their favour.

“We left a lot of guys on base in Bellingham, so it was nice to come home and execute,” said Assistant Coach Trey Newman.

For many of the NorthPaw players, this was their first taste of intense baseball at Norbrock Stadium. For Trey Newman, it was a similar experience in 2022, and he remarked on how cool it was to hear the stadium loud again. Newman is eager to help the NorthPaws regain what they had three summers ago.

“I was telling everyone that this is what the stadium sounded like when we played at home. Keep coming out to Norbrock. I promise we will give you something to cheer about,” said Newman.

The NorthPaws will visit Kelowna for the first time tomorrow night. That game will be available on West Coast TV as well as the NorthPaws Mixlr. On Sunday, the team is back home for an afternoon game to conclude the three-game weekend series. The first pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Suffer Gruelling 18-9 Loss

Published

15 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

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.

BOX SCORE

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.

WCL STANDINGS

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.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Lose Control of Game Three in Edmonton

Published

2 days ago

June 11, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

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.

BOX SCORE

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.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Keep it Rolling in Rainy Rout of Riverhawks

Published

3 days ago

June 10, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

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.

BOX SCORE

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.

WCL STANDINGS

The Edmonton series will come to an end tomorrow night, and the Cats return home this weekend for three games against the Springfield Drifters!

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