The Dawgs Pee Wee team returned to Okotoks after a very successful weekend at the St. Albert Early Bird Tournament
The Dawgs won the tournament, defeating the host St. Albert by a final score of 5-2. In the semi-final game vs. Martensville, Matt Neufeld pitched 4 strong innings in a back and forth battle which the Dawgs won in walk off fashion in the bottom of the 7th inning when Neufeld scored on a passed ball to win 6-5.
The Dawgs fell behind 2-0 early in the championship game, but in the bottom of the second inning, Andrew Franson stepped up with a clutch 2 out single to score 2 runs to tie the game. With some aggressive baserunning and great situational hitting the Dawgs were able to score 3 more runs to win the game 5-2. Jake Rabe started the game on the mound and was excellent throwing 6 2/3 innings, only allowing 2 runs before Franson came on to record the final out. The Pee Wee team finished the weekend 4-0 with wins against Red Deer 12-2, Camrose 18-7, Martensville 6-5, and St. Albert 5-2.
The Dawgs Bantam Black team also came away with a tournament win in Richmond, BC defeating Spruce Grove in the Championship game 8-2.
Down 3-2 in the quarterfinal to North Delta with a runner on third base, Jake Libbus hit a game tying triple, followed by a Jack Marlin double to take the lead. The Dawgs would go on to score one more run on a Jack Marlin steal of home and hold on for a 5-3 win.
Standout players for the tournament included Melvin Lorenzo and Quinn Tocheniuk who were named Co-Pitchers of the Tournament, as well as tournament MVP, Tucker Zdunich. Lorenzo was 2-0, 7 innings pitched, 1 earned run, 9 strikeouts and 0 walks. Tocheniuk was 2-0, 7 innings pitched, 1 earned run, 4 strikeouts, 1 walk. Zdunich hit .727 with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 5 stolen bases, and 8 runs scored.
The Bantam Black team finished the weekend 4-1 with wins against Vancouver 5-2, North Delta 5-3, Cloverdale 5-4, and Spruce Grove 8-2 with their one loss coming to Victoria in pool play.
The Midget Red team were finalists in the tournament that took place this past weekend in Saskatoon losing in the finals to Swift Current on a walk off hit. Tournament highlight for the Red team was defeating the Midget Black team (Winner of their past two tournaments – Bishop Gorman in Vegas, and Perfect Game) in the quarterfinals.