Dawgs defeat Giants 5-1

Bellevue University’s Riley Baasch had two doubles and three RBIs for the Okotoks Dawgs on Saturday in their 5-1 win over the Fort McMurray Giants. Photo: Bellevue Bruins Baseball/Twitter (file photo)

July 13, 2019

By Dan Khavkin

Okotoks Dawgs

Fort McMurray, Alta. – After dropping the series opener on Friday, the Okotoks Dawgs bounced back with a 5-1 win over the Fort McMurray Giants on Saturday.

The Dawgs tallied all five of their runs in the first three innings.

After Tristan Peters and Kory Longaker started the game with back-to-back singles, UBC's Jaxon Valcke and Bellevue University's Riley Baasch followed with RBI doubles to give the Dawgs a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

Baasch added another two-run double for the Dawgs in the third inning to push the score to 4-0. He would score on a wild pitch in the same frame for the fifth and final Dawgs’ run of the game.

Point University pitcher Billy Brand made his 11th appearance and his fourth start for the Dawgs. The Burlington, Ont. native tossed six innings and allowed only four hits and one run to record the win.

The Giants (17-18) scored their only run when Brand hit a batter with the bases loaded in the fourth inning.

Starting in the seventh inning, the Dawgs bullpen shut the Giants down, with Bellevue's Brandon Desjardins, Linn-Benton's Dan Ferrario and Academy of Arts' Galen Manhard combining to toss three scoreless innings.

The rubber match between the two clubs is set for 2:05 p.m. on Sunday at Shell Place.