Bullpen Struggles Continue While Bats Stay Hot in Loss

2023-06-23

NightOwls best the Hawks 4-6 in first of four games over the weekend

By Cody F. Schmidt

Tonight the Edmonton Riverhawks took an early lead, and they proceeded to keep their bats swinging throughout the game even if it couldn't amount to a win. Making it the second game in a row losing while outhitting their opponent, the Nanaimo NightOwls came back against the Hawks’ relief pitching to win 4-6.

It took four pitches before the Riverhawks were on the board, as #15 Daniel Calabrese blasted the first pitch of the game to the left field fence for a standing double. #14 Tommy Takayoshi then brought Calabrese home with a single up the middle.

The Hawks kept the pressure on in the 2nd, as #30 Noah Boughton led off the inning with a single, followed by #19 Will Gardner reaching via an infield bunt that wasn’t handled cleanly. #36 Jakob Poturnak had an RBI base hit to score Boughton, then #2 Jack Wheatley hit a fielder’s choice to score Gardner.

In two different innings #10 Jonny McGill led off with a single, then was driven to third by #42 Tom Poole. While neither scored when this sequence happened in the 3rd, the 5th inning went differently with Boughton scoring McGill with a sac fly.

Starter #37 Chas Wheatley pitched 4.2 innings tonight. While the NightOwls were able to score three earned runs against him, Wheatley was able to get out of a few jams and limited the Owls damage. Relief appearances from #44 Brendan Wabick and #29 Jack Bolt had some struggles, allowing a combined three runs over 3.1 innings. These runs ended up giving the NightOwls the edge, as the Riverhawks ran out of room to come back in the back third of the game.

The teams will play two tomorrow, with the Hawks serving as the home team in the first of the pair making up for last Sunday’s rain out. Follow along with every pitch at @RiverhawksGames, and see all Hawks news on social media: Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok