Riverhawks Sweep Falcons To Close Home Stand
2026-07-26
12-9 victory in battle of the bats as Hawks hold top playoff spot
Box ScoreBy Cody F. Schmidt
It was the final home game of the 2026 WCL regular season for the Edmonton Riverhawks. The Edmonton squad secured their third win in a row, sweeping the Kelowna Falcons. The Hawks are working their way up the second half standings as todays W puts the Hawks at 11-8 on the second half, primed for a playoff spot.
The Riverhawks’ bats were swinging in the summer sun today, as the lineup combined for 15 hits and 12 runs. Starting strong with a 6-run 1st, the Hawks scored in four innings and backed off the Falcons through the back third of the game to hold them scoreless.
#21 Myles Chamberlain made his second start of the season, and ran into trouble early as Kelowna took an early 2-0 lead off of a trio of hits. A strikeout looking turned the the initial half frame around. The Riverhawks kept the momentum once they came up to bat, with a leadoff hit from #25 Matt Vanslyke followed by a Kelowna error to put #48 Max Stagg safely on base. After a double steal, #53 Gianluca Montanaro grounded out to send Vanslyke home, then #58 Omar Gonzalez knocked a sacrifice fly to left to score Stagg. #36 Mitchell Middlemiss cracked a hit to centre field and was moved to second on a passed ball before #23 Justin Heffler sent him around the bases with a deep single to left. #57 Finnegan Stewart joined the hit parade with a single up the middle, then #47 Jake Tanner walked to load the bags. A walk to #4 Aden Munoz sent the fourth Hawks run home and flipped the order over, still in the 1st. Vanslyke got plunked to earn an RBI as he hit the bags for the second time in the inning, leading Kelowna to change arms. The new pitcher walked Stagg for an RBI, before a grounder ended the inning, leaving the Hawks up 6-2.
Neither team had much action in the 2nd, but Kelowna got back to the scoreboard in the 3rd with a double and a single off Chamberlain, then a ball darting past Vanslyke’s diving glove for a second RBI single. The Falcons continued to fight, with another single putting runners on the corners, then another hit cycled the runners. A rundown between third and home prevented a run and earned the second out of the frame, before a routine grounder ended the top of the 3rd. Munoz’s two out single was the only action for the Riverhawks in the 3rd, but he was caught running to second and the inning ended.
#14 Nathan Ling took over on the mound for the 4th, and he got a fly out on the first pitch of his appearance. Defensive replacement #32 Jason Green then made his presence known by picking off a runner after a single, then a grounder up the middle made it a 6-pitch inning for Ling.
Vanslyke walked to kick off the bottom of the 4th, then with one out Montanaro crushed a double to the gap in left to put a pair in scoring position. A balk put Vanslyke home, then Gonzalez mashed a double to the left field corner for an RBI. Heffler made it a 3 run inning with his single scoring Gonzalez and sending the Hawks to the 5th with a 9-5 lead.
Ling’s second inning was more eventful, with two singles and a walk loading the bases. A pop up and a grounder earned two outs, but the Falcons scored a pair off of the ground ball and a wild pitch. Ling was almost out of the frame on an infield roller, but a delayed throw put it on the scoreboard as an RBI base hit. #18 Owen Combs came out to finish the frame with two outs and a runner on first and pitched into a force play at second to end the half.
Combs returned for the 6th and held the Falcons to just a single run off three hits. While the Falcons tied things up, the Hawks were unable to answer as the side struck out.
Taking the reigns for the 7th was #33 Logan Colville, he kept the Falcons at bay with only a walk allowed. The Riverhawks returned to the plate ready to hit, as both Heffler and Steward smacked one-out singles. With runners on first and third, a sac fly to deep right from Green put the Hawks back ahead by a run. While Munoz followed up with another single, the Hawks couldn’t add on any insurance.
Colville came back to the bump for the 8th and tossed a three-up-three-down inning with the first K of his appearance included. Hits from Stagg and Gonzalez gave a spark to the 8th, before Middlemiss smashed a gapper to provide the first RBI of the frame. After Heffler was plunked to load the bags, defensive replacement #19 Luke Krull hit an infield RBI groundout to inflate the lead further. The Hawks then stranded a trio, but were up enough to put some safety on the board for closer #59 Christian Garcia. starting off with a swinging strikeout. A walk was followed by a sliding play at short by Munoz and another swinging strikeout to cap off the sweep, and a save for Garcia.
The Riverhawks’ season continues on the road into August. A trip to Kamloops is followed by a rematch against the Falcons in Kelowna. The regular season wraps up in Bellingham with a Mon/Tue/Wed series. The 2026 WCL Postseason starts on August 7, with the second round on August 11 and Finals on August 13. Follow along at @EdmRiverhawks online and at wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv.