Another 10th Inning Comeback Win For Edmonton!

2024-06-22

The surprise series-winner keeps the Hawks in the playoff hunt

By Cody F. Schmidt

After spending nearly the entire game behind on runs, the Edmonton Riverhawks pulled off their second extra-inning comeback of the road trip to extend the woes of the Kamloops NorthPaws. Moving to a 13-7 record and securing their fifth series win of the season, the Riverhawks struck in the 8th, 9th, and 10th with a trio of two-out rallies to come together and steal back a 6-5 win.

An unorthodox way to plate the winning run, #47 Will Vasseur walked to leadoff the 10th inning. #6 Taichi Nakao then sac bunted to move him into scoring position, and a passed ball was all it took for Vasseur to run home and put the Hawks over the top

Tightening the game in the 8th, both #5 Bryce McFeely and #54 Sam Kane were walked and stole bags allowing #26 Russell Young to hit a crash single into right field and pick up a pair of RBI. Gifting another run in the 8th, the Paws walked the bases loaded then plunked #36 Jakob Poturnak to make it a one-run game for Edmonton. Kicking off the upset in the 9th, #15 Jonny McGill earned his first hit of the night with a stand up double, smashing the ball to the far corner in left. After pinch runner #1 Kaden Zarowny came onto the paths, McFeelymoved him up with a fly to right, then Kanesent him home with a double that made it past a diving fielder in centre-left and tied the game 5-5.

Pitching in the bottom of 9th to stay alive, #27 Brendan Loeppky gave up a scary leadoff single, but a shallow fly out and a checked-swing strikeout led to the third Riverhawks error. A missed pick on a routine roller to second let the go-ahead run make it into scoring position. Thankfully Loeppky came back with his second swinging K to send the game into extras. Returning for the 10th, Loeppky tossed a three-up-three-down burner and secured the comeback victory.

#35 Trent Lenihan came inches from a home run, but instead had to settle for an RBI triple in the 3rd as he scored #6 Taichi Nakao who was a leadoff hit batter. Lenihan screamed around the bases to end up at third, as the NorthPaws right fielder battled a wind-assisted ball that was only 91mph off the bat.

#33 Halen Knoll had a couple tricky spots early with his control being a little looser than normal. Still sharp for strikeouts, Knoll got four swinging Ks in his first 3 frames but also had a pair of walks and a couple wild tosses. What really stung Knoll were a pair of fielding error that both resulted in Kamloops runs. In the 2nd a toss to second base sailed into the back of a runner spoiling the Hawks chance at a potential double play. In the 3rd, what should have been a simple inning ending ground out instead stood as an E6 as the ball couldn’t be fielded properly near the mound. As both innings were extended the NorthPaws were able to score four, though none of those runs would be charged to Knoll’s record. Halen was able to quiet down the NorthPaws through the middle innings, giving out just a pair of walks in the 4th and 5th. Knoll would finish with 5 Ks, all swinging, and manage to reduce his ERA despite Kamloops racking up runs in his 5.0 inning, 94 pitch start.

In the 6th the Hawks turned to #24 Reece Devlin to take over. A single and double came back to burn Devlin for a run on a sac fly in the 6th, then he only gave out a walk in the 7th and escaped the inning unscathed. Facing the team he tossed for last season, #43 Rory Lampe came in for the 8th and was just tagged with a walk and single before a double play shut the door.

Sadly, being snapped tonight wasPoturnak’s 15-game hitting streak, his first hitless game since June 1. Reaching on a hit-by-pitch, he does keep an active on-base streak alive.

The Riverhawks have just one more game to play against Kamloops tomorrow afternoon at 2:35MST before they head home on a Monday travel day. Returning to RE/MAX Field on Tuesday June 25th, the Hawks welcome the Bellingham Bells for a mid-week set, and the kickoff of another home stand full of wild parties and promotions. See what’s coming here, then grab your seats at gohawks.ca/tickets.

Photo credit - Allen Douglas Photography and the Kamloops NorthPaws