By Cody F. Schmidt

Sweeping the Kamloops NorthPaws on the road, it was an entirely dominant game by the Edmonton Riverhawks. Scoring in five different innings with a 7-2 finish, the Hawks were carried by starter #32 Vicarte Domingo earning his fourth win of the season. It was another offensive onslaught, with the Hawks spreading the damage out across the whole game. Notching thirteen hits in the ballgame, every batter in the lineup reached base with a hit and the Hawks had the leadoff batter on base for five innings in a row. Finishing the sweep the Riverhawks currently sit 14-7 atop the North Division. The result of tonight’s game between the AppleSox and Sweets will determine if the Hawks lead alone or tied. Unfortunately for the NorthPaws, the sweep extends their losing streak to thirteen games, as they now sit 3-15.

The Riverhawks came alive in the 2nd, getting the game’s first run thanks to connections on three pitches in a row. #15 Bryce McFeely led off the inning with a slap double, then #9 Mahidutt Tabata followed with a single on the next pitch. #49 Noah Konings cracked a sac fly that was plenty deep for McFeely to tag up on. Though the NorthPaws contested McFeely taking off at the right time, the umpires ruled it a successful run and the Hawks held the early lead. NorthPaws defensive struggles helped the Riverhawks in the 3rd, as after a one-out walk to #47 William Vasseur, a missed pickoff sent him running to second. Then, after #15 Jonny McGill singled he would take off on the next pitch to steal second. A bad toss from the Kamloops catcher sent the ball into the infield and let Vasseur stroll home uncontested.

Konings, #51 Royce Hale, and #53 Jack Giordano went back-to-back-to-back with singles in the 4th and the trio of base hits added on a third run to the Hawks’ total. The bats were back at it in the 5th, this time Vasseur and McGill had back to back knocks, but the scoring chance didn’t come through as the Paws were able to turn a double play off a fly out to left and a strong throw back into the plate to catch Vasseur running.

Once again aided by a missed pickoff, Hale was walked on four pitches in the 6th then managed to make it to third base on the errant throw. #3 Michael Soper would hit a single up the middle to send Hale home. Not content with the 4-run lead, the Hawks piled on a few more in the 8th, plating three runs off four hits and a walk,

This afternoon Vicarte Domingo was back at the top of his game, tossing 7.0 shutout innings with nine strikeouts and zero walks on 89 pitches. It seemed like he was ready for anything that his former team could throw at him. When Kamloops put a pair on with singles in the 2nd, Vic was able to toss three strikeouts to make the inning seem easy. Domingo cruised through his start, setting down fifteen straight NorthPaws between the 2nd and 7th. Vic becomes the first WCL pitcher to cross the 30 strikeout mark with this game, as he sits alone atop the league. His fourth win also puts Domingo into the top slot for pitching Ws across the WCL.

With a substantial lead in the 8th #28 Michael Nastro took over in relief. An E6 and the first walk issued by the Hawks made it look like things may get hairy, but a timely double play helped calm the inning. The second error in the inning would end up giving the Paws their first run of the game, but Nastro got out of the inning a batter later. Returning for the 9th, the Hawks again had an error that let the Paws get on base. Paired with a couple walks, the Paws snuck in another run on a wild pitch, but Nastro completed the game with his only strikeout.

Done traveling though interior BC for the season, the Riverhawks have tomorrow off to head back home to Edmonton. They take to RE/MAX Field again on Tuesday night for Dino Daze with Telus World of Science, prehistoric pals will take over the park and plenty of fun will ensue while the Hawks face the Bellingham Bells! These beautiful summer nights are perfect for a ballgame so visit gohawks.ca/tickets and come cheer on the Riverhawks!