Hawks Have Big Innings Late to Beat NightOwls 5-1
2025-07-29
Strong pitching kept the RIverhawks alive until they surged into the lead in the last frames
Box ScoreBy Cody F. Schmidt
In front of a record-setting 7108 person regular weekday crowd, the Edmonton Riverhawks waited until the late innings before an offensive spark put them ahead of the Nanaimo NightOwls. The 5-1 win was carried by strong pitching, with starter Matt Ridsdale making his longest appearance of the year, and the staff combining to shut the Owls down from the 3rd through the 9th.
The win helps the Riverhawks’ playoff chances as they stay competitive with the Victoria HarbourCats for the second half north division crown. Now 27-18 on the season, the Hawks have a chance to surpass last year’s 32-22 best-ever record!
Only managing a single hit until the 6th inning, the Hawks woke up a bit with a two-out base knock from #16 Kyle Yip. After Yip beat out the throw to first, #48 Max Stagg watched a quartet of balls float in for a walk. #35 Trent Lenihan broke the Hawks onto the scoreboard with an RBI base hit to left field, that would score Yip and tie the game.
The Hawks took the lead in the 7th, as #1 Shiryu Sato singled to lead off the inning but was replaced by #36 Mitchell Middlemiss from a fielder’s choice. Middlemiss would steal second and get to third on a groundout before #13 Grant Yzermans would send him home with a line dive to centre field.
Not content with the one-run lead, the Hawks were back at it in the 8th as Stagg smacked a hit right up the middle before being able to get to second on a passed ball. Lenihan got his second RBI of the night thanks to his own centre single to score Stagg. The rally continued as After #32 Jason Green walked, Sato and Middlemiss would hit back-to-back singles scoring a pair to make it a 5-1 game.
The NightOwls got back-to back singles off of Edmonton starter #8 Matthew Ridsdale to begin the 1st. A sac fly would contribute a run to the scoreboard, but Ridsdale was able to shut down Nanaimo for the rest of the frame. A quieter 2nd followed, though Ridsdale was beat out in a race to first base for another hit. Ridsdale continued to toss effectively through the next innings, allowing only a single between the 3rd and 6th and retiring his last eleven batters in a row. The 6.0 frames pitched by Ridsdale are a new season high, and he held the Owls to just four hits and a single run. Matt didn’t walk any batters, and struck out a pair.
Taking over in the 7th was #21 Myles Chamberlain, who continued the hitless innings to make it a 1-2-3 frame. Chamberlain did it again in the 8th, with another perfect inning and a pair of strikeouts to boot. Finishing off the game, #40 Reece Allensworth retired the side to win the game. The only walk from Hawks pitching came with two outs in the 9th, breaking a streak of 19 NightOwls retired in a row.
The series continues tomorrow night at 7:05pm, as we party through the final home stand of the 2025 season. It’ll be Adam Sandler Night and there will be a post-game dodgeball fight on the field! It’s a beautiful week for baseball, so come see the Hawks before they fly the coop for the autumn!
Head over to tickets.gohawks.ca to grab yourself a seat for the next home games. 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 riverhawksbaseball.com.