Kamloops – The NorthPaws won another tight contest at home, this time defeating the Victoria HarbourCats 4-2. Starter Grady Beatz was brilliant, going seven innings, giving up just one earned run and striking out four batters. Brock Grainger hit his second home run of the season, and Just Van Den Ouwleen recorded a six-out save in the team’s 14th victory.
“The guys did a great job tonight and have been all season of channelling the crowd’s energy and not letting the moment get too big,” Head coach Riley Jepson said.
Friday was the final start of the summer for Baetz, and he went out with a bang. He’s gone progressively deeper into games with every start. After a strong outing last Friday in Port Angeles, Baetz saved the best for last, throwing 95 pitches. The lefty held the hottest-hitting team in the WCL to just five hits over seven innings.
“It’s been a recurring theme each week with him of just his maturity on the mound and how he’s been able to mix his pitches well,” Pitching coach Dustin Beggs said.
The HarbourCats were threatening in the first with a runner in scoring position with two outs. A single through the right side looked to be enough for Victoria to score the first run of the game, but right fielder Logan Booth threw a laser to home plate, keeping the game scoreless.
In the second inning, the Paws got on the board thanks to a Brock Grainger solo home run. In the third, Kamloops had runners at second and third with no one out. Matt Macdonald grounded out, but a run scored. Kenner Lauterbach then doubled to make it 3-0. The fourth run came via a wild pitch as the NorthPaws were in complete control with Batez cruising.
In the eighth, things got weird with the HarbourCats at the plate. Two singles and a wild pitch put runners on the corners with one out. A fly ball to deep center was caught by Kade Crawford. The runner from third tagged and was heading to the plate. The runner, however, at first forgot how many outs there were and kept running. The Paws got the inning-ending double play, throwing back to first, but the run would count as the man on third scored before the double play was completed.
Victoria threatened in the ninth as well, putting a pair of runners on after a walk and an error. In the end, Van Den Ouwleen shut the door and recorded the six-out save. Despite scoring just the two runs, the HarbourCats outhit the NorthPaws and stymied their offence in the final two-thirds of the game.
“They’re a good team, and they can hit the ball well,” Jepson said. “The biggest thing for us is not giving them more opportunities to score runs,”
The two teams are back at it Saturday night; first pitch is scheduled for 6:35.
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