March 23, 2026

Hawks Open 2026 CCBC Season Going .500

ABBOTSFORD, BC-The Edmonton Collegiate Hawks are off and running as the 2026 Canadian Collegiate Baseball Conference regular season kicked off. Playing four games in Abbotsford, BC against the University of Fraser Valley Cascades, the Hawks won twice and lost twice.On Sunday, the Hawks edged by the Cascades 7-6. Both teams finished 2 and 2 after the first weekend.“We played a really competitive series against a perennial contender in UFV,” stated Hawks head coach Jake Lanferman. “With the lack of time we’ve had as a team on the field (in comparison to UFV), I thought we came together and played for each other. It was exciting to see us compete against one of the best programs and I think we have a lot to look forward to for next weekend.” SERIES SUMMARY:Game 1-Friday, March 20, 2026 Edmonton 11 UFV 5 at McLeod Athletic Park.The Collegiate Hawks kicked off the regular season on a positive note as they scored 11 times on 11 hits. Fraser Valley had five runs on 10 hits and three errors. Edmonton scored five runs in the fourth, two in the fifth, and added single runs in the seventh and eighth innings. #16 Jace Daku was 1 for 2 with two runs batted in for Edmonton. #4 Carson Friesen was 3 for 4 with two runs scored and a run batted in. #50 Lucas Webber-Kitching was the winner going four and two thirds, on a six-hitter striking out seven. #16 Logan McNamera, the second of four Cascades pitchers was the losing pitcher. He surrendered five runs on three hits and walked four. Game 2-Saturday, March 21, 2026-UFV 3 Edmonton 2 at McLeod Athletic Park.Fraser Valley jumped out to a 2-0 lead scoring single runs in the first and second inning. The Collegiate Hawks tied things up with two runs of their own in the top of the fourth before the Cascades #3 Logan Rogers led off the inning with a double and scored on an RBI single off the bat of #36 Devon Pennington. Pennington was 1 for 4 in the ball game with a run batted in. #55 Keegan Drinkle was 3 for 4 with a run batted in. For Edmonton, #55 Caeden Colford was 1 for 3 with two runs batted in. Both those RBI’s coming on a home run . #15 Emerson Selby was 2 for 4. Collegiate Hawk starter # 5 Sam Honke was the losing pitcher. He went four innings giving up six hits, three runs, walking two and striking out two. # 51 Matthew Picheniuk earned the win for the Cascades. He tossed five innings of three hit ball, giving up two runs and striking out five.Game 3-Saturday, March 21, 2026-UFV 11 Edmonton 3 at McLeod Athletic Park. Edmonton Collegiate rallied from a 2-0 deficit by scoring two runs in the top half of the fourth inning. But, Fraser Valley pushed the go ahead run across in the bottom the fourth and added five more in the sixth and three in the eighth inning. The Hawks added one more run in the top of the ninth when #11 Lucas Geisler hit a solo shot over the wall in right field for his first homer of the season. Geisler was 1 for 1 with an RBI. #10 Aldo Rojas was 1 for 3 with a run scored. Colford was 1 for 4. #24 Jake Roggensak went 2 for 3 at the plate. #25 Nick Backstrom, the second of five ECH pitchers picked up the loss. He went two and two thirds innings, giving up three hits, four runs, walking one and striking out one. #12 Eli McQueenpicked up the win. He pitched five innings of two hit ball, giving up two runs, striking out four and walking four. #8 Brady Dorwart was 2 for 5 with a run scored and three runs batted in.Game 4-Sunday, March 22, 2026- Edmonton 7 UFV 6 at McLeod Athletic Park. The Collegiate Hawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead after half an inning (thanks in part from a Friesen homer) but gave up three in the bottom half of the first. Edmonton went up 4-3 scoring in the top of the second-one of those runs a homer off the bat of Geisler. But UFV added two runs in the sixth to move ahead 5-4. The Collegiate Hawks added three more runs in their half of the seventh before giving up a single run in the bottom half of that inning. #45 Donovan Wallace was the winner in relief. He pitched four innings giving up three runs, four hits, striking out four and walking two. Offensively, #47 Jake Tanner was 2 for 4 with two runs scored. #1 Kolby Smith was 3 for 6a with a run scored and a run batted in. Geisler wound up 2 for 4 with the one RBI from his homer. Pennington was 2 for 3 with two runs batted in and a run scored for Fraser Valley. # 3 Carson Chanwas 1 for 4 with three runs batted in. The third of six UFV pitchers, #66 Joel Davidson was tagged with the loss. He gave up three runs and walked one before being pulled. MORE COMMENTS FROM COACH JAKE LANFERMAN:“When our pitchers worked ahead and threw strikes, it allowed our defense to stay engaged and be effective for us. I thought we took care of the baseball in the field. We struggled to produce quality at-bats with runners on in multiple spots to give us insurance in tight games—something we’ll work on and continue to emphasize. Overall, very proud of our performance against a team of that caliber to open the season.”Biggest surprise of weekend 1? “Our ability to hit for power. We hit four home runs (Geisler (2), Colford, Friesen) one of our best offensive outputs by this program in the first series of the year. Something that should be fun to watch as the season progresses.” NEXT UP FOR THE COLLEGIATE HAWKS:The Collegiate Hawks return home but will fly to Vancouver Island to meet Victoria Collegiate in a four-game series March 28th and 29th. Doubleheaders are set for 4 PM and 7 PM PDT on Saturday and Noon and 3 PM PDT on the Sunday. Victoria Collegiate were swept this weekend by Thompson Rivers University.Edmonton’s home opener is set for April 4th and 5th at RE/MAX Field when the Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs of Lethbridge pay a visit. Opening pitches on Saturday April 4th are 2 PM and 5 PM MDT.‍