Game Summaries

EDMONTON, AB—The Edmonton Riverhawks entered uncharted waters as they played host to their first ever West Coast League North Division final. The key word turned out to be “waters”. The final—a ‘one-game-winner-take-all” affair featured a one hour and 47 minute hour rain/lightning delay.

At the time, the Bellingham Bells were leading the Riverhawks 4-2 after seven innings of play. The Bells went onto win 5-2 to capture their fifth straight WCL North Division title.

There were 7,439 fans on hand at RE/MAX for the first ever divisional final to be played in the Alberta capital. 

The Bells scored five runs on nine hits and had one error. The Riverhawks had two runs on seven hits and committed three errors.

Bellingham advances to the league championship final on Thursday (Aug 14). Their opponents will be the Portland Pickles, who won the South Division title with a 6-5 come from behind victory over the Corvallis Knights. The championship will be played in Portland.

In this game, Bellingham threatened early. In the top of the first, they loaded the bases after Riverhawks pitcher 

 reached base on a fielder’s choice and #

 walked. Ridsdale got #11 Kalen Kirkpatrick to strike out. 

 ground the ball back to Ridsdale for the easy throw to first to retire the side without giving up a run.

 led off the bottom of the first for Edmonton with a single up the middle. 

 hit a ground ball which was bobbled by Bells third baseman Kirkpatrick. Yip beat the throw to first to put two aboard. After 

 to load the bases. Hernandez rung up a strike out and a ground ball out to keep the game scoreless.

The Riverhawks open the scoring in their half of the second. 

 singled into the gap in left centre field and scored when Stagg blasted a shot to the wall in left center and wound up with a double.

The Bells looked to even it up in the top of the third. Aguayo led off with a single, stole second and made it to third on a throwing error. With two out, Balsz hit a solid rope to Riverhawk shortstop 

 jumped up to make the catch to end the inning.In the fourth, Bellingham loaded the bases for a second time. 

 walked. That was followed by back-to-back singles off the bats of 

. Meffert scored on a wild pitch and the game was tied at 1.Edmonton regained the lead in their half of the inning. 

 walked and scored on an RBI bloop single to left off the bat of Stagg.

The Bells played some ‘small ball’ to their advantage in the top of the sixth. Kirkpatrick singled to lead it off. Then both Quiban and Meffert executed perfect bunts and beat the throw to first base to load the bases. Riverhawks reliever 

 got Bellingham to pop up, strike out and ground out to nullify the threat.

Bellingham loaded the bases again in the seventh. McConnell gave up singles to Lamb and

 After he elected to go to third but the throw wasn’t fast enough to get Lamb, Balasz got on base on the fielder’s choice. That prompted the Riverhawks to replace McConnell with 

 After he got a strikeout, Quiban found a hole between left and center field. That brough home Lamb and Cassie. Quiban would later score on a sacrifice fly to center by Meffert. The Bells took their first lead of the contest 4-2. McConnell wound up taking the loss. He pitched two innings, surrendering three runs on four hits, striking out three and walking one.

Mother nature had to be a part of this contest too. The game was halted after seven due to a lightning delay. When it resumed, the Riverhawks changed pitchers. 

 was on the hill. So did the Bells, with them sending 

The Bells took advantage right away. Sell walked and moved to second on a successful bunt by Aguago. Both advanced on another bunt-this one by Lamb. Sell scored on a passed ball to make it 5-2.

The Riverhawks gave it all they had. Bottom of the ninth: 

 led it off with a flare into right field. Three Bells converged and the ball dropped between them. Fox wound up with a double off Bellingham reliever 

. Peterson picked up the save going one inning, giving up a hit and striking out one.

“Crazy things can happen, “stated Riverhawks outfielder Max Stagg about the delay. “We were saying in the clubhouse that things were getting weird (referring to the long rain/lightning delay). Its baseball. Bellingham is a really quality program. We knew that from inning one to inning nine, they were going to throw punches at us and keep chipping away. It is what it is. I am proud of our guys. To go through the rain delay and still come out and give everything they had in the eighth and ninth innings.”

“I saw a couple of early bases loaded jams that we were able to work our way out of,” assessed Riverhawks coach Jake Lanferman. “ We had a 2-1 lead moving to the later innings. They bunted extremely well and did it to the point that it made it difficult for us to defend. A call goes either way and it would have been different perhaps. I thought we played quality baseball but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Quiban led the way offensively for Bellingham. He was 2-5 with two runs batted in. Meffert was 1-2 with a run scored and a run batted in. Aguyago went 1-4.

