Break out the rally caps.
For the third time this season the Okotoks Dawgs mounted a ninth-inning comeback win in walk-off fashion, the latest version a two out rally down three runs to usurp the Weyburn Beavers by a 7-6 score Monday at Seaman Stadium.
“Never die. You hear the funny little (music note) go off in the ninth, never die, and these guys just never quit,” said Dawgs catcher Cameron Campbell. “You keep pushing all night and eventually something is going to bust and it all busted at once for us. Good at-bats all night and it just finally fell into place.”
Leadoff hitter Eddie Sanchez ignited the two-out rally with a single up the middle to keep the Dawgs alive. Jayse McLean stepped up and delivered a double followed by a Matt Lloyd RBI single, scoring Sanchez.
“A baseball game is over when the last out is over,” Sanchez, the Dawgs Academy product, said. “There are 27 outs and you’ve got to get on base and make sure to pass it to the other guys.
“I’m just trying to be the spark and get the guys going.”
Mission accomplished.
Kody Funderburk, who earlier rounded the bases with an inside the park home run, drove in McLean followed by an RBI single off the bat of Zach Hanna to level the score at 6-6.
Campbell then fought off a pitch to right field to drive in pinch runner Darius Foster and complete the dramatic comeback triumph.
“I’m just trying to finish what we started with these guys,” Campbell said. “You see all the grinding at-bats and I’m just looking for a pitch to hit and got one.
“I got jammed a little bit and forced it to right.”
Brennen Lauffenburger picked up the win in relief on the heels of a quality start from righty CJ Lewington.
The Calgarian went six innings, allowing just two runs on five hits.
The pressure cooker is nothing new to the squad.
In addition to the three walk-off wins the Dawgs (17-9) have won six games by two runs or less.
“The mindset is not giving up until the last out. We really fight for it,” Sanchez added. “We keep playing through adversity. As a player you’ve just got to love it and live for those moments and can’t be afraid to fail at those moments.”
Earlier in the week Okotoks split its two-game set with the defending champion Swift Current 57s.
Following a rain delay the Dawgs used seven solid innings from starter Anthony Balderas to clip the 57s by a 9-1 score in front of 5,473 fans on Canada Day.
Swift Current got a measure of revenge in taking game two by a 17-6 score on Sunday.
Okotoks gets back into Western Division action this week when the Fort McMurray Oil Giants make their first visit to Big Rock Country on July 6.
The Dawgs travel to Brooks to take on the Bombers the following night and return home for a two-game set with the Edmonton Prospects on July 8-9.
As of press time, the Dawgs were tied for first in the West with the Lethbridge Bulls at 17-9.
“First place is huge right now to get that home field advantage every time for the playoffs,” Sanchez said. “We’re fighting for that every game, we’ve got to win every game.”
