The Kamloops NorthPaws started their 2025 campaign off strong with a 8-0 victory over the Port Angeles Lefties. Notable performances from designated hitter Keegan Drinkle and right-handed pitcher Kaden Douglas-Pluff helped the NorthPaws cruise to win on Friday night.
Kamloops came out of the gates swinging, scoring one run in each of the first three innings courtesy of singles from Drinkle and catcher Matt MacDonald, along with a sacrifice fly from shortstop Anthony Setticassi.
Right-hander Owen Fernandez got the opening day nod and didn’t disappoint, going three shutout innings while allowing only three hits and striking out a pair of hitters. Lefty Kaden Douglass-Pluff was first out of the bullpen and pitched a gem. He threw five shutout innings, giving up three hits and striking out five while not allowing a walk.
“You couldn’t have drawn it up and better,” Said pitching coach Jack Slominski. “That’s one thing I’ve preached to them: if we are going to get beat, they going to have to hit their way on.”
Douglas-Pluffs’ brilliance on the mound allowed the offence to keep attacking. In the fifth, a hit-and-run attempt was perfectly executed as Matt MacDonald broke for second while Drinkle sent a double to the gap, scoring the fourth run of the game.
In the sixth, some aggressive baserunning put another run on the board as both runners on base attempted the double steal. The Lefties catcher threw the ball over his second baseman’s head, allowing Ethan Kodama to score. The NorthPaws were aggressive all night, creating chaos on the basepaths.
“I think we’re really athletic one through nine and have seven or eight guys who can run at all times, so we’re going to do that a lot and put pressure on teams,” Said Assistant Coach Trey Newman.
In the seventh inning, after yet another double steal, Keegan Drinkle drove in his third run of the ball game, this time via a sacrifice fly. He and Matt MacDonald were all over the bases, combining for seven hits and four RBIs. It’s noteworthy that of those hits, only one was for extra bases.
“This is what I expect from him (Drinkle). The guys in front of him did a great job setting the table, and he cashed in,” said head coach Reily Jepson.
In the ninth, second baseman Joey Marino had runners on second and third and sent a single up the middle that scored the seventh and eighth runs of the ballgame for the NorthPaws.
To round out the performance, there were a few nice defensive plays. In the bottom of the first, Kalen Applefield couldn’t get to a fly ball on the right field line but quickly threw a missile to second base to record the out. A pair of nice double plays were turned in the middle infield, and the defence was capped off by a heroic catch by center fielder Ethan Kodama, who ran down a ball and then slammed into the wall and hung on to secure the catch.
The NorthPaws will look to build on Friday’s performance in game two against the Lefties on Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35. You can watch on West Coast League TV or listen on the Kamloops NorthPaws Mixlr.
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