Bulls rally late to defeat the Dawgs 7-5

Game 1 of five has gone to the Lethbridge Bulls.

The Bulls downed the Okotoks Dawgs 7-5 during Western Major Baseball League play Saturday night at Spitz Stadium.

Playing their first of five games in a row against the rival Dawgs, Lethbridge scored twice in the seventh and eighth innings to erase a 5-3 deficit to post the win that improves them to 12-6 on the season.

The teams take the field for Game 2 this afternoon in Okotoks at 2:05 p.m.

After Okotoks took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Bulls responded with a pair in the bottom of the second for a 2-1 lead.

Alex Bishop scored on a single from Brett Semeniuk and Brock Frentzel added another on an error to first base.

Lethbridge added one more in the third inning when Ryan Pouwells advanced to first on an error from third base and scored on a Bishop single to centre field for a 3-1 lead.

That lasted until the fifth inning when the Dawgs brought three runs across for a 4-3 lead.

The visitors padded their lead to 5-3 in the fifth inning.

But the hosts cued their comeback in the seventh inning.

Semeniuk scored on a double to centre field off the bat of Pouwells and Darius Carter tied it when he scored on a Nolan Handley sacrifice fly to tie things up at 5-5.

Lethbridge went up for good in the eighth inning when Bishop singled to lead off and then scored on a Semeniuk single.

The Bulls added some insurance when Pouwells was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring Brett Brittany from third.

Bulls reliever Dawson Moser got the win — his third of the season and second in as many nights — pitching in the eighth and striking out two, while Chris Stodolka earned his second save in as many nights and his seventh of the season.

Bishop was 4-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Semeniuk hit 3-for-4 with one run scored and three RBI as the duo counted for more than half of the Bulls 12 hits.

After Sunday’s game, the Dawgs and Bulls return to Spitz Stadium Tuesday and Thursday at 7:05 p.m. both nights before the teams complete the fivegame stretch June 30 in Okotoks.