June 8, 2018

Dawgs outscore Bulls late

By Tyler Lowey

Okotoks Dawgs

Lethbridge, AB — The Okotoks Dawgs won the first Western Major Baseball League meeting of the year over the Lethbridge Bulls 6-4 Friday night at Spitz Stadium.

Cam Doherty (Mesa Community College) scattered seven hits over six innings for his first win with the Dawgs (4-2). He allowed two earned runs, struck out four and didn’t walk one batter.

The Bulls (1-6) opened the scoring on the eighth pitch of the game, as Brett Mercier followed up Hank Forrest’s double with one of his own.

Forrest hit another double in the fifth and came around to score on an infield single from Lachlan Mayo.

Jaden Griffin started his second game of the season for the Bulls and was strong early. He struck out five-straight and tallied six punch-outs through the first three innings. He went seven innings, allowed five hits, three earned runs and struck out eight.

The Dawgs started the fourth with three consecutive hits from Eddie Sanchez (Central Arkansas), Collin Ridout (Tennessee Wesleyan University) and Nate DeChaine (Morningside College). Will Hollis (Cisico Community College) grounded into a 5-4-3 double play, which allowed Sanchez to cross home and tie the game at one.

In the fifth, Dawgs Academy graduate Danny Donnelly picked up his first hit of the season when he doubled to left field to score Cole MacLaren (University of Pittsburgh). The very next pitch, Sanchez doubled to right to score Donnelly.

In the eighth, DeChaine drove in Sanchez who was on for the third time. DeChaine leads the Dawgs with seven RBIs this season.

The Bulls rallied in the eighth when they loaded the bases with one out. Jordan Pepper (Seward County Community College) came on in relief and got a sacrifice fly from Kaleb Warden on the first pitch and left the bases loaded to keep it 4-3.

After striking out in each of his first three at bats, Dawgs Academy graduate J.T. Patterson (Bellevue University) belted a two-out double off of Chris Stodolka to score Ryan Humeniuk (Indian Hills Community College) as the game-winning run in the ninth.

With the bases loaded in the ninth, Ridout picked up an RBI when he got hit by an 0-2 fastball.

Andrew Yates (Indiana University) gave up one run but struck out the side to record his first save of the season.