Riverhawks Can’t Get Past Nanaimo’s Early Lead
2025-07-05
NightOwls even the series with a 3-1 win over Edmonton
Box ScoreBy Cody F. Schmidt
The Edmonton Riverhawks battled with the Nanaimo NightOwls all the way to the bottom of the 9th, but the away team prevailed 3-1. Despite a few late chances to try and get ahead, Nanaimo pitching continued to best Edmonton batting.
While the Hawks were able to collect a smattering of hits and walks across the first half of the game, nothing amounted to get any Riverhawk past second base. Finally, in the 6th #48 Max Stagg got plunked to lead off the inning, followed by a fast walk to #35 Trent Lenihan. A fly to right field from #32 Jason Green let Stagg move up a base, then a sacrifice fly from #4 Jaxon Fox got the Hawks their first and only run of the game.
More action in the 7th as #5 Anthony Kodama dribbled a bunt in front of the plate and managed to beat out the pitcher’s toss to first. #42 Drew Veatch followed with a solid base hit to left, the a #6 Robert Phelps fielder’s choice retired Veatch but put runners on the corners. A bang-bang play at first retired #1 Shiryu Sato and prevented the Riverhawks from scoring as the double play ended the frame. In the 8th, the Hawks had another chance as both Lenihan and Fox hit singles with a fielder’s choice in between, but a high pop-up to the NightOwls pitcher ended the frame stranding them both.
It was a fast first inning for Riverhawks starter #41 James Brock, who had a 1-2-3 first inning. Nanaimo took off in the second against Brock, as they hit a pair of doubles and had a catching error allow another to score. It looked like Brock may be up against it again in the 3rd, with the bases loaded from a single, walk, and HBP, but a clutch strikeout and a 6-4-3 double play let James escape the jam without adding onto Nanaimo’s score. Brock locked back in from the 4th onward, retiring nine batters in a row before a double landed near the warning track. Aside from a tough 2nd, it was a solid start for Brock, as his line finishes 6.0 IP, 5H, 1BB, 2ER, 4Ks.
#8 Matthew Ridsdale tossed the 7th, and had a sterling 1-2-3 inning with a swinging K. It was #31 Riley Barrett for the 8th, tossing a similarly stellar 3-up-3-down frame. Barrett returned for the 9th and started with a strikeout, before inducing a pair of fly outs for another clean inning.
It was a K-Days Carnival at the ballpark, complete with stilt walkers, clowns, and even a grizzled old prospector. The 4985 fans that cheered on the Riverhawks tonight also walked away with a free ticket to a night of K-Days later this month!
The series finishes tomorrow night with a 1:05pm MDT rubber match. Come down to RE/MAX Field as Kids Take Over and stay after the game for Player Card Sunday presented by Save-On-Foods.
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.