Comeback victory sends Okotoks Dawgs back to WCBL championship finals

August 15, 2024 Canuck

The Okotoks Dawgs found themselves in a familiar situation on Tuesday night — down early in a win-or-go-home playoff match.

Then an eight-run onslaught in the fourth inning spurred a comeback for the Dawgs against the Sylvan Lake Gulls in the Western Canadian Baseball League’s playoff divisional round.

The 10-4 win means they’ll play in the league’s championship final series. They’ll take on the Moose Jaw Miller Express for a chance at franchise history, starting Thursday night.

The players recognize the historic opportunity to three-peat for a second time, but they aren’t letting in get in the way of the task at hand.

“You kind of got to take it game by game and pitch by pitch,” said outfielder Alejandro Cazorla, who grew up in Okotoks.

“To do it with the group of guys that I’m doing it with, that makes it even more special.”

A baseball pitch is pictured. — A view of the baseball diamond from the 2022 all-star game. (Submitted by Okotoks Dawgs)

Already leading the league with the most championships, the Dawgs will get a chance to add to their banner count with an eighth championship and the third in as many seasons.

The team also achieved the three-peat feat more than a decade ago, winning titles in the 2007, 2008 and 2009 campaigns.

“It’s really hard to win championships,” said head coach Lou Pote.

“But to be able to have a chance to do this for a third time, that’s a testament to the whole group. They’ve been awesome. They’ve been resilient.”

Okotoks goes into the first game of the best-of-three series against Moose Jaw after knocking off the Lethbridge Bulls and the Sylvan Lake Gulls.

During the regular season campaign, the Dawgs boasted a 42-14 record and earned the second-seed in the league’s west division. They’ll have home field advantage over the Miller Express as the higher-ranked team.

“Selfishly, I don’t want a Game 3 and I wouldn’t want to bring it back to Okotoks … but the fans are the reason why Okotoks is the place it is,” Cazorla said.

“To be able to get an opportunity to three-peat again, I think that kind of shows our gratitude for everything [the fans] have done for us throughout the years.”

First pitch of Game 1 of the series is at 7:05 p.m. at Seaman Stadium in Okotoks.

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