Night Owls

When news broke Saturday of the far-too-soon passing of the greatest base stealer the game has ever known — and likely will ever know — Heimueller was stunned, and saddened.

“I heard from a friend of Rickey’s, who had heard from (former MLB pitcher) Dave Stewart — this is a big blow for the baseball world, like Pete Rose a few months ago,” said Heimueller, who will be pitching coach again for the NightOwls again in 2025, the only pitching staff leader the West Coast League team has known since debuting at historic Serauxmen Stadium in 2022. This season will mark 49 years in the game for Heimueller, one of the most-respected people in all of baseball.

“I loved Rickey — but I loved everyone, I was in the big leagues. I got to play with Rickey and Joe Morgan, two Hall of Famers, it’s hard to believe they are both gone. Rickey looked like he was doing well and healthy. Very sad news.”

Henderson, who would’ve turned 66 on Christmas Day, passed away Friday, a surprise to everyone as he had appeared to be in good health. Initial reports indicated a bout of pneumonia claimed the Hall of Famer, who played with nine teams over 25 years and stole 1,406 bases. Canadian baseball fans will recall his short time with the Blue Jays in 1993, helping Toronto win its second consecutive World Series.

“The best part of playing with him was knowing I didn’t have to face him,” said Heimueller.

“My first game, he made a catch up against the wall — really good catch. People think of the stolen bases but look at all the home runs he hit. He was also unique as not many guys are right-handed hitters and then throw left-handed, very rare in the game. He was one of the more confident players I ever played with — and Rickey talked about Rickey, he had his ways about him that you never forget, that was the way he talked.

“That first game, in Baltimore, he’s leading off — I’m thinking this is pretty cool, and I’m the starting pitcher. I knew I was in the big leagues right there.”

With five members of last summer’s roster already lined up to return to historic Serauxmen Stadium for the 2025 season (Ryder Florence, Cole Carmichael, Richtter Castillo, Moosa Nonomiya and all-star starting pitcher Adison Mattix), first-year Head Coach Cody Andreychuk is pleased to have the WCL experience of pitcher David Stewart and outfielder Alessandro Volpe — who also happen to be Canadian.

Righthander Drew Lenehan, from New Brunswick, is the third Canadian in this group of signings, a hard-thrower with experience as a summer baseball starting pitcher with Lethbridge of the Western Canada League.

“We feel like we will have a leadership group that can help us bond faster and be up to the WCL pace of play right from the start, with guys who know the ins and outs of the league,” said Andreychuk, himself a former WCL player. “David’s character is something the organization picked up on right from the start, and more college experience from Alessandro will bring him to a new level in Nanaimo. Drew is excited to take a step forward this coming summer and gives us depth in our plans for a starting rotation.”

Volpe, from Toronto, used his family heritage to represent Italy in a recent international showcase in Florida. He played the final three weeks of the 2024 season in Nanaimo.

Switch-hitting catcher Nate Davis of Everett CC was previously with the Ducks at the University of Oregon, a strong defensive catcher with pop in his bat, while teammate Talan Zenk is a spark plug, a physical player who can handle a multitude of positions.

Alex Hill is a huge presence on the mound at 6-5/240, a prototype power arm who projects as another bullpen shutdown option for Pitching Coach Gorm Heimueller.

Lenehan made nine starts in the summer of 2024, striking out more than a batter per inning. Stewart was used as a lefty specialist in 2024 by Heimueller, making 11 appearances and under the pitching coach’s guidance he cut down on walks, not issuing a free pass in his last four outings.

Team signings will continue into January and February as Coach Andreychuk prepares for the fourth season of NightOwls baseball at Serauxmen Stadium.

All-star Adison Mattix will be back for a third season with the Nanaimo NightOwls. The right-hander from Everett CC made a team-high 10 starts in 2024 and was the only player from the NWAC college baseball conference to be named to the WCL all-star game, where he helped the North Division to victory.

The happiest person with this news is legendary NightOwls pitching coach Gorm Heimueller — and Heimueller’s presence on the staff of new head coach Cody Andreychuk is a major reason Mattix will be spending a third summer with the program in Nanaimo.

Mattix, a power right-hander at 6-4/200, was 1-2 with a 3.04 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 41.1 innings in 2024. He gave up just 30 hits and two doubles. He was a reliever, making nine appearances, in 2023, striking out 15 batters in 16 innings.

The highlight start in 2024 was an 11-strikeout effort over six innings in a 8-1 home win vs. Kamloops on June 25, that made him the league leader in strikeouts at that point. He gave up three hits and no walks or runs.

