Dawgs aim to celebrate 10th anniversary in style
The mascot Diggity has an upgraded look, the players are wearing commemorative patches on their sleeves and fans can expect a barrage of special events dealing with the Okotoks Dawgs’ 10th anniversary in this town south of Calgary.
Oh, and wouldn’t a championship fit in nicely?
“It would be great,” said founder and managing director John Ircandia. “They thought we were going to win it every year because we had three in a row, but I think it’s time to win another one. I feel more confident with this team than any other.”
The Dawgs’ 2017 Western Major Baseball League campaign gets underway on Friday at Seaman Stadium when they welcome the Medicine Hat Mavericks. Righthander C.J. Lewington gets the start for Okotoks.
The relationship which the Dawgs have fostered with the people of Okotoks has been an enviable tale of success, the team averaging over 3,300 fans since arriving in 2007.
“It’s hard to say if it was the best thing,” Ircandia said. “We were in Calgary a few years and struggled with the stadium. It’s been a great thing moving to Okotoks, put it that way. This community has embraced it from the get-go and this stadium is spectacular for the community here.
“It is great to see so many people from Calgary discovering this and coming down now. Our demographics now are about 1,600 fans from Calgary and 1,800 or so from Okotoks so that’s pretty balanced.”
The club — which features college players from throughout the U.S. and Canada — enjoyed its finest regular season ever in 2016, finishing in top spot in the division with a stellar 33-14 record. But, alas, the second season ended prematurely as the Dawgs fell to Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs.
“We’ve learned a little bit, too,” said assistant coach Dave Robb. “We’ve talked about our starting pitchers, instead of going 90-100 pitches, maybe toward the middle of the season throwing fewer pitches so we have them a little fresher for the playoffs. They understand that we really pushed to finish in first and host, but it really doesn’t matter because the other team won two in our place anyway.
“When we win the league, that’s not the end. I think a lesson learned is that Edmonton was the fourthplace team and they won two rounds. So they got hot at the right time and that’s what we need to do, too.”
This year’s team has everyone involved, highly optimistic, and for Robb, it all starts with the bullpen.
“Last year, we had four guys we could rely on and if we got to those guys, then we knew we were going to win the game,” he said. “We have eight this year. Those guys will be crucial. I like the fact that we have a little power in the lineup with (outfielder) Jayse McLean coming from North Dakota State and (infielder) Kody Funderburk, who was in Edmonton last year.”
As for the starters, one guy the Dawgs will rely on heavily is senior Liam Stroud, out of Niagara University and UBC. He’ll have to alter his mindset from reliever, which he was at UBC, to once again starting.
“It’s a little bit different,” he said. “In the bullpen, you have to be ready to throw every day. As a starter, you have more of a routine. The transition isn’t too hard. You have to know you have to go further and throw one pitch at a time, one inning at a time. Throw your best pitch 100 times.”
And Stroud’s best pitch, it was discovered late last season thanks to coach Jesse English, is a cut fastball, that helped him dominate hitters.
“That became my primary pitch,” said the right-hander. “I felt comfortable throwing it in any situation. When you find something like that, which worked so easily, it elevated all my other pitches, as well.”
Not only are the Dawgs still looking to add college players, they’re also waiting for coaches Tyler Graham and Andy Peterson from Oregon State. Until they arrive, A.J. Fystro and former Major League pitcher Jim Henderson will handle head coaching duties.