Cote was 2-4 with a run scored for the Riverhawks. Stagg went 3-5 with two runs batted in. Sato was 1-4.

 was the winning pitcher in relief for Bellingham. He pitched three innings striking out two.

‘We obviously fell short of advancing to the championship final, “said Stagg. “As a group, we showed up everyday with the will to work and the will to grind it out together. It is a long summer. We did a really good job of jelling as a team and working together as one collective unit and family and tried to achieve the ultimate goal. It was an amazing summer.”

“This group exceeded every expectation, “Lanferman assessed looking back at 2025. “They are first class guys. They represented our city well and our baseball club too. They made me extremely proud. I am going to miss these guys. It’s only two months of the year but it seems like a lot longer. I am excited to watch them (the players) in the spring and I am already excited about recruiting for next year.”

EXTRA INNINGS: The Riverhawks honored a number of local champions before the contest. Three-time Olympian and new performance manager of Canada’s 3x3 basketball program Michelle Plouffe threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

With the attendance at this game, the Riverhawks new WCL single season record set this year was 148,660 people. Lanferman on what made the 2025 Riverhawks so special: “I think the resilience and the grittiness to play baseball early on in the summer was very apparent to us. The group molded so well and so fast. When you have character guys leading and great baseball players that can bridge that gap—it’s a recipe for success. The guys did an incredible job.”

Lanferman on Edmonton establishing a ‘winning culture’: “ I think it started with the returning guys from last year. Playing our baseball (hard nosed, gritty), having fun while doing it. Making them feel comfortable and improving as baseball players. I think this group established what we can do—what this city has for baseball players. It is going to be fun to watch how we grow moving forward.’

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Hawks Fall to the Bells 5-2

Edmonton Riverhawks Season Comes to a Close

The Edmonton Riverhawks are moving onto the second round of the West Coast League playoffs. For the first time in franchise history, the Riverhawks have won a first round series as they defeated the visiting Victoria HarbourCats 8-7. Edmonton wins the best of three affair two games to one. There were 2312 spectators taking in the history making game at RE/MAX Field on Sunday. The Riverhawks scored eight runs on seven hits and committed one error. Victoria had seven runs on ten hits and had two errors.

Riverhawks head coach Jake Lanferman took it all in stride when asked what the victory means for the franchise. “Each year, we are trying to progress and move to the next step. I really think we have a special group this season. We have shown it countless times. It has been so much fun to watch. Hopefully we can continue to play good baseball heading into Tuesday.”

After beating the Riverhawks 3-1 Saturday in Game 2, the HarbourCats got on the sticks in the top of the first. 

 hit back to back singles off Edmonton starter #21 

The Riverhawks answered quickly in their half of the inning and with authority. 

moved into the lead off position and responded with a single to left. After 

 singled to left field to load the bases. Stagg scored on a wild pitch by Victoria starter 

 to open the scoring. Kip and Lenihan scored on a single by 

 stepped in and singled to right field. He was brought in on a sacrifice infield hit courtesy of 

 Fox would plate on a single to right off the bat of#

The Riverhawks notching six runs on four hits and two Victoria errors in an inning where nine Edmonton batters went to the plate. The home side was up 6-0.

The HarbourCats got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning. Lopez and 

 hit singles and were brought home on a single to left field courtesy of 

Edmonton added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh. Yip was hit by a pitch, Lenihan followed with a single and both were driven home on a two out single to left by 

. Sato was tagged out going back to first base but not before the Riverhawks went up 8-2.

Victoria scored again and a lot in the top of the ninth inning. They sent ten men to the plate

 hit a looper over second base and scored with the bases loaded when reliever 

 hit Afework. Egan then hit the next batter pinch hitter 

 to bring home Butler who earlier singled. That made the score 8-4. The Harbourcats added one more when #6 Tristen Buehring hit a sacrifice to left field which allowed 

 to scamper home from third. Victoria cut the deficit to a single run (8-7) when Eagan served up a double to #3 which scored two runs. Egan was replaced by 

 who got Lopez to fly out to right field to end the inning and earned the save, facing two batters in his outing.

Chamberlain earned the victory going eight and a third innings. He was pulled after loading the bases in the top of the ninth inning. Chamberlain gave up nine hits, struck out seven, surrendering five runs and faced 34 men. At one point, he retired 13 Victoria batters in a row.

Patrick threw six innings, giving up six runs, on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks. He faced 27 batters as he was tagged with the loss.