Head Coach Cody Andreychuk, a local product entering his first year at the helm of the Nanaimo NightOwls, is pleased to announce the signing of five players for the 2025 duty. Three are returnees from the 2024 squad, two are Mid-Island Pirates graduates.

All five players are at the junior college level, with previous announcements featuring mostly NCAA D1 scholarship athletes.

Nonomiya, from Japan but whose mom is Pakistani, recently was the starting pitcher and hit a home run for Pakistan to win the final of the Arabic region tournament. In the summer of 2024, he made seven appearances as a pitcher — three of those as the starter.

Florence, as a graduating high school player, saw action in 25 games last summer and drove in seven runs, playing strong defence. Known for his big arm from the left side of the infield, and an instinctual baserunner, he was an offensive catalyst in high school and has carried that to Scottsdale.

Carmichael, a Swiss Army Knife for the NightOwls in 2024, is being used primarily as a right-handed reliever at ELAC this season, but can still play nearly every position and run the bases, providing a hard-throwing bullpen option for pitching coach Gorm Heimueller, and giving Andreychuk the ability to make moves in the last half of the game. Carmichael has the nickname ‘Cowboy’ because he has competed in junior NFR events — and is a real glue guy with teammates. Carmichael made five pitching appearances in 2024, and batted .195 with a couple of doubles and three stolen bases in limited action.

Cathers spent time with the Canadian national junior team and the power hitting outfielder has made a good first impression at Cloud County.

Laukkanen, whose brother Josh was on the inaugural NightOwls team in 2022, was with the NightOwls for a few days in 2024 prior to setting foot on a college campus. Lucas left the team to stay at a lower level with less competition for playing time. Lucas has plans on being starting shortstop this spring at Cloud County.

Both Cathers and Laukkanen played in the Futures Showcase put on by the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Season tickets and 10pks are available now by emailing GM Tina Cornett, tina@nanaimonightowls.com, and tickets and merchandise make great Christmas gifts — nanaimonightowls.com to find the Team Shop.

The Victoria HarbourCats and Nanaimo NightOwls, of baseball’s West Coast League, and the Vancouver Island Soccer League, have entered into a strategic partnership intended to assist the entities in growing grassroots sports and improving facilities on Vancouver Island.

The VISL provides programming and championships on the Island and leads leagues which give the best soccer players an avenue to play the sport for life. Championships such as the Jackson Cup, with many finals played at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, serve as the crown jewel of the VISL.

More than 6,000 participants are involved with the VISL — sports fans, who will keep track of the Island’s top baseball programs, the HarbourCats and NightOwls, who combined to draw more than 100,000 spectators in 2024.

The baseball teams and VISL will jointly promote each others’ schedules, and provide opportunities for youth participation.

Wirthgen has MLB bloodlines as the nephew of former MLB slugger and manager Phil Nevin, the first overall pick in the 1992 draft who played for six teams and hit 41 home runs for the Padres in 2001 as part of a 1,200-game career. A strong defensive catcher with power potential, Wirthgen played in the Alaska summer league in 2024.

Teper, also from D1 powerhouse Cal Baptist, is an aviation major who plans to fly planes once his days in pro baseball are over. The lefty will be counted on in key situations this summer, and made 11 appearances, including three starts, in the Alaska league in 2024.

Three players will arrive from the University of Pikeville, where they play for new NightOwls coach Cody Andreychuk — including returning lefty Richtter Castillo, a Venezuelan fan favorite who pitches with a lot of emotion and did strong work out of the bullpen for pitching coach Gorm Heimueller in 2024. Castillo was 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 12 innings.

Shaye McTavish, a Canadian addition from Lethbridge, has been a starter at UPike and in the Western Canada summer league. Schultz, another power arm from Lethbridge, has summer experience in the WCBL in Swift Current and is developing into a high leverage righty for Andreychuk.

Season tickets and 10packs are available for 2025 and information can be found by emailing GM Tina Cornett — tina@nanaimonightowls.com

The NightOwls will open at home in 2025, on Friday, May 30, vs. the Bellingham Bells, the start of a three-game series at historic Serauxmen Stadium that continues with games Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

The team again plans a Canada Day fireworks show on the evening of July 1, with the arch rival Victoria HarbourCats as the opposition.

General Manager Tina Cornett and staff are already working on promotional dates that will span the entire season, giving extra reasons for fans to enjoy the sunshine, the down-home concessions and the outstanding baseball played in the WCL.

The NightOwls will play 27 road games, 27 regular season home games, and no fewer than five additional home games against non-league opponents, including the Caged Athletics Selects — a home city series that has been popular since the start of the NightOwls, with games on either side of the WCL all-star game.

