There’s no place like home to live out a dream on the mound.
Okotoks Dawgs Academy pitchers are making the most of familiar surroundings at Seaman Stadium in an unfamiliar setting as rookies proving they can more than hang while toeing the rubber in the Western Canadian Baseball League.
“I just love this place, it’s been my home for so many years and I just feel so comfortable here,” said Dawgs Red pitcher and Okotokian Brody Forno. “I couldn’t wait to get in front of the fans and the mentality shifted a little bit playing for something a little more meaningful than just exhibitions around Calgary or Edmonton.
“Playing here is just unreal and I can’t get enough of it.”
Forno, a 2021 academy grad committed to Williston Stage College, has looked extremely comfortable on the mound with a 2.00 ERA through nine innings over five appearances for Dawgs Red as part of a strong staple of academy hurlers out of the bullpen.
“At the beginning of the season it was a little hard getting our arms in shape because we had that lockdown right before the season started, now I’m ready to go,” Forno added.
“My command has been really good, I’ve been really good with locating my curveball and getting ahead of counts and my fastball has been amping up with the velocity. It's just preparation, whatever my mindset is, going into the game I’m just ready to shut the door down and attack the zone.”
Fourteen pitchers on Dawgs Red have seen game action through the first couple weeks of the season with everyone settling into roles outside of the likes of college Dawgs veterans Brendan Logan and Graham Brunner holding down the closer and ace starting pitcher duties, respectively.
“(Forno’s) kind of been a Swiss army knife for us,” said Dawgs Red pitching coach Joe Sergent. “He’s relieved, he’s started, he’s been the first one up (out of the bullpen), he’s done some set-up, he was the seventh inning guy.
“Anything he can do, he’s game for anything and him being an academy guy that’s a huge thing for us.”
Through three appearances as a bridge guy out of the bullpen, hard-throwing righty Jose Nunez has struck out three over four innings with no earned runs and just two hits allowed.
“Throwing strikes, that’s the biggest thing, that’s what’s really helped me out this year and what’s changed the most for me is my mentality and attacking guys and trusting my defence,” Nunez said. “I’m more confident in my abilities, knowing that this is where I belong and this is where I can play and nothing is different.”
Coming up through the academy ranks, Nunez said he looked up to the likes of Brunner and Dawgs Black ace Matt Wilkinson and their ability to play for the College Dawgs beginning in Grade 11.
“We feel comfortable, we’ve prepared through the academy for situations like this,” said Nunez, a 2022 academy grad. “For example, in 2019 we went and played against lots of Division I college teams. So I take from my past experiences and just apply it and learn to take it pitch-by-pitch and not get too nervous.”
Seven of Dawgs Red’s first ten games came on the road where the young pitchers have had to adjust to the odd chirp or heckle from opposition fans.
That makes coming home to be cheered for all the more impactful.
“Playing on the road makes us gritty and that’s why we have such a good record when we play in front of our own fans,” Nunez said. “Because we have that extra support whereas if we’re playing in places like Lethbridge or Sylvan Lake where fans are totally against us and chirping us.
“It’s things that 16, 17 year olds aren’t used to. I guess that a was a big shock, seeing the way they talk to the players, but when we’re in front of our fans it’s nothing but support.”
Strength in numbers is also an asset, though one that needs to be managed.
Given the circumstances of the pandemic putting league action at a minimum over the past 16 months at various levels of the game, playing time and managing the health of the pitchers is vital.
Starters that are used to seeing seven innings per start might be looking at more four or five inning outings.
“A lot of these guys, outside of Brunner, haven’t thrown a game in 15-16 months,” Sergent said. “Being able to stay a little bit more conservative, for the guys that want to go seven, eight innings it discourages them, but that’s why we have this many arms to combat that.”
This week, Dawgs Black (5-8) is home to Edmonton on July 7 and hosts Sylvan Lake on July 10. Dawgs Red (4-7) has home games with Sylvan Lake and Edmonton visiting on July 8 and 9.For full schedule information go to dawgsbaseball.ca.
