Saturday July 29, 2017

Dawgs earn best record in WMBL

By Dustin Saracini

Okotoks, AB - The (34-13) Okotoks Dawgs clinched the best record in the WMBL tonight with a 12-0 blowout of the (14-33) Brooks Bombers.

With 34 wins, the red and white now have the most since their 2011 campaign and have a chance to make franchise history on Sunday against the Fort McMurray Giants.

“This is as solid a team we’ve had in a long, long time,” veteran assistant coach Dave Robb said.

“It’s a special team, there’s no question. They’re really a good group, they really like each other, there’s no competitions. They all want each other to do well and that’s just the sign of a championship team.”

CJ Lewington (UAPB - Calgary, AB) made sure Okotoks won the President’s Trophy tonight, recording the 12th straight game that a Dawgs starting pitcher has gone at least five innings. The Calgary product tied a season-high in strikeouts, fanning seven over six innings of shutout baseball.

“He was throwing his breaking ball for strikes, which was the key,” Robb commented.

“He reminds me now more of last year when he was really dominant, especially early [tonight]. He was throwing strikes and pitching to contact and getting contact and throwing up a lot of zeros.”

Joel Brophy (Niagara University - Burlington, ON) cranked the 46th home run of the campaign for Okotoks while Cameron Campbell put together his sixth multi-hit game of 2017, registering three hits, driving in three and pushing his average over .300. Matt Lloyd (Indiana University, Okotoks, AB) and Brendan Rose (UBC - Calgary, AB) followed suit with three hits of their own, playing a big part in the 15 hits collected.

Much like a night ago, the Dawgs capitalized on some command issues, breaking out in the first inning. After drawing a pair of walks, a trio of two-out RBI singles from Campbell, Jayse McLean (North Dakota State University) and Rose made it a quick 4-0 advantage. With the offensive jump, McLean extended his hitting streak to four consecutive games; Rose moved his to three.

The command problems persisted for Brooks in the second frame, beaning three straight batters, allowing Lloyd to plate another run with his third knock in the last two games. With the bases loaded, a base-on-balls issued to Kody Funderburk (Dallas Baptist) made it a 6-0 contest before a sac-fly pushed the lead to seven.

Craig Spencer (MacMurray College - Calgary, AB) added fuel to the fire in the bottom of the third, stroking his third hit as a collegiate Dawg to right field. Zach Hanna (University of Missouri) kept the offence running, cashing him in with an RBI single of his own for an eight-run lead through one-third of the contest.

On a 1-2 count, the eight-run lead quickly changed to 10 when Brophy cranked his second home run of the season over the left field wall for a two-run shot. The Dawgs capped off the night with a three-hit eighth inning, tacking on two more to put the game to bed.

When it comes to the first round of the playoffs, a late Edmonton Prospects loss to the Medicine Hat Mavericks on Saturday sets the stage for a round one clash with the Prospects.

BY THE NUMBERS:

CJ Lewington: 6 IP 2 H 0 ER 3 BB 7 K

Cameron Campbell (R): 3-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, .312 AVG

Matt Lloyd: 3-5, R, RBI, .398 AVG

OF RECORD:

WP: CJ Lewington (3-2) LP: Austin Ell (0-1)