April 2, 2026

Friesen & Webber-Kitching take home league Hitter & Pitcher of the week as Hawks take the series on the island

VICTORIA,BC- Runs were as plentiful as the liquid sunshine this weekend in Victoria as the visiting Edmonton Collegiate Hawks took three of four Canadian Collegiate Baseball Conference games with the host Golden Tide. After splitting their games on Saturday (Mar 28), the Hawks swept a Sunday (Mar 29) twin bill with the host team. The games Sunday featured lengthy delays due to rain. In the four tilts, Edmonton scored a whopping 57 runs to Victoria’s 35. Those 57 runs is a new franchise record for a single weekend series. The scores Saturday were 10-9 for Victoria before Edmonton rebounded with a 14-4 victory and won both ends of the double dip on Sunday: 20-9 and 14-7. The three victories improved the Collegiate Hawks record to 5 and 3 on the season. Victoria fell to 1 and 7. SERIES SUMMARY: Game 1: Saturday March 28, 2026-Victoria Collegiate 10 Edmonton 9 at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park The Collegiate Hawks scored five times in the top of the first inning and led 8-0 after six. They had 11 hits in the ball game but gave up five runs in the bottom of the eighth. The winning run came when Victoria’s #8 Breydan Riecker doubled to score #27 Tyson Dmytenko off losing pitcher #25 Nick Backstrom. Backstrom was the fifth Edmonton pitcher. He went two thirds of an inning giving up one run on two hits. Offensively, the Collegiate Hawks were led by #1 Kolby Smith who was 1 for 2 (double) with a run scored. Game 2: Saturday March 28, 2026-Edmonton 14 - Victoria Collegiate 4 at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park The Collegiate Hawks rebounded to take the night cap as they rallied from a 2-1 third inning deficit to score six times in the fifth inning and five more in the sixth inning. #4 Carson Friesen was 1 for 3 with four runs batted in and a run scored. #29 Aldo Rojas and #47 Jake Tanner were both 1 for 3 with three runs batted in. #13 Emerson Ellis was 2 for 3 with three runs scored. The second of two Edmonton pitchers: #41 Ayden Cote picked up the win. The Mayerthorpe, Alberta lefty tossed four innings of relief, giving up two runs on three hits, striking out seven and walking three. Game 3: Sunday, March 29, 2026-Edmonton 20 - Victoria Collegiate 9 at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park In a long, rain delayed marred contest, the big inning for the Collegiate Hawks was the fifth when they sent 15 men to the plate, scoring 11 runs on six hits. Friesen led the way with an RBI single and a three run homer in that inning. He wound up going 6 for 6 with four runs scored and 12 runs batted in. Friesen had a three-run single in the seventh and a two run double in the eighth. # 16 Jace Daku was 3 for 5 with a run scored and a run batted in. #24 Jake Roggensack was 0 for 3 with two runs batted in and a run scored. Reliever #38 Kallan Taylor-Gagne came on in the fourth inning and earned the victory replacing starter #5 Sam Honke. Honke gave up seven runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking three in three and two thirds innings. Taylor-Gagne was the second of three Edmonton pitchers. Game 4: Sunday, March 29, 2026-Edmonton 14_Victoria 7_at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park The Collegiate Hawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead after a half inning. The Golden Tide cut the deficit to a single run (3-2) in their first at-bats. Edmonton scored twice in the fourth to regain the lead at 5-2 before Victoria scored three in the bottom of the fourth to tie it up. They took a 4-3 lead before the Hawks scored a single in the sixth, added two in the seventh and three more in both the eighth and ninth innings en route to the victory. #55 Caeden Colford was 3 for 6 with three runs scored and three runs batted in. Two of the three RBI’s came on a two-run shot in the top of the ninth inning. #18 Simon Virostek was 2 for 5 with a run batted in and a run scored. Daku was 2 for 5 with three runs scored. #2 Colby Tessier and Tanner were 1 for 4 with a run scored a piece. Tanner added a RBI. Geisler was 1 for 2 with two runs scored for Edmonton. #12 Riley Starko, the fourth Collegiate Hawk pitcher in the contest picked up the victory. He pitched the last three innings, giving up a run on one hit, striking out three and walking three. COMMENTS FROM COACH JAKE LANFERMAN: “I thought our offense was consistent and very difficult to stop. We were very selective with our approach: Carson Friesen had an outstanding weekend (going 6 for 6 in game three with 12 RBI—a new ECH record for hits, RBI and home runs in a single game (2)). On Rain Delay: “ The rain was inconvenient and made it difficult for the pitchers altogether . But that is common for baseball in Canada at this time of year. I thought our compete was strong despite the weather.” NEXT UP FOR THE COLLEGIATE HAWKS: The Hawks are slated to play their regular season date of 2026 next weekend at RE/MAX Field as they will host the Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs of Lethbridge, AB on Saturday April 4th and Sunday April 5th. But, because of the inclement weather, these games are being moved to Spitz Stadium, the home of the Dawgs. Opening pitch Saturday is 2 PM and 5 PM MDT. Sunday’s games start at 11 AM and 2 PM MDT. The Hawks will be the home team for these contests. Historically, PBA has won 17 of 24 lifetime encounters with the Collegiate Hawks. The teams last played a CCBC regular season contests was May 10,2025 in Lethbridge, Where the Dawgs swept a doubleheader by scores of 5-3 and 17-0. The teams split the last time they played in Edmonton (May 1st and 2nd, 2025). The Collegiate Hawks won the first game 6-3 and the last one 5-4. In the first victory, the Collegiate Hawks had 10 hits. #8 Matt Risdale was the winning pitcher going eight innings, striking out three. # 19 Jacob Mirault was three for three with a run scored. Daku was two for four with a run scored and a run batted in. In the last game, Edmonton rallied from a 4-0 deficit after three and a half innings. Daku, Tanner and Colford each had runs batted in.