Offensively: Lenihan was 2-4 with two runs scored. Sato was 1-3 with two runs batted in and a run scored. Waters and Cote were 1-3 with one run batted in. Fox was 1-4 with a run scored and Kodema was 0-2 with two runs batted in.

Lopez was 2-5 with a run scored while Afework was 1-3 with three runs batted in for Victoria.

Lanferman reflected on game three saying it had a bit of everything starting with six runs scored in the bottom of the first. “Then we allowed their starter to get into a bit of a rhythm and made it more challenging for us. The Sato hit (in the bottom of the seventh) gave us a little more insurance. You see how critical that insurance was in the end when anything could happen. They strung a couple of hits together and it’s a ball game. Kudos to our guys. You could crumble when things don’t go your way. Great job by our guys to stick with it.”

The Riverhawks will now tangle with the Bellingham Bells in the winner-take-all WCL North Division Final on Tuesday. The Bells rallied from a 2-0 deficit to sore twice in the eighth inning, one more in the ninth to erase being down 3-2 and added one more in the 10th to eliminate the Wenatchee AppleSox 4-3 in the third and deciding game of their first round series. The Bells had nine hits and one error. Wenatchee had three runs on four hits. The Bells/Riverhawks Divisional Final has a 7:05 PM MDT opening pitch on Tuesday night at RE/MAX Field.

 to secure yourself a seat. Follow along with the game at @RiverhawksGames on X and keep up with everything happening with the Hawks on Instagram, Facebook, @EdmRiverhawks, and TikTok. See all the latest news at 

If you are unable to cheer on the Riverhawks live, you can watch the contest free on West Coast League TV (

The Southern Division Final has the Portland Pickles hosting the Corvallis Knights. The Knights eliminated the Bend Elks two games to one in their first round series. Corvallis won at home on Sunday 10-0.

After defeating the Victoria HarbourCats 8-7 the Hawks take their first-ever trip to the North final

Edmonton Riverhawks Advance to North Division Championship Game

It was a tricky night for the Edmonton Riverhawks as they couldn’t manage to get ahead of the Victoria HarbourCats in a 3-1 loss. While the Riverhawks combined for 6 hits and a pair of walks, they left a bevy of players stranded and could only squeak across their single run in the 5th. With 6943 fans in the stands the Hawks still did a great job battling with Victoria, only allowing runs in the 3rd as the inning got away from starter Riley Barrett.

The Riverhawks turned it on in the 3rd as #12 Stevie Waters led off the half with a single and a steal. #	1 Shiryu Sato followed with a hard hit ball, but it would end up counting as a fielder’s choice as Waters got picked off running back to second. Sato would steal second before #16 Kyle Yip would single and steal as well to put both runners in scoring position. Unfortunately a pair of fly balls would spoil the Hawks’ first good chance at scoring. The Hawks would get on the board in the 5th thanks to a two-out walk to Sato followed by a steal. Yip would smack a single up the middle to drive Sato home and break the shutout.

The four-year Riverhawk #31 Riley Barrett was locked in from the get go, in his second ever WCL postseason start. He retired the side in the 1st with incredible ease and 12 pitches. The 2nd got away from Barrett as the HarbourCats notched three runs off of five hits and walk. Barrett was back to stumping the Cats in the 3rd, as he tossed a 1-2-3 frame with this third swinging K. Riley would continue to churn through HarbourCats into the 5th, where after his third and fourth back-to-back swinging Ks, he’d allow a pair of singles that would finish hisouting. Finishing with 4.2+ IP, Barrett had 7 strikeouts, all swinging, 7 hits, and one walk on three earned runs.

Taking over for the last out of the 5th was #15 Jack Becker, who induced an easy ground ball to secure the frame. He continued to blast through Cats in the 6th with a three-up-three-down inning, then just gave up a single in the 7th. #11 Brandon Craven got the 8th, and he worked through it with just a single allowed. Finishing up with the 9th was #14 Tate Dearing, who hit his first batter, but then retired the rest of his side, aside from an intentional walk.

The loss to Victoria sends us to the tiebreaker game tomorrow afternoon. The 1:05 start at RE/MAX Field will be the decider to see which team heads to the North Division Championship Tuesday night. That single game series then sends a winner to represent the North in the WCL Finals on Thursday evening.

Tickets for tomorrow afternoon will be available shortly at 

. Don’t miss your chance to cheer on the Hawks in the deciding game tomorrow!

One inning of trouble sends the Hawks to a Sunday afternoon rubber match

Series Tied Up, As Hawks Can't Get Past HarbourCats

The Edmonton Riverhawks have drawn first blood in their 2025 West Coast League North Division semifinal. The Riverhawks came away with a 6-1 victory over the host Victoria HarbourCats on Friday night. 