Nanaimo’s fabled park will see visits from Bellingham, Victoria, Kelowna, Kamloops, Port Angeles, Wenatchee, and the first-ever visit by the South Division powerhouse Corvallis Knights.

The regionalized WCL schedule NightOwls will make road trips to division rivals Victoria, Bellingham, Kamloops, Kelowna, Edmonton, Wenatchee and Port Angeles.

May 30th: Bellingham Bells – HOME
May 31st: Bellingham Bells – HOME
June 1st: Bellingham Bells – HOME
June 3rd: Port Angeles Lefties – AWAY
June 4th: Port Angeles Lefties – AWAY
June 5th: Port Angeles Lefties – AWAY
June 6th: Wenatchee AppleSox – HOME
June 7th: Wenatchee AppleSox – HOME
June 8th: Wenatchee AppleSox – HOME
June 10th: Victoria HarbourCats – HOME
June 11th: Victoria HarbourCats – HOME
June 12th: Victoria HarbourCats – AWAY
June 13th: Kelowna Falcons – AWAY
June 14th: Kelowna Falcons – AWAY
June 15th: Kelowna Falcons – AWAY
June 17th: Victoria HarbourCats – AWAY
June 18th: Victoria HarbourCats – AWAY
June 19th: Victoria HarbourCats – AWAY
June 20th: Port Angeles Lefties – HOME
June 21st: Port Angeles Lefties – HOME
June 22nd: Port Angeles Lefties – HOME
June 27th: Edmonton Riverhawks – HOME
June 28th: Edmonton Riverhawks – HOME
June 29th: Edmonton Riverhawks – HOME
July 1st: Victoria HarbourCats – HOME
July 2nd: Victoria HarbourCats – AWAY
July 3rd: Victoria HarbourCats – AWAY
July 4th: Edmonton Riverhawks – AWAY
July 5th: Edmonton Riverhawks – AWAY
July 6th: Edmonton Riverhawks – AWAY
July 8th: Kelowna Falcons – HOME
July 9th: Kelowna Falcons – HOME
July 10th: Kelowna Falcons – HOME
July 11th: Wenatchee AppleSox – HOME
July 12th: Wenatchee AppleSox – HOME
July 13th: Wenatchee AppleSox – HOME
July 18th: Wenatchee AppleSox – AWAY
July 19th: Wenatchee AppleSox – AWAY
July 20th: Wenatchee AppleSox – AWAY
July 22nd: Corvallis Knights – HOME
July 23rd: Corvallis Knights – HOME
July 24th: Corvallis Knights – HOME
July 25th: Kamloops NorthPaws – AWAY
July 26th: Kamloops NorthPaws – AWAY
July 27th: Kamloops NorthPaws – AWAY
July 29th: Edmonton Riverhawks – AWAY
July 30th: Edmonton Riverhawks – AWAY
July 31st: Edmonton Riverhawks – AWAY
Aug 1st: Kamloops NorthPaws – HOME
Aug 2nd: Kamloops NorthPaws – HOME
Aug 3rd: Kamloops NorthPaws – HOME
Aug 4th: Bellingham Bells – AWAY
Aug 5th: Bellingham Bells – AWAY
Aug 6th: Bellingham Bells – AWAY

Anthony Houk, 24, is the new Assistant Coach. The former college infielder, from Mount Vernon, Kentucky, is on the University of Pikeville staff with Andreychuk, the local product who is returning home to lead the NightOwls after last week’s announcements.

Hailing from Mount Vernon, KY by way of Rockcastle County High School, Houk was a four-year member of UPIKE baseball starting as a freshman in the 2019 season. In his freshman season, Houk played in 42 games, clubbing 42 hits and 41 RBIs. His opening season performance earned him Mid-South Conference Freshman of the Year. In his senior campaign, Houk hit 14 RBIs and scored eight runs in 56 at-bats. He notched 70 hits overall in his career

Righthanded pitcher Moosa Nonomiya, a 2024 Owl from Skagit Valley College, is a Japanese resident but his grandmother was from Pakistan, so he is going to be playing for Pakistan in Dubai in November at the Baseball United Arab Classic.

The tournament features nine teams, including India, Palestine, UAE and Pakistan, and is the top competitive event in the history of the Middle East and South Asia.

Nonomiya is also an outfielder for Skagit. Last summer, he started three games and made seven appearances in his 13.2 innings of work — and he has added velocity this fall after strong developmental work with NightOwls pitching coach Gorm Heimueller.