A first-year Midget Dawgs pitcher picked the perfect opportunity to showcase his skills on the mound.
The Okotoks Dawgs Academy Red won the Tier II Midget final of the Junior Dawgs Showcase 2012 via a 2-1 victory over the Okanagan A’s #2, May 6 at Seaman Stadium, largely on the strength of southpaw hurler Nick Vickers’ no-hitter through six and 1/3 innings.
The 15-year-old starter said he kept it simple on the mound and stuck to the pitches that were working for him, with a few changeups thrown in there.
“Definitely the curveball and the fastball and that was pretty much it,” Vickers said. “(The key was) working ahead and throwing first pitch strikes.”
Vickers gave up just two walks through the first 21 batters he faced, before his no-hit bid was broken on a sharp line drive to the outfield in the seventh inning. Okanagan would drive in the run on a subsequent double, but the A’s failed to erase the two-run lead Okotoks built through one-run innings in the third and fifth.
Vickers selflessly attributed all of his success to one thing.
“The Dawgs — basically if I didn’t have them I wouldn’t be able to pitch at all,” said Vickers, a student at Henry Wise Wood High School in Calgary.
Vickers is an Academy Red rookie, but is no stranger to the Dawgs after completing his previous two seasons with the Bantam Dawgs. He’s enjoying his early experiences with the Midget Red team.
“It’s really fun, it’s a good group of guys,” said Vickers.
His teammates appreciated the effort.
Dawgs left-fielder Doug Clapperton had a quiet day in the outfield, but he wasn’t complaining about the one catch he had to make all game.
“(Vickers) pitched great, he was getting lots of strikeouts, lots of groundballs too,” Clapperton said. “It’s good for him because he’s young.”
With the pitching taken care of, Clapperton did his part to propel the Red Dawgs’ exploits at the plate.
“At bat I was just looking for a pitch early in the count, looking for the fastball and something I could drive really,” Clapperton said.
Hitting in the number two hole, Clapperton’s aggressiveness led to the Dawgs’ first run of the night in the third inning.
“There was two out and I was just looking for a ball I could hit hard,” said Clapperton, a Grade 11 student at Holy Trinity Academy.
The 17-year-old went 2-for-3 in the Tier II championship final and was named tournament MVP for his consistency at the plate all weekend.
“I think the key to my success was my approach,” Clapperton said. “I stayed strong mentally and tried not to let anything get me down and I think that helped my hitting.”
The Academy Reds advanced to the Tier II championship versus the Okanagan A’s on the strength of an 8-0 win over the Whalley Chiefs #2 on May 4 preceded by a 10-1 thrashing of the Pro Baseball Force Academy #2 on May 3.
Clapperton said one through nine in the Dawgs’ lineup was lining up the ball well all weekend long.
“Our offensive approach was really good and we kept the momentum going every game it seemed and I guess that was our strength,” he said.
The tournament, involving teams from British Columbia to Saskatchewan, was put on at Seaman Stadium, Littler Field and the brand new Tourmaline Field. Clapperton said he’s chomping at the bit to play more often at the new facility and to take advantage of its dimensions.
“We’re getting used to (Tourmaline) the infield is slower though you’ve got to hit it a lot harder to get it out of the infield, but (the field) is smaller so hopefully we’ll see some bombs hit there,” he said.
Elsewhere, in Tier I Midget action the Black Dawgs weren’t able to cool the Vauxhall Jets in the final, with Okotoks losing 10-1 at Tourmaline Field. The convincing loss in the final was the only blemish on a weekend full of great performances from the Academy Black. Okotoks posted a 3-0 record in the pool play and notched a come-from behind 7-6 win over the Okanagan A’s 1 in the semifinal on May 6.
Next up for the Dawgs is the Regina Legasse Tournament, May 18-21 in Saskatchewan’s capital city. For more information on the Dawgs Academy visit their website at www.dawgsbaseball.ca.
