It’s good to have choices in life.
Noah Geekie opted for baseball over hockey when he joined the Okotoks Dawgs Academy for his Grade 12 school year, but he is in no rush to decide whether he wants to strictly pitch or play an everyday position.
“I tell everybody I want to be a two-way player for as long as I can,” Geekie said, an outfielder/pitcher with the Okotoks Dawgs Red. “I feel like it keeps me athletic and the work you have to put in as a two-way is non-stop.
“If you aren’t working on your offence or defensive game, then you are working on the mound. What I love about being a two-way player is I can help the team on both sides of the field.
“I want to do it until somebody tells me I can’t.”
That isn’t about to happen with the Dawgs Red any time soon.
He is fifth on the team in hitting with a .309 average and on the mound, the southpaw has a 1-0 record, with a 2.70 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 10 innings pitched.
“Noah can do a little bit of everything on both sides of the ball, he is a big part of our team,” said Dawgs Red coach Bretton Gouthro. “He had a bit of a rough start early offensively, but lately he has been hot.
“We are going to keep expanding his role as a pitcher, both out of the bullpen and as a starter… He is competitive, keeps batters off balance and throws multiple pitches for strikes.
“He’s not over-powering but he can just flat-out pitch.”
In Geekie’s lone start on July 9, he pitched five scoreless innings against the Edmonton Prospects but didn’t get the decision as the Dawgs lost 6-4.
Not bad for a guy who had Canada’s national winter sport as a fall-back plan.
Geekie was a standout hockey player growing up in Strathclair, Man. He also has the hockey pedigree. His brothers Morgan plays for the Carolina Hurricanes and Conor is with the Winnipeg Ice of the WHL, where Okotoks’ Peyton Krebs is team captain.
Noah could hold his own as a defenceman.
“I wasn’t bad,” Geekie said. “I ended up getting drafted in the second round in my bantam year by the (Calgary) Hitmen.
“I am definitely glad I chose the route I did. I really like hockey, but I love coming to the baseball field… The way I put it, in the winter if someone wanted me to play catch or swing the bat a little bit, I would love to.
“But during the summers, I didn’t want to go the rink and that’s that. I love baseball and putting in the work.”
He came to the Dawgs Academy after catching the eyes of coaches Luke Pote and Tyler Hollick.
“I came here and I was a scrawny, six-foot-one kid in Grade 12 throwing high 70s (mph) as a pitcher and I ended up being a mid-80s, high 80s by the end of Grade 12,” Geekie said. “The coaches here, the facilities here, are second to none, it’s unbelievable.”
The Dawgs Academy program helped land Geekie a spot with the Emporia State Hornets in Kansas. He hit .262 in 38 games with the Hornets, including a three home runs. He had two pitching performances with the Hornets.
The Okotoks Dawgs Red are sitting in fifth place in the WCBL with a record of 8-11, after downing the Sylvan Lake Gulls 9-6 on July 17 at Seaman Stadium.
The Reds were led by Brandon Hupe who went 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI and crossed the plate twice.
Homegrown Kye Seitz and Nash Cowell had a pair of runs. Graham Brunner picked up the win to improve to 3-1.
The Red Dawgs have a pair of home games this week when they host the Gulls on July 21 at 7 p.m. and then the Lethbridge Bulls on July 24 at 1 p.m.
Dawgs Black
Meanwhile the Okotoks Dawgs Black moved into first place after enjoying a six-game winning streak, which was stopped on July 16 with the a loss to the Sylvan Lake Gulls on Saturday.
The Dawgs rebounded on Sunday with a 7-2 victory over the Gulls on Sunday in Sylvan Lake. Connor Crowson went three for four for the Dawgs and drove in three runs. Dawgs DH Aidan Rose drove in three runs with a bases loaded double in the fifth inning.
Southpaw Matt Wilkinson picked up the win, allowing one run over five innings and striking out 11 Gulls.
The Dawgs Black, after a slow start have moved into first-place with an 11-8 record as of July 20. They are a half up on the 11-9 Edmonton Prospects. They area on the road for three games this week, before coming home for a crucial game against the Prospects July 24 at Seaman Stadium an 7 p.m. The Lethbridge Bulls come to town on July 25 for a 2 p.m. matinee.
Tribute to mayor
The Okotoks Dawgs will pay tribute to a man who loved the community and watching his favourite baseball team from his seat on the first-base side of Seaman Stadium.
A Tribute to Mayor Bill Robertson will be held during the Okotoks Dawgs-Edmonton Prospects game on July 24 at 7 p.m. at Seaman Stadium.
"The Dawgs share in the loss of this incredible community leader," said John Ircandia, Dawgs executive director. "Bill always, always had a smile on his face and sought out the positive solution.
" As a baseball person when I think of the impact of Bill I am reminded of that famous line in the Paul Simon song: 'where have you gone Joe DiMaggio, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you'.
"Bill was a modern day Joe DiMaggio in the sense of being a symbol of honest, reliable and hardworking leadership; he was a true friend of the community who will be hard to replace.”
