The Okotoks Dawgs Midget White finally had a chance to fight someone their own size and punched firmly above their weight class at their home tourney.
Okotoks’ youngest Midget outfit was white hot at the Dawgs’ second annual Spring Showcase tournament, taking home the Tier II title Sunday at Seaman Stadium after mercy ruling the Okanagan A’s Academy 9-1 in just five innings.
“We play in a league where it’s 18 and under so we get beat around by those older teams and you can tell sometimes the kids get a little frustrated,” said Dawgs White coach Andrew Swagers. “This weekend when we play a tournament against guys our own age, we run-ruled all but one game.
“It was good for us to see that we are as good as we think.”
The Dawgs White is the junior of the Okotoks Academy’s three Midget teams, featuring mostly Grade 10 players and those just a year removed from Bantam ball.
Despite their relative youth in the Midget ranks, the Dawgs White compete with the elite in the province in the Midget AAA performance division of Baseball Alberta.
Getting a respite against opposition its own age, Okotoks used small ball in stealing 17 bases in five games on the weekend to propel its way to a dominant showing in the final.
“We got a bunch of walks to start off innings and bunted people around and stole bases,” Swagers said of the offence in the final. “At the end where we scored five (in the fifth) we strung seven singles together and were able to continuously move guys along.”
Hurler Rory Forrester was on the mound for the victory in the final with Kurtis Call later getting the call from the bullpen.
Dawgs pitcher Jordan Smith was named the top pitcher in the tournament in recognition of seven scoreless innings as a starter and in relief.
Clean-up hitter Dillon Lynch took home the tournament most valuable player award and top-hitter honours after posting an awe-inspiring .800 batting average at the showcase.
Okotoks trounced Red Deer 14-2, edged Okanagan 6-5 and thumped Sherwood Park 14-5 in round-robin play. The Dawgs then shutout Sherwood Park 14-0 to advance to the final.
“It was the first weekend where everything came together,” Swagers said. “Our defence played well, everybody pitched well, we had hitting when we needed to, we were aggressive on the base paths. It makes a good recipe for success.”
The Dawgs Academy nearly duplicated the feat in the Tier I division as well.
However, both the Midget Dawgs Black and Dawgs Red were ousted in the semifinal of the showcase.
The Dawgs Black, the premier team in the Junior Academy and defending national champions, were handed an early upset when the Dawgs Red opened the showcase with a 6-3 win over their brethren.
The Dawgs Red would also defeat the Great Falls Chargers and Okanagan A’s en route to a 3-0 record atop the Henderson Pool. Okotoks then routed Team Saskatchewan 9-0 in the quarterfinal before losing 2-1 in an extra inning rematch with Okanagan with a trip to the final on the line.
The Midget Black team recovered nicely from the opening loss to get past Okanagan 2-0, romp Great Falls 8-0, and edge Abbotsford 2-1 in the quarterfinal.
The Vauxhall Jets cooled Okotoks’ momentum in the semifinal, building an early 5-1 lead and holding on for the 6-3 win.
The Jets went on to win the tournament.
For more information go to jdawgsbaseball.ca
