By Cody F. Schmidt

It came down to the wire as the Edmonton Riverhawks won their first game of the series with the Nanaimo NightOwls in the bottom of the 9th with two outs. The 5-4 win was courtesy of a #54 Sam Kane single, sending home #1 Kaden Zarowny and #47 Will Vasseur. The Hawks rallied in the 9th thanks to #12 Rex Watson leading the fame off with a single, and being plnch ran by Zarowny.

The Hawks hit in the 4th tying the game up, as #3 Michael Soper led off with a walk, then #36 Jakob Poturnak drove him home with a triple off the wall in right field. #5 Bryce McFeely knocked an infield groundout up to short, and that was enough to bring Poturnak home. The Hawks briefly held the lead in the 5th, as Poturnak notched another RBI, driving in Soper with a single.

The NightOwls struck first against starting pitcher #38 David Stuart, with a pair of runs off a single, double, and sac fly. Despite a few hits afterwards, Stuart was able to keep the NightOwls quiet until the 6th where a pair of singles re-tied the game, then a tough hop on a single was enough for a leading run. Stuart made it through 6.0 complete, and was tagged

#43 Rory Lampe took over for the Hawks in the 7th, pitching a scoreless inning, aided by the Hawks’ third double play turned in the game. Then #18 Riley Barrett followed with an 8-pitch 8th inning, getting a K to finish the frame. #50 Brandon Brunette joined the 8-pitch inning club with his scoreless 9th, earning a strikeout looking and the win.

The series continues tomorrow night with Sitcom Night! The Riverhawks then salute the Olympians on Wednesday before the final weekend set of the season! Head to tickets.gohawks.ca to get your seat at RE/MAX Field, there’s only 5 home games left on the year!