The Okotoks Dawgs wrapped up a long week with a pair of firsts to close it up.
“Sylvan Lake is a really good team, the staff and myself have watched a lot of those guys play and develop in this province and across Canada. They’ve got a lot of top Canadian talent, (head coach Jason Chatwood) is a class act there and they’re a really good ball club so it was a really impressive win for us.”
The Dawgs put up four-run innings in the second and fifth innings and put up a six-spot in the eighth.
Leadoff hitter Kaden Zarowny hit a three-run bomb to centre and drove in five runs on two-hits for the hosts. University of Tennessee commit Jack Lines then put an exclamation point on the victory with a solo home run to right field, the first big fly of the young infielder’s WCBL career.
“It’s nice to get rewarded once in a while,” said Lines, the youngest player with the Dawgs’ WCBL squad and a Grade 9 student. “I felt like I’ve been swinging the bat well and I’m just happy to produce.
“We’ve kind of a had a tough stretch, so anything I can do to help this team, it’s just a reflection of our guys and how much passion I have for them.”
Southpaw Carson Hindmarsh, a 2023 academy grad, picked up the win after tossing four innings allowing one-earned run and striking out four.
Dawgs Black's Carson Hindmarsh gets congratulated by teammates after a strong four innings on the mound in the 15-4 win on June 27 at Seaman Stadium. (Remy Greer/Western Wheel)Andrew Yusypchuk and Matt Wilkinson shut the door in relief, the latter striking out six in two innings of dominant work.
“We’re young guys against mature guys so it’s take care of the little things and we’ll be just fine,” Lines added. “These guys are a lot bigger than us, it’s not high school ball where you can just roll.
“We’ve done that a lot better the last few days and now we’re just going to roll.”
Dawgs Black had an up-and-down week on the diamond with losses to Edmonton Lethbridge and Sylvan Lake along with a pair of tight victories over Dawgs Red.
“That was the one promise I told the guys is we have to come out for the fans every night and play hard,” Hollick said. “There’s going to be some mistakes just like there is every year, there is going to be some mental mistakes and physical growing, but we needed to play hard.
“It’s a resilient bunch. They’re primarily high school guys, but really good leadership on the college side coming back.
“They had a tough week, six games in six days and some games didn’t go their way, but they really battled back and I’m really proud of them.”
Dawgs Red staved off a late surge from the Bulls on Sunday with an 11-9 win to close out the week with a 2-4 record.
Connor Wong paced the visitors with three hits, three runs, a home run and two RBI while Tyson Kemp and Olivier Vallee chipped in with two runs batted in each.
Hollick said confidence from both Dawgs teams should continue to grow with each game experience accrued.
“The layoff is kind of underrated for them,” he said. “We can simulate as much as we can, I think the guys did a really good job preparing physically for this, throwing bullpens, getting as much live in as we can, getting live (at-bats), preparing themselves physically in the weightroom, everything like that.
“But you can’t fake the emotion of the game, you can’t simulate that until you get in a game. The heart races a little bit different, the preparation for game day against an opponent other than your teammates is a lot different.
“I think as we continue to go through the summer you’re going to see better baseball.”
Okotoks Dawgs Black infielder Connor Crowson slides back to first and avoids the tag of Sylvan Lake Gulls first baseman Logan Grant on June 27 at Seaman Stadium. (Remy Greer/Western Wheel)A new factor this week is the return of full stadiums.
As Alberta shifts into Stage 3 of its reopening, the Dawgs are returning to capacity crowds starting on July 1 with a maximum of 3,500 fans permitted at Seaman Stadium.
Okotoks Black is home to Sylvan Lake on July 1, with post-game Canada Day fireworks to follow the action, with a rematch on July 3. Dawgs Red is on the road until July 3 with a home date with the Gulls at 1 p.m. the first of a double-header at Seaman Stadium.
“It’s very exciting,” said Lines of the return of full crowds. “How much passion they have for the program and we’ve got to put on a show for them, but we’re ready for that.
“We’re all hyped for that.”
Extra innings … The Okotoks Dawgs Academy had reason to celebrate on Monday. Academy alumnus Alejo Lopez earned the call-up to the Cincinnati Reds after putting together prodigious numbers at the AAA level with the Louisville Bats and AA Chattanooga Lookouts. With Louisville, Lopez produced a .358 batting average along with two HR and 14 RBI in 110 plate appearances. The slick middle infielder played with the Dawgs Academy until 2015 and suited up in six games for the collegiate Dawgs during the 2014 campaign.