Edmonton got a complete game victory from 

. The Beaumont, Alberta resident gave up one run on four hits, while striking out five and walking one. Hemmerling faced 32 batters.

The only run Hemmerling gave up was a solo home run off the bat of HarbourCats 

 in the bottom of the 9th inning. Nahaku was two for four in the ball game for Victoria.

Edmonton opened the scoring in the top of the second inning. 

led off the inning with a single and scored on an RBI single off from 

. They added a second run in that inning as 

 was hit by a pitch and plated on an RBI single from 

The Riverhawks scored twice in that 2nd inning and added a single run in the 3rd, two more runs in the 5th and one more in the 6th. They wound up with six runs on ten hits. Victoria had one run on four hits and one error.

The lone run in the 3rd inning was a lead off homer from 

. Lenihan, one of the Riverhawks’ captains, went three for five with two runs scored and an RBI.

Waters was 1-3 with a run batted in. Green was 2-4 with two runs scored while 

Other players of note offensively for Victoria were 

The HarbourCats utilized four pitchers in the ball game. Starter 

 was tagged with the loss. He went four innings, surrendering three runs on six hits, striking out three and walking two.

Both teams hopped a jet after the contest and headed to Edmonton where the remainder of this series will take place. Game two is set for Saturday  at RE/MAX Field. Opening pitch is 7:05 PM MDT.

. Palmer had a 1-1 record during the regular season, appearing in five games while starting two of them. He pitched 13.2 innings, striking out 16, walking eight and had an earned run average of 4.61. Barrett was 4-0 this season with a 2.97 E.R.A, striking out 26 and walking four in 36.1 innings pitched.

There will be a fireworks presentation following Saturday’s game. The musical guests will be The Bastactics.

Should a third deciding game be required, it would be played at RE/MAX Field on Sunday at 1:05 PM MDT.

Scores from the first games of the other West Coast League opening round series on Friday: 

Bellingham Bells 7 - Wenatchee Apple Sox 6 - played at Paul Thomas Field at Wenatchee Valley Community College.

Bend Elks 7 -  Corvallis Knights 5 - at Vince Genna Stadium in Bend, Oregon

Portland Pickles 4 - Marion Berries 3 - at Chemcheta Ball Field in Marion, Oregon.

Reece Hemmerling's complete game win gives the Hawks the edge in round 1

Hawks Head Home With A Game 1 Victory

Two huge homers were the difference makers for the Edmonton Riverhawks tonight, as they bested the Victoria HarbourCats 7-2. This win clinched the 2025 second half WCL North Division title for Edmonton, their first division win as a team. The Riverhawks also finish the regular season with the best overall record in the North Division 34-20. That’s also a new best ever season for Edmonton, beating 2024’s 32-19. The Riverhawks were an offensive juggernaut through the season, having a positive run differential through the entire year and finishing with a total of 108 more runs scored than their opponents. This also pushed the Riverhawks’ all-time record into the positives, sitting 109-106 after the split series with Victoria.

To conclude the regular season, the Hawks battled against the HarbourCats, striking the deciding blows in the 8th and 9th thanks to a pair of bombs. Home runs contributed five of the seven runs scored by the Hawks, and pushed the teams season total of homers to 30.

The Riverhawks weren’t waiting to get things under way tonight, 

led off the game with a standup double. After

 would send the first Edmonton run home with an RBI single bouncing past the Victoria second baseman into the outfield. The Hawks were then held quiet for the next five innings, while they saw three more walks and four more hits, in that span, they were unable to get a runner past second. They came even closer in the 7th, as after a Sato single and a Green double there were a pair in scoring position. Unfortunately a new pitcher and a pair of outs spoiled the best chance to get ahead yet.

Things finally changed in the 8th, as after

smashed a three run homer over the fence in left to give the Hawks a two run lead. The Hawks weren’t done with the long ball yet, as in the 9th, after a 

 single, Yip would smash a 2 RBI homer way over the fence to make it a 6-2 ballgame. The 9th continued as #4 Jaxon Fox would walk, then be moved to third on a pitcher’s error, and Kodama would be plunked to put runners on the corners. A single from Waters earned him another RBI, as Fox would score one more run.

While the HarbourCats struck back quickly with a 1st inning solo homer against starter 

, he was able to lock in and shut down the frame without letting a rally start. In only his second start of the year, the 20+ inning member of the bullpen was able to largely contain the HarbourCats through his 5.1 frames of work. Despite giving up seven hits in his appearance, Chamberlain held the HarbourCats scoreless from the 2nd through the 5th. In the 6th inning the Cats would hit a consecutive single and double to chase Chamberlain with one out. Mason issued no walks, and had one swinging strikeout in his start.

