All-Alberta 13U final: Dawgs take bite out of opponents

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This article was published 02/07/2024 (549 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The potential for a rainy Monday cancelling the championship games during the three-day Canada Day Triple Crown Showdown saw the 13U combatants initially deciding the winner in Alberta later this week.

Both Okotoks Dawgs Academy teams finished first in their respective pools to set up a game for bragging rights at Simplot Field, with Mother Nature’s July 1 forecast calling for rain for much of Day 3 of the tournament.

While this did not materialize and Monday was mainly cloudy and windy, the two Okotoks teams eventually were able to play at 3 p.m.

The Canada Day tournament which featured minor ball from 11U to 15U, plus senior games featuring teams from the Border Baseball League, meanwhile, was cancelled just after 6:30 a.m. due to thunderstorms in the forecast.

With his team going 4-0 in the round-robin, Dawgs coach Tyler Milton said he was happy with the play of his young squad, which features a 10-year-old catcher/pitcher and utility player named Keyen Hall, who was behind the plate during his team’s Day 2 16-5 win over the Weyburn Bearers in a battle between Alberta versus Saskatchewan playing on a Manitoba diamond.

“One hundred per cent we’ve had a good tournament,” Milton told this Sun sports scribe after his team dominated the 13U AAA Brandon Marlins Sunday afternoon, with a 16-0 shutout.

“Keyen plays very well at the plate for his age. He’s not a call-up from the U11 team … he’s on our team. You didn’t know he was 10 the way he handles himself as a catcher until I told you.”

The only close game of the four for the Dawgs was the opener on Day 1, with Okotoks defeating a well-coach South Central team 3-1. Afterwards, the Dawgs were on cruise control with a 21-7 victory over Winnipeg St. James A’s.

Milton said having a well-balanced lineup, including five solid players in reserve, who see as much action as the starters, is key to dominating on the diamond when his ball players are focused on the task at hand.

“The kids at the baseball academy come from the Calgary area if they aren’t from Okotoks already,” he said. “Our players are learning about baseball while doing their schooling, not unlike kids who go to a hockey academy.”

Fundaments are stressed, and this is obvious when you see the Dawgs turn a double play or track down a long fly ball, then get the ball back to the infield using the cutoff player.

With Hall at the plate, the diminutive catcher looks to the bench for what pitch to throw, which he then relays to the pitcher.

Against Weyburn, Hall and pitcher Titan McRae were battery mates, and the latter kept the Bearers batters off balance with his fastball, which set up his effective curveball that continually handcuffed batters either swinging over the ball, or watching it arrive over the play and hearing a strike called by the ump.

Asked about his unorthodox pitching delivery when taking his signals from Hall — it resembled a pose from the movie Karate Kid — he laughed.

“It’s just something I started doing when I pitch,” McRaie said of his crouch and broken wing holding the ball posture. “I’ve had others tell me I look like the kid in that movie the way I am ready to pitch.”

He added, “I like baseball and the academy is great for me living in Okotoks.”

Milton uses all of the tools available to his players, whether it’s long ball or playing the short game. Xavier Hall executed a number of slap bunts to move teammates up a base, and used his speed to reach first base safely after catching the opposing infield off guard and flat-footed.

“The bunt is part of baseball, 100 per cent, and a good play to use, especially when the opposing team is sitting back and not anticipating when you are looking to move a base runner from first to second,” explained Milton.

The long ball is part of the Dawgs’ offensive prowess when you have Logan Halleran at the plate. On Day 1, he stroked four homers in two of his games. He’s also tough to handle from the mound, as the Marlins found out in the 16-0 loss.

“Logan is an all-round ball player, 100 per cent,” offered Milton. “He has a good stroke with the bat, and when it makes contact, he can hit it out of the park.”

Milton said his power hitter does not play hockey despite his size, but also excels at basketball.

The second Okotoks team did not generate the same run count as Milton’s team, defeating Oildome 12-4, Midwest 2-1 and Pembina Hills 6-4. The only loss 6-5 was to Carilion, but Okotoks came out first with a 3-1 record, while Carilion’s 10-10 tied with Pembina Hills meant they finished 2-1-1.

The Marlins can brag they played one game over two days when they were edged 9-8 by South Central.

Because the Simplot fields were not ready on Day 1 for 8:30 a.m. games because of the previous Friday’s heavy rainfall, the Marlins were asked to play under the Simplot lights at 9:30 p.m. However, the previous game went the distance and the Marlins did not take the first pitch until closer to 10:45 p.m.

Umpires Merrick Smart and Carter Baranyk did not call the final out as the clock reached 1 a.m. and the Marlins left the dew-covered diamond grass for their home beds, while South Central parents and players headed for their hotel beds.

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