Hawks Bested By Falcons, Evening Out Road Series

2025-06-11

Kelowna gets their third win of the season, Hawks get their third loss

By Cody F. Schmidt

The Edmonton Riverhawks were in trouble in both the top and bottom halves of each inning tonight, as they went down 3-1 to the Kelowna Falcons. The bats were slow to do much of anything, with only three hits and four walks until the 9th inning. Edmonton went through a litany of relief arms, seeing over 2/3 the amount of pitchers used in last week’s 18 inning game as most relievers didn’t see a full inning of work. Thanks to late game heroics, the Hawks avoid being shutout for the first time in the regular season since the final game of 2023.

Through the first half of the game the Hawks were quiet at the plate, #6 Robert Phelps’ 3rd inning single was their first hit of the game. A walk to Phelps followed by a #36 Mitchell Middlemiss single in the 3rd gave the Riverhawks a chance in the 4th, especially with Phelps stealing third base, but they were shut down by an inning-ending strikeout.

The next big chance for Edmonton was in the top of the 7th, as #5 Anthony Kodama was hit by a pitch, then #12 Stevie Waters walked. A double play pushed Kodama to third, but a grounder to short stopped the rally before the Hawks could score.

A last chance at the plate turned out to be Edmonton’s best frame, as Kodama earned a one-out walk, then pinch hitter #28 David Ossanna crashed a double to put both runners in scoring position. Phelps would single for an RBI, then Middlemiss would plate the second run on a sacrifice. The Hawks came close as #16 Kyle Yip was able to leg out an infield single, and put himself and Phelps on the corners, but the game ended a Stagg flew out to right field after making great contact.

It was the second start of the season for Edmonton’s #34 Jesse Kaphing, after going 4.0 innings in the win against Bellingham on June 6. The only major action that Kelowna managed off Jesse in the first 3 innings was a solo shot to lead off the 2nd. The Falcons took a second run off Kaphing in the 4th, as they hit a single and an RBI double to chase him from the game with 3.1 innings complete. Jesse would toss three strikeouts in his start, and allow 4 hits and a walk.

#15 Jack Becker took over in the 4th and completed the inning thanks to a couple of fly outs. Coming in for the 5th was #27 Mitchell Heinrich, who gave up a leadoff double, then shut down the Falcons for a scoreless frame. #7 Hayden Morrison tossed the 6th, getting a first pitch out, but then surrendering back-to-back singles that gave the Falcons another run. Kelowna also stole a trio of bases against Morrison, but were bailed out from #16 Kyle Yip’s toss to third catching the Falcons on their fourth attempt of the frame. A hit batter ended Morrison’s appearance at just 0.2 IP, and #2 Austin Egan would get the last out of the 6th via a K. #24 Reece Devlin would toss the 7th, retiring the Falcons in order with a strikeout. Finishing the the Hawks defensive side, #18 Mason Chamberlain would see a double and a single, but be saved by the outfield for a scoreless 8th.

The Riverhawks will wrap up this series with the Falcons tomorrow night, then head through interior BC to face the Kamloops NorthPaws on Friday. The Hawks will see the Bells again at RE/MAX Field on Tuesday, June 17 to kick off the next home stand.

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.