Opening night win for Kelowna Falcons

The Kelowna Falcons started the season on the right foot and won their opening night game at Elks Stadium to the tune of 5-1 over the Port Angeles Lefties. They were playing the West Coast League’s newest franchise in the Lefties, who have started their season 0-2.

It was a night for some Canadian players, as starting pitcher Niall Windeler, first baseman Trevor Lofstrom and right fielder Lucas Soper all had standout moments. Soper and Lofstrom were instrumental in the offense, each recording an RBI double.

The Falcons were also extremely aggressive in base running, which prompted multiple steals on the night. Manager Bryan Donohue, who coaches the Mt. Hood Saints during the year, was happy with the effort displayed by his team.

Donohue was happy to get off on the right foot this season. He said, “I’m happy to start off the season with a win in front of all these people. I think we’re going to be a lot more offensive than we were last year.”

He was extremely happy with Windeler, the lefty who hails from Toronto, Ontario. He said, “What a great job by our starter. He found ways to get himself out of some jams. Getting a quality start like that can be the difference. A couple times they got into some scoring position and we were able to stop it.”

Donohue was also impressed by the play of DJ Daniels, the left fielder from Lynn University and by Chris Diehl, the catcher. He also made sure to point out the contributions of the aforementioned Loftstrom and Soper, who he described as having “some big thunder in the middle of the lineup.”

The Mt. Hood coach is also confident that the Falcons will get better and bring home more runs as they develop chemistry and learn how to play with each other.

The Falcons and Lefties will renew hostilities tomorrow night when the two clubs meet again. It’s an interesting start to the year, as Kelowna and Port Angeles will be playing each other six straight times. The first three will take place in Kelowna with the following three in Port Angeles at the beautiful Civic Field.

It was a great start for the Falcons, who will look to continue their winning ways throughout the season.

Falcons play by play and recaps provided by Anthony Fusco.