‘Heart ... determination’ fuelling the Prospects’ post-season ride
The Edmonton Prospects were the hottest team in the Western Canadian Baseball League to end the regular season and still barely made it into the playoffs.
The Prospects won their last seven games to edge out the Fort Mcmurray Giants for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Western Division. Edmonton finished a game ahead of Fort Mcmurray, which held the tiebreaker between the two teams and finished on a four-game winning streak of its own.
Edmonton will face the firstplace Okotoks Dawgs in a best-ofthree series starting on the road Thursday. The Prospects return for Game 2 Friday at RE/MAX Field and, if necessary, Game 3 will be back in Okotoks on Saturday.
The winner of the series moves on to the division final against either the Lethbridge Bulls or the Medicine Hat Mavericks.
“Every game, anything can happen; we know we’re the underdog and they’re supposed to beat us,” said Prospects head coach Jordan Blundell. “But that doesn’t matter to our guys. We’re going to play to the best of our abilities and let the chips fall where they may. We need good performances on the mound, but we have some guys that are pretty good here.”
The playoffs appeared to be out of reach for the Prospects heading into their final seven-game homestand of the regular season. They lost three of four games in Fort Mcmurray, putting them a gameand-a-half behind the Giants.
Fort Mcmurray went on to lose two of three to Medicine Hat, which opened the door for the Prospects to regain the final playoff spot by winning their last seven.
It wasn’t easy as the Prospects had to win all three games of a triple-header on Saturday and then sweep a doubleheader against the Brooks Bombers Sunday before finishing off their season with a win Monday.
The Prospects battled back to defeat Brooks 12-7 on Monday to clinch a playoff spot.
“There is no magic formula there, it’s their heart and their determination,” Blundell said of his team. “They got together as a group and were all in. They decided they were going to play hard for each other, for the fans and for the franchise and for the kids that come out and support us. They know they get a lot of support in the city and they’ve all raved about what it’s like to play here.”
The Prospects opened their season in May to a full house at RE/ MAX Field and are hoping to attract a similar crowd for their only playoff game of the series Friday.
“When you get to play in front of a good crowd and you’re successful, there is no better feeling,” Blundell said. “A lot of these guys walked out and played in front of 3,000 fans for the first time on opening night and it was special.
“That was special for me, too. It was loud, it was intense, it was emotional. It was a really good kickoff to the season that first game and to be here and to do this at the end of the season is a special thing, too.”
The Prospects roster features players from throughout North America, most of whom are attending college in the United States. The group needed to come together quickly in the 12-team summer baseball league.
“It’s definitely a brotherhood,” said Prospects centre-fielder Travis Hunt. “We’re kind of a family now and I’ll remember these guys for the rest of my life. It’s definitely something special that we have in that clubhouse.”
The chance to extend the season is acting as motivation to the Prospects, who had championship aspirations heading into the year. They’ve had Okotoks’ number in past playoffs and are looking to pull out another upset.
“I signed up to come play ball up here and I’ll play as much as I have to,” Hunt said. “I think everyone is in the same boat and we want to keep it rocking.”
To upset Okotoks, the Prospects will need their strong pitching to continue and timely hitting. Hunt led the way offensively this season with a .347 average, seven home runs and 40 runs batted in.
“To me, it’s been a great opportunity, especially not playing that much in school this year due to surgery,” Hunt said. “I just want to thank Jordan for giving me the opportunity to come up here and the fans in Edmonton for coming out and supporting and allowing this program to keep playing.
“I think this hot streak is definitely going to help us out. As long as we keep level-headed, I think we’re going to be all right.”