By Jeff Duda
The Okotoks Dawgs 18U Black defeated SBO Baseball of Puerto Rico by a score of 7-3 to take home the PG 18U BCS National Championship in Fort Myers, Fla.

The Dawgs went undefeated throughout the tournament, going 8-0 on their championship run, defeating teams from across the Southeast and Puerto Rico.

On top of taking home the championship, two Dawgs took home some extra hardware. Micah McDowell was named Tournament MVP and Matt Dobberthien was named Tournament MV-Pitcher. McDowell (Hallifax, NS) went 8-for-19 (.421) including two triples, a home run, six RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Dobberthien (Calgary, Alta.) made three appearances and pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing only one hit and one walk while striking out eight for the tournament.

The victory enabled the Dawgs to complete an 8-0-0 run through the PG 18u BCS field. They became the first team from Canada to win the championship at this event since the Ontario Blue Jays accomplished the feat at COP Park in 2015.

“Every game we played here, the other teams had lots of energy; there were a lot of great teams here,” McDowell, who bats lead-off, told Perfect Game postgame. “When we come into (the championship game) we stuck to our approach and let the bats do the talking. From top to bottom, guys were having deep at-bats and making the pitcher work for his outs.”

Tournament Recap:

Game 1 vs Florida Legends Academy-Orlando, 6-0 Win

Okotoks Dawgs Academy 18U Black defeated Florida Legends Academy of Orlando 6-0 as three pitchers combined to throw a shutout.

Branden Woods (Red Deer, Alta.) started on the hill. He went 3 2/3 scoreless innings, on two hits, striking out five and walking one. Matt Dobberthien was first in relief, pitching two and one third innings allowing zero hits while striking out two. Blake Pongracz (Saskatoon, Sask.) pitched a clean 1-2-3 seventh while striking out one to secure the victory.

At the plate, the Dawgs collected seven hits. Ayden Makarus (Airdrie, Alta.), Ricardo Sanchez and Micah McDowell led the offense, including a RBI double by Makarus, two-run double by Sanchez and a long two-run home run to right field by McDowell. Other hits were contributed by Melvin Lorenzo (Calgary, Alta.) with a double and Ty Johnson (Calgary, Alta.) and Kaden Zarowny (Strathmore, Alta.) each chipped in with singles.

Game 2 vs Powermill Jowers, 17-1 Win

The Dawgs offense came out swinging and were relentless at the plate, crushing Powermill Jowers by a score of 17-1 in a three inning run-rule victory.

Juan Morales started the game and got credit for the complete game allowing one run on three hits while striking out two.

The bats were the big story, as the Dawgs managed to collect twelve hits in the game. Jordan Lussier (Winnipeg, Man.), Nash Crowell (Okotoks, Alta.), McDowell, Valero and Makarus, each chipped in with multiple hits. Jeann-Luc Bussieres (Edmonton, Alta.), Bailey Coish (Fort McMurray, Alta.), Makarus and Lorenzo each had one hit apiece.

Offensive highlights included Bussieres hitting a walk-off two-run home run, Makarus with a two-run double, McDowell with an RBI triple, Coish with a two-run single, Crowell with a two-run double and an RBI single, and Cesar Valero (Calgary, Alta.) with an RBI double.

Game 3 vs SW Florida 18U, 9-2 Win

Okotoks Dawgs Academy 18U Black won big over Tampa SWFL Red 18U 9-2 on Tuesday.

Ryan McFarland (Calgary, Alta.) pitched for Okotoks lasting five innings, allowing four hits and two runs while striking out one. Martin Ding (Calgary, Alta.) and Lorenzo pitched one scoreless inning apiece to close the game out.

The Dawgs offense racked up 10 hits. Ayden Makarus, Cesar Valero, and Bailey Coish each had multiple hits. Micah McDowell collected two RBI’s while Dryden Howse (Okotoks, Alta.), Ricardo Sanchez, Valero, Makarus and Johnson each collected one RBI in the winning effort.

Game 4 vs FIGS Upperclass, 7-1 Win

Okotoks Dawgs Academy 18U Black snagged a late lead and defeated FIGS Upperclass 7-1 on Wednesday.

The offense made a late charge to secure the victory thanks to four runs in the sixth inning. The offensive onslaught came from singles by Nash Crowell and Micah McDowell and a fly ball by Melvin Lorenzo.

Jackson Fraser (Swift Current, Sask.) was on the hill for the Dawgs. He surrendered one run on five hits over 4 1/3 innings, striking out three and walking zero. Blake Pongracz made an appearance but did not record an out, while Quinn Tocheniuk (Okotoks, Alta.) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless in relief to close the game out.

