RF Tucker Zdunich (High River, Alta.) had a record 17 total bases in a game for the Reinhardt Eagles at the AVISTA JUCO World Series and is now back at Seaman Stadium hitting the foul pole with a home run.

June 12, 2024

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

OKOTOKS, Alta. _ There is not a better feeling in the game than winning the final game of the season.

And conversely, there is probably not a worse feeling than losing when you are a victory away from playing in the championship final.

Tucker Zdunich felt the latter after his Reinhardt Eagles dropped the final two games of the AVISTA NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Id. The Eagles won three straight before losing back-to-back games to the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs. A win in either would have put them in the title game.

No matter now. What was then was then. The page in his diamond book had been turned and he returned home to where he has played the previous 10 years going all the way back to bantam -- the Okotoks Dawgs.

And so it was, he boarded an Arrow bus bound for Lethbridge on Friday with the undefeated, untied, 8-0 Dawgs of the Western Canadian Baseball League.

Yet, the Dawgs’ winning ways ended in a 12-4 loss to the Lethbridge Bulls.

“Logan Grant (also in his 2024 debut after a successful spring with the Bellevue Bruins) and I looked at each other ... like ‘oh-OH,’” Zdunich remembered Sunday morn inside the Duvernay Fieldhouse. “Logan and I didn’t want that to happen, first-game back.”

After the Lethbridge loss, Graham Brunner (Sherwood Park, Alta.) -- in a finely-tuned sense of clubhouse humor, honed over seven years with the Dawgs -- said to Zdunich:

“Way to bring your losing streak back from the World Series to us ... we were doing OK without you.”

As word of Brunner’s welcome-home shot spread, a voice in uniform replied, “That’s why I love this team -- players will rip on anyone.”

Zdunich was back to his old form on Sunday afternoon soaring like an Eagle and being a tenacious Dawg at the plate before 5,681 fans at Seaman Stadium. He went 3-for-4 with a double, a homer and three RBIs in a 12-4 return-the-favor win against Lethbridge.

Slow out of the box because he thought the heavy winds would blow his ball foul, Zdunich, a left-handed hitter, watched his drive hit high high off the foul pole. (Meanwhile questions were asked “if it was a fair ball, why do they call it a foul pole?” throughout the stadium) and assumed his normal trot.

“I was thinking he should have done a reverse Carlton Fisk at Fenway Park like when he waved his ball to left field fair at Fenway Park against the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series,” said Dawgs manager Lou Pote.

* * *

In Game: Besides Zdunich, SS Brendan Luther (Mississauga, Ont.) went 4-for-6 with two RBIs ... Campbellsville RHP Zane Morrison pitched four innings, allowing one run for the win ... RPs Chase Tucker (St. Johns, Nlfd.), Oklahoma Wesleyan’s Ashton Luera, Bellevue’s Cade Herrmann and Brody Forno (Okotoks, Alta.) all had scoreless outings ... Emporia State CF Kadyn Williams had a pair of hits, knocked in two runs and made two fine running catches ... 3B Ricky Sanchez (Okotoks, Alta.) had a pair of hits and knocked in a run ... C Louis-Felix Anderson (Montreal, Que.) singled in a run and LF Logan Grant (Chestermere, Alta.) singled in a run ... DH Zaden Wake (Winnipeg, Man.) was 3-for-4 with an RBI for Lethbridge, while Carlin Dick (Abbotsford, BC) singled ... RHP Cole Alguire (Calgary, Alta.) pitched two innings allowing four runs on four hits and three walks and was charged with the loss.

* * *

It wasn’t like Tennessee Wesleyan “owned” Reinhardt this spring. Zdunich explained how when the Eagles hosted the Bulldogs his club swept the three-game series 9-7, 7-5 and 11-4 at Waleska, Ga. Zdunich was 5-for-11 (.455) with two doubles, a homer and four RBIs. Teammate 1B Nash Crowell (Yarmouth, N.S.) was 6-for-10 (.600) had with three doubles, two homers and six RBIs in the sweep.

“We’re in the same conference and swept them at our place, then, we lost to them in the (Appalachian Conference) tournament,” Zdunich said of the 5-4, 10-inning loss at Kingsport, Tenn. Both Canuck boppers were hitless.

“At Lewiston, when we met them, we played a little differently,” he said. “I think we were a little tight.”

Hitting back-to-back both Crowell and Zdunich each had two hits and drove in a run in a 15-8 win over Keiser in Waleska. Zdunich doubled, while Crowell homered as Reinhardt ran the table with three victories to advance to Lewiston. Keiser scored six times in the fifth for a 7-6 lead, but Reinhardt bounced back with its own six-pack in the seventh for a 13-8 lead.

“When we got to Idaho, all anyone was talking about was how for the first time since 1998 Lewis-Clark State did not make the (NAIA) World Series,” Zdunich said, as the Warriors were eliminated by Arizona Christian Firestorm.

