Kelowna Falcons

Falcons Defeat Bears

The Kelowna Falcons (13-9) defeated the Cowlitz Black Bears (9-10) by a score of 8-2. Kelowna was coming off a road trip that saw them go 3-3 against the Bellingham Bells and the Bend Elks.

The Falcons were actually on the bus for most of the day before the game, and it was a very tired squad that disembarked the big vehicle in the early afternoon. Despite this, the Falcons were able to play some clean defense and were able to flex their offensive muscles.

They scored eight runs in the game with seven of those coming in the bottom of the third. It was a huge offensive outburst that immediately put the game out of reach for the Black Bears. Offensively, the Falcons were led by Ian Dawkins, who recorded a hit and drove home three Kelowna runners.

Multiple Falcons also added to the offense including Alex McGarry, Taylor Wright, Matt Voelzke, Matt Bottcher, Josh Glenn and Connor Gurnik.

The pitching was excellent for Kelowna, as Niall Windeler got his fourth win of the season which puts him in a tie for first in that category. He pitched seven innings, giving up eight hits with one earned run. He also walked one while striking out six along the way.

Manager Bryan Donohue was very pleased with the effort from his starter. He said, “He did a really good job of weathering the storm in a couple of innings. When we needed him make a pitch, he did. Bases loaded, a full count and two outs and Windeler found a way to get the big out.”

Donohue was also impressed with the seven-run third that his team put up. He said, “I thought the guys had good at-bats to get on base. We battled some counts and then found ways to get some free passes on walks. Then the middle of our order was up and that’s why we slotted them there. We laid some bunts down and got guys in position to score. Then our guy in the four slot comes up with a great opportunity and puts the swing on the baseball.”

The team was also traveling through the night and didn’t pull into Kelowna until the early afternoon. Donohue was happy with the effort, despite his team being fatigued. “I told them, any win we can get today is huge. Our travel was a bit compounded with the events and weather of yesterday. I don’t even want to know how many hours we were on the road today.”

With five games remaining in the first half, the Falcons are looking to secure themselves a playoff spot. Donohue commented on that saying, “We have five games left in this first half to try and find a way to get this job done. To come out and get the first win in this series shows that we will do whatever it takes to put pressure on Bellingham. It will be one of those deals where it goes right down to the finish so this was a huge win for us to get things off on the right foot.

The Falcons will go for the series win tomorrow when Cal Hehnke (2-0) takes the mound for Kelowna in game number two.

Falcons Play by Play and Recaps provided by Anthony Fusco.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.