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The Kelowna Falcons return to the baseball field this weekend to open the 2024 season, taking on the Nanaimo Night Owls on Friday night at Elks Stadium.
After making the playoffs in 2023, the team hopes to win again and end the season with a championship.
“Playoff baseball is a different kind,” said Treda Field, a returning outfielder from Houston, Texas.
“It feels really different because you know your season could end at any time. Every game feels more meaningful than the last game of the regular season, so getting that taste and being able to really build on it and knowing what that feeling is like, it pushes you to get there again because like I said, there’s nothing better than playoff baseball.”
The Falcons believe that a winning team requires a deep pitching rotation and spend a significant portion of the offseason recruiting pitching talent from across North America.
Texas seems to be a lucky place for the Falcons recruiting class this year, bringing in nearly 20 different players who can pitch, hit home runs, and play with class.
Head coach Doug North is excited to get on the field this week with the team and its new additions, keeping an eye on some of the rookies while hoping to see the returning players improve during the offseason.
“A lot of them are pitchers, so we got some good pitchers, which is hard to find in summer league. I think we’re happy with the pitchers we got, we’re happy with the position guys we have here, and hopefully they can gel quickly,” North said.
While pitching appears to be the team’s strength this season, returning player Trey Duffield will hope to help the Falcons win more games with his strong hitting abilities.
“If you don’t get the ball in the field, you can’t hit it hard, so my best goal here this summer is to try to get the ball in the field. If I get the ball in the field, I’m definitely going to hit it harder and I’m going to give myself a better chance and give the team a better chance to score more runs,” Duffield said.
The Kelowna Falcons will host the Nanaimo Nightcats on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and host them again on Saturday and Sunday.
The home opener is free and open to the public, but the team is asking those in attendance to donate items for the Central Okanagan Food Bank.
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