Okotoks wins third straight WCBL championship
By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on August 20, 2024.
sports@medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews The Okotoks Dawgs repeated the three-peat. The WCBL’s winningest team added to their banners with a third straight and eighth overall championship Saturday evening, walking off the Moose Jaw Miller Express 6-5 in Game 3 of the WCBL finals. Okotoks product Connor Crowson played hero on the faithful night, blasting the second pitch he saw in the bottom of the ninth over the right-centre field fence to electrify the record-setting postseason crowd of 6,341. While the night ended in Okotoks’ fireworks, the evening was a back and forth affair as both teams pushed for eternal summer glory. The Dawgs opened the scoring with runs in the first, third and fourth innings on an RBI single from third baseman Jarrett Burtney and RBI doubles from right fielder Tucker Zdunich and centre fielder Logan Grant. Moose Jaw responded with a three-run fifth inning from names familiar to Medicine Hat Mavericks’ fans. First baseman Austin Gurney knocked in a run with an RBI single and scored four pitches later on a two-run home run from centre field slugger Nate Mensik for the 3-3 lock. The Dawgs regained a lead in the bottom of the frame on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Zdunich, and padded the advantage on a whimsical play in the seventh. With a Dawgs’ runner on first, Okotoks shortstop Brendan Luther grounded out to first base, sending the runner to second. A throw was made to second but no tag was applied and when the ball returned to first, it was bobbled and ended up out of play, scoring the runner at second for a 5-3 Dawgs’ lead. Moose Jaw made use of their dwindling outs, tying the game in the eighth inning. With a runner on first, right fielder Robert Estrada roped a triple to right field to score a run, and he scored on a wild pitch two pitches later for a tie game. With new breath in the game, it was Okotoks’ own who stole the show and become the ‘air’ of the night. The 2024 WCBL finals was the second time in three years the Dawgs and Miller Express have matched up in the finals, with Okotoks winning the 2022 finals with a 4-1 Game 3 win. Okotoks also went the distance to win the 2023 championship, beating Medicine Hat 13-5 in the decisive Game 3. 14-13