Offensively, the Dawgs tallied eight hits in the game. Micah McDowell and Nash Crowell each collected two hits apiece while Ricardo Sanchez, Dryden Howse, Melvin Lorenzo and Kaden Zarowny each chipped in with a hit. Lorenzo led the team with three RBIs while McDowell chipped in two of his own; Crowell and Keller each chipped in an RBI.

Game 5 vs Powermill Jowers, 7-1 Win

Okotoks Dawgs Academy 18U Black cruised to an easy victory over Powermills Jowers 7-1.

Matt Dobberthien earned the win, surrendering only one hit and zero runs over 3 2/3 innings, striking out six and walking zero. Juan Morales, Ricardo Sanchez, and Dryden Howse all put in work in relief out of the bullpen, steering their team towards the victory.

The offense managed eight hits in the game and wreaked have on the bases recording 12 stolen bases. Ricardo Sanchez, Ayden Makarus and Alejandro Cazorla each had two hits in the game with Bailey Coish and Cesar Valero each getting one hit apiece. Makarus led the team with three RBIs while Valero had one. Coish, Valero, Cazorla and Makarus each had two stolen bases while Sanchez, Johnson, McDowell and Lorenzo each had one stolen base in the game.

Game 6 vs SBO Baseball (Puerto Rico) 5-4 Win

Okotoks Dawgs Academy 18U Black snagged a late lead and defeated SBO 17U 5-4.

Blake Pongrancz got the start on the mound and lasted 3 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and three runs while striking out 10. Martin Ding and Branden Woods both made appearances in relief, but it was Quinn Tocheniuk who earned the save and securing the win for the Dawgs pitching 1 2/3 of scoreless ball.

Bailey Coish, Kendall Keller, Micah McDowell, Ayden Makarus, Cesar Valero and Dryden Howse each collected one hit apiece in the game. Valero, Howse and Keller each collected one RBI and Makarus chipped in two RBI’s. Coish and Zarowny each had one stolen base each.

Semi-final vs FBH Angels 18U 12-3 Win

Alejandro Cazorla (White Rock, BC) was clutch at the plate with ducks on the pond, driving in four on three hits to lead Okotoks Dawgs Academy 18U Black past FBH Angels 12-3 on Friday.

Okotoks put up five runs in the fifth inning. Ricardo Sanchez, Cesar Valero, Melvin Lorenzo, and Alejandro Cazorla all drove in runs in the frame.

Matt Wilkinson (White Rock, BC) was the winning pitcher after allowing four hits and three runs over three and two-thirds innings, striking out four. Matt Dobberthien threw 1 1/3 innings in relief out of the bullpen to seal the win for the Dawgs.

The Dawgs bats came out swinging and tallied 11 hits in the game. Alejandro Cazorla, Micah McDowell, Ricardo Sanchez and Cesar Valero each collected multiple hits in the win. Sanchez, Coish and Lorenzo each drove in one run while Valero and Makarus each drove in two runs apiece. Cazorla led the way with three RBIs.

Championship vs SBO Baseball (Puerto Rico) 7-3 Win

Okotoks Dawgs Academy 18U Black ran off with the lead late in the game to win the Perfect Game 18U BCS National Championship with a 7-3 win against SBO from Puerto Rico.

Quinn Tocheniuk was credited with the win coming out of the bullpen in relief of Jordan Lussier. Tocheniuk allowed five hits and one run over 4 2/3 innings, striking out three. Lussier allowed three hits and two runs over 2 1/3 innings, striking out two.

The Dawgs offense managed to collect eight hits in the winning effort. Dryden Howse and Ayden Makarus led the offensive charge with two hits apiece. Makarus was 2-for-3 with two doubles and one RBI, Howse was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Cesar Valero drove in the game-winning runs with a two-run double in the fifth inning.

All tourney team

Position players
Alejandro Cazorla Okotoks Dawgs 18U Black 2021 Okotoks AB
Bailey Coish Okotoks Dawgs 18U Black 2019 Fort McMurray AB
Dryden Howse Okotoks Dawgs 18U Black 2020 Okotoks AB
Ayden Makarus Okotoks Dawgs 18U Black 2019 Okotoks AB
Micah McDowell Okotoks Dawgs 18U Black 2019 Okotoks AB
Cesar Valero Okotoks Dawgs 18U Black 2019 Calgary AB

Pitchers
Matthew Dobberthien Okotoks Dawgs 18U Black 2019 Calgary AB
Ryan McFarland Okotoks Dawgs 18U Black 2019 Calgary AB
Juan Morales Okotoks Dawgs 18U Black 2020 Calgary AB