, who after hitting his first batter, was able to induce a pair of fly balls to retire the side. He came back out for the 7th frame and ran into quick trouble with a walk and a single. The following sac bunt sent both runners in to scoring position, but Egan eked out a swinging K before the Hawks intentionally walked the next batter. The base-loading IBB worked out, as Egan was able to escape the jam with a fly ball to right.


Pitching the 8th with the newfound lead, 

 took charge with a swinging strikeout, fooling his first batter. He would retire the side only allowing a double, as he carried the lead into the final inning. Pitching that final inning was 

, who needed just seven pitches to retire the side.

These two teams will meet again in the first round of the WCL 2025 Postseason. Winning the second half crown give the Riverhawks home field advantage through the series (while the Hawks and Cats tied in the second half standings, the Riverhawks hold the head-to-head tiebreaker).

Game 1 - Friday, August 8 - Edmonton @ Victoria

Game 2 - Saturday August 9 - Victoria @ Edmonton

Game 3 (if needed) - Sunday August 10 - Victoria @ Edmonton

Gate time and ticket information will be available soon, pay attention to 

 or @EdmRiverhawks on X, Instagram, and TikTok.

Homers from Stevie Waters and Kyle Yip give the Riverhawks a top seed in the postseason

Riverhawks Win the Second Half Thanks to the Long Ball

 began a crucial four game series as the 2025 West Coast League regular season came to a close. The two teams are jockeying for playoff positions.

They opened things up with a pair of seven-inning games at Wilson’s Group Stadium on the holiday Monday (BC Day in British Columbia/Heritage Day in Alberta). The first game was a replay of a contest that was slated for June 26, but was rained out.

Both teams were 18-6 in the WCL North Division second half standings. That was good enough for a tie for first place. The Riverhawks also owned a game and a half lead over the Bellingham Bells in the overall North Division standings. Edmonton at 32-18. Bellingham at 31-20 with Victoria third, two games back at 30-20.

The Riverhawks notched their franchise best seventh consecutive victory. They scored 10 runs on eight hits. The HarbourCats got one run on six hits and committed two errors. 

Edmonton scored five times in the third inning and added four runs in the fourth and one in the sixth

 continued his hot hitting with a three-run homer in the fourth inning. Green has nine homers on the year. He wound up going 2-4 with a run scored and three RBI. 

were both 1-3 with a run scored. Yip added a run batted in

 won his West Coast League leading seventh win of the season going six innings. He gave up a run on six hits, struck out four and walked two while facing 26 batters. 

 came on to pitch the seventh inning for the Riverhawks.

 started for Victoria and was tagged with the loss. He went two and a third innings, giving up three runs on one hit, striking out six and walking five while facing 14 batters. The biggest threat offensively for the HarbourCats was 

Edmonton jumped out to a 2-0 lead after half an inning, one of those runs was a solo homer to start the game courtesy of 

. Victoria scored one of their own in the bottom of the first, tied the game in the bottom of the third and went ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth. The Riverhawks drew even at 3 in the top of the fifth and went up 5-3 in the top of the sixth. But the HarbourCats scored four times on three hits in the bottom of the sixth inning to secure the victory and split the doubleheader.

Victoria had seven runs on 10 hits and one error while Edmonton had five runs on six hits.

who went 2-3 with two runs batted in and a run scored. 

was 11-3 with two runs batted in which came on a single in the bottom of the sixth. 

wski was 1-1 with two runs scored and a run batted in.

The Riverhawks main offensive weapon was Sato who was3-4 with three runs scored and two runs batted in.

was the second of three Edmonton pitchers in this contest. He saw his record dip to 2-2 as he went an inning and a third, surrendering three runs on one hit and walking three. He faced eight batters.

The third of three HarbourCats pitchers-#9 

 went an inning and two thirds to earn the victory and square his record at 1-1. He gave up two hits, gave up a run and struck out one while facing six batters.

The HarbourCats moved to 31-21 on the year while the Riverhawks fall to 33-19. Both teams are now 19-7 in the second half of the WCL season and remain tied atop of the divisional standings.

These two teams will be back at it Tuesday at Wilson’s Group Stadium. Opening pitch will be 7:35PM MDT. You can watch the contest free on West Coast League TV (

). The four and final game of this series and the 2025 regular season is slated for Wednesday. 