Dawgs defeat Red Sox 5-1

Photo: Okotoks Dawgs

June 28, 2019

By Dan Khavkin

Okotoks Dawgs

Okotoks, AB – The Okotoks Dawgs defeated the Regina Red Sox 5-1 at Seaman Stadium on Friday night in a clash of two of the Western Canadian Baseball League’s best teams.

With the victory, the Dawgs extended their winning streak to five games, while the loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Red Sox.

The Dawgs also improved to 11-0 at home this season with the win.

Point University starter Billy Brand (Burlington, Ont.) allowed just one run on three hits while fanning six in six innings for the Dawgs.

The Dawgs shook off a jittery first inning to earn the victory.

“It was a 180-degree turn from the first to the second inning,” said head coach Mitch Schmidt. “It was a good adjustment. Throwing four runs [on the board in the second inning] was huge… it was deflating and pushed the momentum. We calmed the nerves and went after it.”

Two Dawgs’ errors helped the Red Sox jump out to an early 1-0 lead. But the Dawgs countered with a four-run offensive outburst in the second inning.

Dawgs Academy alum Gavin Logan, who went 3-for-4 on the night, registered an RBI double to tie the game in second inning before he scored on error to give the Dawgs the lead.

Tristan Peters promptly added a two-run single to make the score 4-1. Peters, who extended his hitting streak to 13 games, now has 25 RBIs on the season and leads the league with a .481 batting average.

UBC first baseman Jaxon Valcke padded the Okotoks lead with an RBI on a fielder’s choice in the fourth inning.

After Brand’s tossed six excellent innings, the Dawgs’ bullpen shut things down from there. University of Nebraska pitcher Shay Schanaman, Indiana Southeast pitcher Andrew Yates and Linn-Benton hurler Dan Ferrario threw a scoreless inning each to secure the victory.

Thursday’s game, which was postponed, will resume at 4:05 p.m. on Saturday from the top of the sixth inning with the Red Sox batting with runners on the corners and two outs, leading a 2-1 contest. After the conclusion of that game, the series finale will go down at 7:05 p.m.