August 8, 2019

By Dan Khavkin

Okotoks Dawgs

Believe it or not, 2009 was 10 years ago.

The L.A. Lakers won the Larry O'Brien trophy and Sidney Crosby lifted the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins as the youngest captain in NHL history.

Meanwhile, the Western Major Baseball League saw the Okotoks Dawgs complete a three-peat with their third league title in as many years. In the decade since, the Dawgs have won five division titles and made a finals appearance in 2011.

This season, history is looking to be rewritten for the Okotoks organization that runs on the 'Hockey Canada' standard of first or nothing.

For the fourth straight year, the Okotoks Dawgs will face off against the Edmonton Prospects in the first round of the playoffs. Okotoks finished 6-2 this season against the Prospects and set a franchise record with 40 regular season wins (albeit with an extended schedule) which allowed them to finish atop the Western division.

The Dawgs also finished first in the WCBL in total runs (409) and posted the highest team batting average (.305).

Chandler-Gilbert product and Winnipeg, Man., native Tristan Peters won the league’s batting title with an outstanding .396 batting average to go along with a WCBL leading 90 hits and a team-leading 11 dingers and 44 RBIs.

On the mound, the Dawgs finished third in team ERA (3.66) and gave up the second fewest number of home runs (15).

Mesa Thunderbird ace Nolan Ruff completed the regular season as one of three WCBL pitchers with an unblemished record, posting a perfect 7-0 record and a 3.14 ERA while fanning 65 in 57 1/3 innings.

Dawgs head coach Mitch Schmidt hopes his team’s success will continue in the post-season.

"It's two completely different seasons. You take the positives in playoffs and build on them. We won 40 games but now, we're on a race to win six,” he says. "It's been a grind with the schedule. We tell the guys they have to earn their off days...Win it in two, you get an off-day. Win the second in two, you get two of them."

Schmidt is confident that talk about a ‘rivalry’ the Dawgs and the Prospects won’t throw his club off their game.

"Do you remember who won the World Series a few years ago? Or who they faced in the first round and how many games? That's the thing, the past is the past and the future is the future...We're not playing the same Edmonton team we did last year," said Schmidt.

There are a few players who have been here and experienced those years. Academy alum Peters has been with the Dawgs since he was a kid. Texas State infielder Will Hollis was there last season with Ruff and others.

Schmidt believes his team is well-prepared for the playoffs.

"Because of the diligence of our coaching staff, we'll pick up on tendencies of players around the league. It's a matter of the guys positively translating the information,” he says. "We execute plain and simple.”

The players have their own motivation.

"They understand it helps define the tradition and excellence of this organization. It is important and they realize winning in Okotoks is important,” Schmidt said. "I don't have to motivate them. They want a ring.”

First pitch in Game 1 of the 1-1-1 format goes tonight at 7:05 p.m. inside Seaman Stadium.