The Okotoks Dawgs' quest for the three-peat continues as they tie the series up 1-1 on Monday night in the best-of-three WCBL West Division Final.
The Dawgs got the game-winning run at the bottom of the seventh and pushed it to a pivotal game three after beating the Gulls 3-2 at Seaman Stadium.
Veteran pitcher and 2024 WCBL All-Star Graham Brunner took the mound to start the game. He would pitch for a full four innings and strike out three Gull batters. Garrett Maloney, Gavin Wuschke, Cade Herrmann, and Ashton Luera came in as relievers. Herrmann and Luera stood their ground, with neither of them allowing a hit and both retaining a 0.00 ERA in the playoffs. Luera closed the game out in a clutch performance once again, getting two strikeouts.
The Gulls opened the scoring at the top of the second, but the Dawgs responded with a run of their own at the bottom of the inning. Connor Crowson would get the first run for the Dawgs while Alejandro Cazorla was at bat.
Sylvan Lake took the lead back at the top of the fourth with a single run. Okotoks evened the score again with a run at the bottom of the fifth.
Logan Grant would get across home plate thanks to a sacrifice fly by Brendan "Mr. August" Luther to tie the game up at 2-2.
The Dawgs stayed focused and pushed forward, getting the eventual game-winner in the bottom of the seventh. Ricky Sanchez picked up the RBI on a triple to left field and got Luther in for the winning run.
Okotoks will now head to Sylvan Lake for the do-or-die game three on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.
In the East Division Final, the Moose Jaw Miller Express tied their series with the Saskatoon Berries and will also play in their pivotal game three on Tuesday in Saskatoon.