May 25, 2026

Hawks Open World Series Against University of Fraser Valley

EDMONTON, AB—The Edmonton Collegiate Hawks look to build upon a record setting 2026 Canadian Collegiate Baseball League season this week. The Collegiate Hawks will be in Lethbridge, Alberta for the Canadian College World Series. They will take on the University of Fraser Valley Cascades at Spitz Stadium. Opening pitch is Thursday (May 21) at 2:30 PM MDT. Games will be streamed live on www.mapleleafbaseball.ca. Edmonton finished fourth in the CCBC regular season with a franchise high 20-16 record. The Cascades were third with a 22-14 record. These two teams haven’t faced each other since the opening weekend of the regular season. The Collegiate Hawks and the Cascades split the four-game affair March 19-22nd. Edmonton won 11-5 and 7-6, UFV were 3-2 and 11-3 winners. “They had a similar season to us,” states Collegiate Hawks head coach Jake Lanferman. “ Both of us have had an entire season to grow as a team. This could very well be a different matchup than what we had in week one. We are expecting them to throw their ace ( # 39 Kam) Sparrowhawk. He has been throwing a lot of games for them. I believe he was CCBC pitcher of the year in 2025. I really liked our approach against him in game one of that series (11-5 Edmonton victory). We will be looking at charts and trying to find anything that will give us a little advantage against them.” The Cascades have won six of their last ten starts to finish the season. The Collegiate Hawks were 3-7. “It is going to be a dynamic hitting matchup and exciting to see,” the Collegiate Hawk skipper predicts. Individually, Edmonton’s #55 Caedyn Colford set a CCBC record with 12 homers. He was third in RBI with 42. “It means a lot to set the record, he says. “It was cool to achieve but my main focus is helping the team win. “. Colford changed his approach at the plate during the offseason. “It turned doubles into home runs and singles into doubles.” “We need to keep our approach the same,” Colford said about how the Collegiate Hawks should approach the championships. “We need to keep hitting the ball well and throw lots of strikes.” #23 Brayden Morris set a team record with 89 hits. #12 Riley Starko is the new franchise leader with 12 saves. Among the pitchers: #5 Sam Honke was fourth in earned run average at 3.74. #32 Logan Colville was tied for first in the CCBC with five victories. Colville will likely get the start on the mound for Edmonton in the opening contest. Hawks right hander # 50 Lucas Webber-Kitching finished second in the league with 59 strike outs. #25 Nick Backstrom was tied for fourth in that statistical category fanning 47 batters. “It’s a very special group,” Lanferman stated about the Collegiate Hawks success statistically. “In the club house the guys play for each other. To rebound from a very tough 2025 campaign the way they did speaks a lot to this team’s character. They have done an incredible job.” Fraser Valley was led by #55 Keegan Drinkle. Drinkle was the CCBC leader in RBI with 59, was second in batting average at .441 and was tied for fifth in homers with seven. #8 Brady Dorwart was second in RBI with 43 and had the seventh best batting average at .381. Teammate #25 Carson Janzen was second in earned run average (3.41). Lanferman believes the natural grass/turf of Spitz Stadium will prove to be an adjustment for teams like Edmonton, who regularly play on an artificial surface. “Infielders will have to be more alert. They get “money hops” here (RE/MAX Field). Everything comes to them and they know what (the ball) is doing and how you can charge and attack it. The infielders have strong gloves. They just have to trust that they can get their hop and not back off on it.” Other first day matchups have # 2 seed Okanagan College meeting ranked University of Calgary at 11:30 AM MDT. #1 ranked and host team Prairie Baseball Academy do battle with #6 Vancouver Island University in the feature game of the opening day at 7 PM MDT. The CCBC will dish out their year end awards at 5:30 PM MDT. The Championships wrap up on Sunday, May 24th.