Hawks Back At Home Against Bells

2025-06-17

Hawks are back in their coop to kick off another exciting home stand

By Larry Read

The late great Yogi Berra said it best when he quipped “It’s Déjà vu all over again!”

That’s what the Edmonton Riverhawks and Bellingham Bells could feel when the two teams take to the field tonight (June 17) at RE/MAX Field. If it feels familiar to the two teams, it is. They had met on that playing surface only nine days ago. Tonight’s West Coast League contest has a 7:05 PM MST first pitch.

The first series in 2025 was epic. The Riverhawks might have lost two of the three games but one included the longest contest in their young WCL history. It happened Friday, June 7th when the Bells won 3-2. The game went 18 innings and lasted four hours and 42 minutes.

The Riverhawks are back home following a 3-3 road trip in Kelowna and Kamloops. They sport a record of 7-5 good enough for fourth place in the North Division. They are 2.5 games behind the WCL North Division co-leaders: Wenatchee and Bellingham.

Both those squads are 11-4 and have won seven of their last ten starts. Ironically, those teams are the next two opponents for Edmonton this week so this truly is a litmus test for the Riverhawks. It will also be a treat for Riverhawks fans to witness.

The Bells are coming into Edmonton following a three-game set in Victoria where they won two of three.

“As a group we learned we can compete against the strongest teams in our division,” says Riverhawks coach Jake Lanferman. “Since our extra inning game against Bellingham, they have been on a strong run, sitting atop of the North Division. It is going to be a great series.”

The Edmonton skipper is very proud of what he has seen from his crew so far this season. “This group is full of competitors. Even the games we’ve fallen short of winning, I’ve liked the relentlessness. We’ve shown that when our bats are hot, we’re dangerous. Our team is beginning to build more chemistry which is exciting.”

He adds, “After playing 12 games, we have a better understanding of the strengths of our guys and it’s our job as a coaching staff to put them in situations in which they can succeed. This ties into consistency, which is always something that can be worked on. These next six games will be challenging and allow us to continue to build our team identity and hopefully find ways to win games.”

#41 James Brock is expected to get the start. “He is going to compete for us and give us an opportunity to get the first game of the series. He’s been stellar for us so far,” Lanferman adds. The UBC Thunderbird has a 2-0 record, pitching 11 innings, striking out nine while surrendering eight hits.

Tonight at the park it's Life’s a Beach, Aloha Night, there will be Limbo contests, hula dancing, Jimmy Buffet jams, a special Hawaiian Hawk Tropic bevy. Teachers who show their ATA card at the box office will get a ticket to the contest for half price. It will also be Toonie Tuesday

Tickets are available by logging onto: https://tickets.gohawks.ca/. If you can’t make it out to RE/MAX Field, you can watch tonight’s contest free on West Coast League TV (https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv).