The first sellout in Edmonton Riverhawks history made for a spectacular Canada Day party! 9071 fans were treated to a 16-3 Riverhawks pounding of the Port Angeles Lefties.

The highlight in the string of hits was Trent Lenihan's 2 run home run! The entire Hawks lineup was unstoppable, mashing 20 hits and closing out the first half with a 18-9 record.

That saw them tie the Wenatchee AppleSox for first place in the West Coast League's North Division. However, the playoff spot that goes with the first half title goes to Wenatchee due to the narrowest of margins for winning percentage at home.

The Hawks kicked off their first chance at bat with singles on back-to-back first pitches. Thanks to #3 Michael Soper and #47 Will Vasseur each reaching, #15 Jonny McGill was able to earn a pair of RBI and tie the game in the 1st off a double. After getting to third on #5 Bryce McFeely’s single, McGill was sent home on a ground rule double, #36 Jakob Poturnak dropped a laser into the left field corner, but it bounced out of play. #7 Tommy Takayoshi beat out an infield dribbler on the first base line to load the bags, then #34 Jack Giordano singled to rotate the runners and tack on the 4th run, and #1 Kaden Zarowny hit a sac fly to right to make it five runs for the Riverhawks.

Back at it in the 2nd, the Hawks were treated to another Vasseur hit, followed by McGill being plunked. This set up the bases so that #35 Trent Lenihan could hit an RBI double. McFeely singled to get on base before Poturnak would crack a triple scoring both runners. Jakob would be plated thanks to Takayoshi driving another ground-rule double into the corner in left and this sent the Riverhawks score into double digits. The Hawks were able to bat around in back-to-back innings to kick off the game.

After a few quiet innings, the bats came back in the 6th. The first hit of the frame hit McFeely, and that was enough for the home plate umpire to eject the Lefties pitcher Tyler Brebout. Against the new arm, Poturnak blasted a hit 390 feet, more than halfway up the wall, and it stood as an RBI double, just feet from clearing the fence. Changing up the lineup after a Takayoshi single, #26 Russell Young hit a sac fly to bring home Poturnak.

The 7th featured the Hawks most explosive runs of the game, as after McGill walked Trent Lenihan crushed a 403 foot homer over the fence. 101mph off the bat, Lenihan scored a pair with his first homer of the year. The final Edmonton runs came across in the 8th, a Soper single was followed by a McGill triple, bouncing all the way to the wall in dead centre. A McFeely single then scored McGill, and the Hawks were brought to their final total of 16 runs.

A pair of inopportune hits got the Lefties ahead of starter #32 Vicarte Domingo early, ending his scoreless inning streak at 16.0. While a single and an E2 scored a pair for Port Angeles in the top of the 1st, Domingo was back to his usual ways in the 2nd and onwards. In his 5.0 innings of work, Vicarte threw two swinging strikeouts and only had one run credited to his record.

The Lefties put up a fight in the 6th against #18 Riley Barrett. He surrendered a run on three hits, but then came back to strike out a pair to close out his one inning of work. There was a little drama in the 7th, as #27 Brendan Loeppky plunked a pair, but between a ꓘ, a pop fly, and a great charging play by #6 Taichi Nakao the Hawks avoided giving up any runs. A perfect 8th was thrown by #13 Kai Fyke, burning through Lefties batters and finishing with a strikeout. Wrapping up the game was #16 Tylor Jans, who tossed an easy scoreless inning, with just one ‘excuse me’ hit by the Lefties before the game concluded.

It was an incredible night for the Edmonton lineup, with huge hits down the order. A four hit game for Poturnak, he was just feet away from clearing the fence on his first double and would have completed the cycle if the ball had left the park. Jonny McGill converted every plate appearance he had into a trip to the base paths, with a double, a triple, two walks, and two HBPs. Lenihan’s homer brought home two of his three RBI, and he inflated his average to an even .300.

The Riverhawks are back in action at RE/MAX Field this weekend:

• Friday it's First Responders with 102.3 Now Radio!
• Saturday it's Country Night with CISN Radio!
• Sunday it's Christmas in July with 630 CHED's Santa's Anonymous!

Remember, doors now open a half hour earlier on weekends (530 on Friday and Saturday and 1130 on Sunday).

See you at the ballpark!