Edmonton – The NorthPaws broke the cycle and finally won their first series of the second half thanks to a huge 15-2 win. It was early and often at the plate, scoring seven runs in the first inning. From there, the Paws’ bats kept a steady pace and cruised to victory. On the mound, righty Alex Lee was brilliant, going seven innings and giving up no earned runs on just three hits.
The game got off to a rocky start for the Riverhawks with the first pitch hitting Kade Crawford. Jared Hall singled to put runners on the corners, and Evan Dugdale hit a sac fly scoring Crawford. Brock Grainger walked, setting the table for Matt MacDonald. The third baseman hit a towering three-run home run to bust the game open.
The NorthPaws weren’t done there. Four consecutive hits saw Logan Booth hit an RBI single and Crawford, in his second at bat of the inning, drive in a pair with a base hit of his own. After it was all said and done, Kamloops put themselves in the driver’s seat.
The Paws loaded the bases with one out in the third with the top of the order coming to the plate. Hall hit a sac fly, and Dugdale drove in his second of the game, this time with a single. In the fourth, patience earned them a run after consecutive walks loaded the bases. A third straight from Edmonton made it 10-0.
While the offensive onslaught was occurring, Alex Lee was lights out on the mound for the NorthPaws. Going into the seventh, he had given up just one hit and was cruising. Lee also issued just one walk, which came in the seventh inning. A throwing error put runners on the corners, and a ground ball out got the RiverHawks on the board.
The run was unearned, and the righty finished his seven innings with four strikeouts. It was a perfect storm for Kamloops.
In the final third of the game, the NorthPaws put up five more runs. 15 runs on 15 hits, four players with multi-hit nights and six with multiple RBI’s. This was exactly the performance to break out of their second-half slump.
The road won’t get any easier as they begin a three-game weekend series in Victoria against the Harbourcats. Another opportunity to play spoiler and gain momentum as the season approaches its final days.
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