Dawgs win Mother’s Day PG Super25

The Okotoks Dawgs Black team ran the table to win the 10-team first annual Perfect Game Shwcase 25 Mother’s Day tourney at Seaman Stadium. Nick Vickers pitched the win as the Dawgs edged the North Delta Blue Jays 2-1 in the final.

OKOTOKS, Alta. _ It was a great day to be a Dawg.

The Okotoks Dawgs Academy hosted their first annual Perfect Game Showcase Super 25 Mother’s Day weekend at Seaman Stadium Complex.

And while John Ircandia knows how to run a tournament as his Dawgs Black team was the last team standing.

The Dawgs Black scored a 2-1 victory over the North Delta Blue Jays in the championship game on a walk off hit in the bottom of the seventh inning. With the score tied 1-1, right fielder, Justin King led off with a triple off the wall followed by a gapper by left fielder, Ryley Overacker to settle matters and take the championship.

Canadian Junior National Team lefthander, Nick Vickers was outstanding, earning the win in the final.

This was the only Super25 held outside the United States. The winner advances to the super regional. PG made its Canadian debut in Oshawa in 2011 and returned to Guelph in 2012. This is the first trip back for the leading scouting service in North America.

The vaunted offence of the Dawgs Black struggled against the Blue Jays off speed specialist, with the score deadlocked 1-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh before King’s triple and Overacker’s game winner in the gap for coachFrank Ingram and pitching coach Jeff Duda.

The tournament was a success with participating teams including eight Alberta clubs — Edmonton Cardinals, Sherwood Park Athletics, Calgary Rockies, Vauxhall Academy Jets, St. Albert Cardinals, Spruce Grove White Sox, Okotoks Dawgs Red and Okotoks Dawgs Black — the North Delta Blue Jays of the BC Premier League and Team Saskatchewan.

Several pro scouts were in attendance. The tournament started Thursday night with the Dawgs Black team beating up the Calgary Rockies 12-0, and ended Sunday with that same Dawgs Black squad posing for team pictures.

Overall the Dawgs Midget Blacks went 6-0 on the weekend with other wins over Edmonton 8-4, Team Saskatchewan 10-5, Sherwood Park 10-1 and Vauxhall Academy 4-1.

In the semi-final game against Vauxhall, with the Dawgs down 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Dawgs first baseman, JT Patterson ripped a first pitch home run to tie the score. After that it was all Dawgs in the scoring as the club banged out three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to finish off the Jets 4-1. In addition to delivering the game-tying home run, Patterson earned the save coming in to close the game and lead the Dawgs Black into a championship against North Delta.

The Jets reached the semi-final by winning the opener with a 9-3 win over Spruce Grove as Jared Kennedy went seven innings allowing one hit, and three runs — two earned — with six strikeouts, as Tyler Scott, Zack Kunkel, Geordie McDougal and Josh Burgmann all had two hits.

Then Vauxhall lost to Okotoks in extras as Brady Moxham pitched six innings allowing four hits, two unearned runs with six strikeouts. Jordan Malainey and Kunkel each had two hits.

The Jets benefitted from Reilly O’Rourke, who threw 6 2/3 innings allowing two hits, one run and struck out nine to beat North Delta. Blake Gallagher was 4-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, while Kunkel, Malainey, McDougal each had two hits.

Ten runs in the first had the Jets off and running against St. Albert. Brody Burnett pitched four innings and Carsen Perkins earned the save going three innings as Brett Resch had three hits, Ben Komonosky, Scott, Kunkel, Malainey and Gallagher all had two hits apiece.

Burgmann went the distance on the mound in the semi final allowing six hits, one earned run with six strikeouts. Resch had two hits.

The Dawgs Midget Red club capped the tournament with a 22-3 drubbing of Team Saskatchewan and finished the weekend with four wins against only one loss. The Red also captured wins against Spruce Grove (8-7 after coming back from a five-run deficit thanks to a grand slam by Joe Woods and winning in walk off fashion), St. Albert (10-0 with Nathan Tovell earning the shutout win) and knocking off the favoured Vauxhall Academy Jets 7-4 with LHP Ethan Jarvis pitching seven masterful innings.

Around the Dawgs Horn … It was a successful kick-off weekend for other Dawgs teams as coach Allen Cox pitching coach, Lou Pote, lead their Dawgs Bantam Black squad to a perfect 3-0 weekend against Edmonton area teams. The Bantam Blacks beat St. Albert 7-1, and then followed that up with a doubleheader sweep of Sherwood Park, 8-6 in Game 1 and 7-0 in Game 2.

Scores
(Games at Seaman Stadium and Tourmaline Field)
Thursday
Okotoks Dawgs Black 12, Calgary Rockies 0

Friday
Sherwood Park Athletics 3, Edmonton Cardinals 4
Vauxhall Academy of Baseball 9, Spruce Grove White Sox 3
Calgary Rockies 4, Team Saskatchewan 9
Okotoks Dawgs Red 7, Vauxhall Academy of Baseball 4
Team Saskatchewan 5, Sherwood Park Athletics 1
Spruce Grove White Sox 7, St. Albert Cardinals 8

Saturday
Sherwood Park Athletics 7, Calgary Rockies 3
Team Saskatchewan 3, Edmonton Cardinals 6
Spruce Grove White Sox 7, Okotoks Dawgs Red 8
North Delta Blue Jays 1, Vauxhall Academy of Baseball 8
Team Saskatchewan 5, Okotoks Dawgs Black 10
Spruce Grove White Sox 5, North Delta Blue Jays 6
Edmonton Cardinals 2, Calgary Rockies 1
Vauxhall Academy of Baseball 13, St. Albert Cardinals 8
Okotoks Dawgs Black 10, Sherwood Park Athletics 1
St. Albert Cardinals 0, Okotoks Dawgs Red 10

Sunday
Spruce Grove White Sox 11, Calgary Rockies 3
Sherwood Park Athletics 4, St. Albert Cardinals 10
Team Saskatchewan 3, Okotoks Dawgs Red 22
Semi-finals
Edmonton Cardinals 1, North Delta Blue Jays 3
Vauxhall Academy of Baseball 1, Okotoks Dawgs Black 4

Final
North Delta Blue Jays 1, Okotoks Dawgs Black 2

Pool Standings
Pool A PCT W L T RA RS
Okotoks Dawgs Black 1.000 4 0 0 10 40
Edmonton Cardinals 0.750 3 1 0 15 16
Team Saskatchewan 0.500 2 2 0 21 22
Sherwood Park Athletics 0.250 1 3 0 22 12
Calgary Rockies 0.000 0 4 0 30 8

Pool B PCT W L T RA RS
North Delta Blue Jays 0.750 3 1 0 17 25
Vauxhall Academy of Baseball 0.750 3 1 0 19 34
Okotoks Dawgs Red 0.750 3 1 0 21 27
St. Albert Cardinals 0.250 1 3 0 38 18
Spruce Grove White Sox 0.000 0 4 0 31 22