Not that anyone is counting but Lewis-Clark has won 19 NAIA championships starting in 1984 and then continuing on to 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2016 and 2017. The next most successful active programs? Cumberland (TN) and Tennessee Wesleyan with three apiece. Former NAIA programs Grand Canyon won four times and Lewis took three titles.

* * *

No. 7 Tucker Zdunich scores for the Dawgs

Zdunich played three years for the Colby College Trojans before going to Reinhardt for three seasons, getting extra time due to COVID-19.

“I learned a lot playing in JUCO. Colby played some strong programs like Johnson County, Hutchison, Barton, Midland and Crowder,” he said.

At Colby, he hit .317 in three seasons with 30 doubles, three triples, 20 homers and 86 RBIs. He compiled a 1.006 OPS in 119 games.

When the Dawgs season is completed, Zdunich would like to sign with an independent team.

His brother Turner Zdunich, a first baseman, outfielder and left-hander, is headed to Colby. His older brother Tyler works a farm and he has a younger brother, Tanner.

The farmland is an interesting tale, but what do I know about farming?

His mother Brenda works at an old folks home in nearby Black Diamond and pop Bob works the oil field. The family lives in High River, Alta. while the farm is near Hanley, Sask., which is a roughly seven-hour drive.

The Zdunich family has 500 acres and is growing wheat, canola and lentil.

* * *

The most influential person in Zdunich’s life is former Dawgs coach Allen Cox, now a hitting coach with the Bend Elks in Bend, Ore. in the West Coast League with former Dawgs OF Alejandro Cazorla (Okotoks, Alta.) who plays for the Dayton Flyers.

“Allen taught me how to love the game,” said Zdunich. “He taught me so much. Like what? Like a million things. I always looked up to my dad. He and my mom have always supported me.”

* * *

In 2022, Reinhardt came within a win of making it to Lewiston. They lost the opener to the Ottawa Braves 5-4 at Montgomery, Ala. Then, beat Keiser 11-6 in 10 innings, won a rematch with Ottawa 7-4 and in the final lost 11-8 to Faulkner.

How it went for the Reinhardt and other Canadians:

_ The Eagles opened by beating Hope International 7-5 in front of 895 fans at Harris Field. Zdunich homered and drove in three runs. His three-run homer in the seventh tied the score at 5-5. Also on Day 1 ... Evan Magill (Ajax, Ont.) doubled as Tennessee Wesleyan beat Cumberlands 7-4.

_ Tyler Favretto (Montreal, Que.) singled and drove in a run as Kansas Wesleyan fell 11-5 to Hope International before 495 fans.

_ Zdunich went 6-for-7 with three homers and nine RBIs as Reinhardt clobbered Arizona Christian 30-13 in front of 1,333 fans. He homered to centre in the first for a 2-0 lead, went deep to right in the third for a 15-3 lead, singled through the left side in the fourth driving in a run to put the Eagles up 19-6, tripled to centre, knocking in a pair for a 25-13 lead and he closed out the scoring with a home run down the right field line. Crowell doubled to centre in the second to put Reinhart ahead 6-3. He also singled driving in a pair. Zdunich tied the World Series record for home runs (with multiple people) and set a record for individual total bases with 17, three more than the previous mark of 14 ... 1B Magill singled in two runs as Tennessee Wesleyan lost 18-6 to Georgia Gwinnett in front of 1,517 fans.

_ The Eagles moved to 3-0 knocking off Georgia Gwinnett 6-3 before 1,095 fans. Zdunich singled in a run while Crowell singled ... 1B Magill doubled singled and knocked in three runs as Tennessee Wesleyan edged Southeastern 8-6 in front of 501. Magill doubled in the third to even the score at 2-2 and singled to left for a 6-2 lead.

_ Crowell singled in a 6-2 loss to Tennessee Wesleyan in front of 1,330 fans ... and that was that. End of the season.

_ Magill singled in a 14-6 loss against Hope International before 2,653 fans.

We recall talking to Kevin Gausman after his LSU Tigers were eliminated by the Stony Brook Seawolves ... a step away from the College World Series and how everyone wept in the dugout. And in Lewiston?

“It was pretty sad, we were the only undefeated team there ... and then we were done (back-to-back losses),” Zdunich said. “We were that close to winning it all. We had a ton of seniors.”

A former Canadian Baseball Network scholarship winner in 2018, with Reinhardt he batted .356 with 48 doubles, seven triples and 50 RBIs. In 169 games, he had a 1.181 OPS.

And now he’s back in a Dawgs uniform whether it is white, red or the Town Connect -- as opposed to the City Connect -- uniforms, which resemble the Cincinnati Reds.

“Everyone loves playing for Lou Pote,” said Zdunich before Sunday’s game. “I was a little rusty the other night in Lethbridge.”

And then he went out and shook off his rust ... both from his swing and the right field foul pole.

Elliott: Tucker Zdunich returns to Dawgs, ball departs