August 8, 2019

By Dan Khavkin

Okotoks Dawgs

A five-run eighth inning propelled the Okotoks Dawgs to a 7-2 win over the Edmonton Prospects in the first game of their playoff series in front of an enthusiastic home crowd at Seaman Stadium on Thursday night.

"After that go-ahead run crossed the plate [in the eighth inning], it was all over," said Dawgs head coach Mitch Schmidt. "The momentum piled on...it was huge. They [the fans] stuck behind us through thick and thin . . . Our guys did an awesome, but you have to pat every fan on the back. Being the true baseball fans they are, pumped the entire dugout up. They are the ones who started the momentum... the fans took over."

The Dawgs jumped out to early 1-0 lead thanks to Bellevue University signee Liam Rihela’s two-out RBI single in the second inning.

The Prospects would even the score in the fifth on a wild pitch and then add another run on an RBI single from DH Beaux Guilbeau off Dawgs ace Nolan Ruff in the sixth to take a 2-1 lead.

Overall, Ruff, an NCAA Division II Regis University prospect, was outstanding, allowing just two runs and striking out nine in 7 1/3 innings.

The Dawgs would tie the game in the bottom of the seventh on a two-out solo home run by Indiana State product Dane Tofteland.

After recording one out in the eighth inning, Ruff was replaced by Brandon Desjardins and the Calgary native promptly recorded the final two outs of the frame.

Energized by the 3,489 enthusiastic fans in attendance, the Dawgs would rally in the bottom of the eighth. The Dawgs loaded the bases with one out when 18-year-old Richardo Sanchez laid down a perfect bunt single to not only drive in the go-ahead run but also keep the bases loaded.

"The coaches said I had to do it no matter what and that's what I told myself. I turned on the jets and saw there was no one covering first," Sanchez said about the bunt. "The reaction [from the fans] was special. You hear about it and then you actually experience it."

Rihela then singled to make it 4-2. Chandler-Gilbert product Tristan Peters followed with a fly out for the second out of the inning but the throw from right-field sailed to the backstop allowing two more Dawgs to cross the plate. Okanagan College senior Davis Todosichuk then added an RBI single to make the score 7-2.

Desjardins would shut down the Prospects in order in the ninth to record the win.

The Dawgs travel to Edmonton for game two on Friday with the first pitch set for 7:05 p.m.