The Kamloops NorthPaws defeated the Nanaimo Night Owls 9-7 on Friday night at Norbrock Stadium. Nanaimo leads 3-1 and 4-0, but a five-run seventh and three-run eighth inning put the NorthPaws up by five runs. The Night Owls hung around in the ninth, scoring three runs, but couldn’t complete the comeback. Center fielder Ethan Kodama went four for five at the plate, first baseman Jared Hall drove in three runs, and third baseman Chris Tampoya delivered another clutch hit with a go-ahead single in the seventh.
“I thought we got more aggressive early in counts, from the fifth on, I thought we did a really good job at being on time with the heater,” said Assistant Coach Trey Newman.
Right-hander Joey Rico was on the mound for Kamloops and cruised through the first inning, throwing just six pitches. In the second, he started strong, striking out back-to-back batters. With two outs, Rico ran into some trouble with his command, walking four straight batters, making it 1-0 Night Owls.
In the third, Nanaimo made him work for outs as they added two more runs. A wild pitch made it 2-0, and a throwing error in the field extended the lead.
“He was rolling early, and I think once he got those two outs in the second, he was trying to do too much, but I thought he threw the ball well,” said Pitching Coach Jack Slominski.
The NorthPaws offence woke up in the fourth with right fielder Connor Clark leading off with a single. Clark created chaos on the basepaths, forcing a throwing error from the Nanaimo pitcher, advancing him to third. Two pitches later, Jared Hall doubled down the left field line, making it a two-run game.
After scoring their first run of the game, the NorthPaws had plenty of chances to tie things up, but in the middle third of the game, they left five men on base. Nanaimo added one more in the sixth on an unfortunate error following a failure to complete the strikeout on a dropped third strike.
Following a scoreless top of the seventh, the NorthPaws would kick things into high gear. Shortstop Anthony Setticassi walked and reached second on a fielder’s choice. Ethan Kodama then hit a soft ground ball through the right side that scored Setticassi. Clark singled and Hall walked to load the bases with one out.
With Rico at the plate, Kodama scored via a wild pitch. Rico then sent a sharp grounder to third, and Connor Clark got on his horse, beating the throw to the plate, tying the game. Second baseman Tanner Hornback walked, re-loading the bases. With two outs, Chris Tampoya was at the plate and poked one up the middle, scoring a pair of go-ahead runs.
In the eighth, both Kodama and Clark singled, putting runners on the corners for Jared Hall. Clark stole second as Hall poked one into center field, bringing both runners home, extending the lead. Rico then sent a towering double off the wall, scoring Hall, making it 9-4.
In the ninth, the NightOwls hung around and scored three gritty runs, making things interesting. Ultimately, the NorthPaws bullpen got the job done and capped off what was an excellent performance, especially in the middle third of the game.
“The guys that came in did their jobs tonight and gave us a chance, obviously the offence had a couple of big innings, but our guys did their jobs,” said Slominski.
The NorthPaws finished with 14 hits on the night and mounted a furious comeback in the seventh, something their coach is proud of, given the tough start.
“As the game went on, we took better swings earlier in counts, and we didn’t always connect, but we stayed hungry one through nine tonight,” said Newman
The NorthPaws will look to win the series in game two against the NightOwls when the teams face off on Saturday night at Norbrock Stadium. The first pitch is set for 6:35.
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