Never count out winning pedigree. Tasked with coming back from a less than ideal blowout loss to start the Baseball Alberta Tier II Midget AAA Championships, the Okotoks Dawgs 16U relied on a roster full of winners to charge back and win the provincial title Sunday at Tourmaline Field. “The kids played hard and we were backs against the wall because we got 10-runned the first game,” said Dawgs 16U head coach Allen Cox. “I’ve never seen anything like this team and how close they are off the field. “They got together, they’re a self-governed team, and just said hey our backs are against the wall.” When digging out of a hole it helps to have a group who’ve been on the other side. The 16U team features a number of Dawgs academy players who were part of the Peewee Dawgs team that won a provincial title in 2015 well as capturing the 2017 Bantam AAA championship on its home diamond. Additionally, there are holdovers from Okotoks’ Tier II championship from last summer. “When you put all those champion teams together, it’s pretty easy,” Cox said. “Being in championships their whole lives, they know when to turn it on.” That championship pedigree was put to the test in the opener as the top-seed Dawgs were bounced 16-2 by the Calgary Bandits. “We ended up the number-one seed and the Bandits just came out and beat us,” the coach added. “It’s not like we gave it away, they just came out and played. You talk to the kids and it’s nothing we did, they were better than us today. “Our backs were against the wall and we have to win tomorrow.” One day later and a world apart, they responded with must-win victories over the Calgary Cubs and South Jasper Place Jays to advance to the playoff round. “We were able to use our pitchers for just 40 pitches and saved everybody so we could have them the next day,” Cox said. “And we were in a good position because we scored a lot of runs.” Once in the medal round, Okotoks’ went into playoff mode and used steady pitching and a powerful offence to get into a gold medal position. In the semifinal, starter Aiden Rose and reliever Braeden Asuchak combined to keep the Calgary Dinos in check in a 6-3 triumph. Outfielder Tanner Zdunich, the tournament MVP, had a bases clearing double off the fence as a huge momentum swing in the semifinal. Andrew Franson got the call in the final and with strong run support guided the Dawgs to the 13-3 victory over a scrappy East Central Bulls outfit. Zdunich and Connor Crowson had back-to-back jacks in the offensive onslaught. As winners of the Tier II championship, the Dawgs earn the privilege of extending their season. They’ve booked themselves the final spot in the Tier I championships held this coming weekend in Edmonton. Dawgs 16U roster: Josh Bertrand, Brandon Green, Chase Tucker, Aiden Rose, Kobe Fredland, Ben Gagnon, Ryan Dousett, Donovan Brooks, Kayden Larson, Andrew Franson, Justin Lof, Connor Crowson, Matt Neufeld, Thomas Bakoway, Grayden Guntrip, Brody Forno, Liam Thorne, Derek Palmiere, Braeden Asuchak, Tanner Zdunich.
