Dawgs come up short in Fort Mac

Dan Khavkin, Dawgs Baseball

Fort McMurray, AB – A For just the second time this season and just the fifth time dating back to last
season, the Okotoks Dawgs dropped back-to-back outings following a 6-3 loss to the Fort McMurray
Giants in the first of a three-game road swing Friday night.
With the result, the Giants defeat Okotoks (25-8) for the first time in 15 tries with their series-opening
win.
WCBL batting average leader and Chandler-Gilbert outfielder Tristan Peters had his season-long 31
game hit-streak come to end after failing to register in his first start.
The Dawgs started strong – they jumped on the lead first on an RBI double from Southeastern
Community College catcher Gavin Logan in the first inning
Lewis-Clarke State hurler Justin Hammergren took on the bump for his fifth start of the season. The
lefty dominated to start the outing, fanning nine batters in just four and 1/3 innings but a luckless fourth
inning spoiled his outing.
Okotoks was in control of the ballgame heading into the miserable fourth inning that changed the
outcome of the game.
The inning was full of 50/50 calls that swayed against the Okotoks side of the argument, allowing for
the Giants to tally four runs and take a suffocating 4-1 lead.
With a man on and no out in the inning, UBC infielder Jaxon Valcke caught an overthrown ball and
appeared to tag the Giants batter while in the air but the call was made the other way.
Loading the bases the next at-bat, a strike-three call went the other way that eventually leads up to a
questionable two-run one-out RBI double that appeared to land on the foul side of the third base line
with two outs before stopping the outburst.
Hammergren was pulled after the Giants (17-17) tallied two runs after stringing together two
consecutive RBI singles in the fifth inning.
LC State teammate Tanner Simpson entered the contest and stopped the bleeding, setting up three
shutout innings from the bullpen to stump the Fort McMurray Giants on offence.
Okotoks found a pulse after not scoring for six innings on back-to-back RBI doubles from Iowa-
Western outfielder Isaiah Peterson and University of Houston infielder Brett Esau.

The push wasn’t enough for the Dawgs who dropped their eighth game this season.
Game-two is set for 2:05 p.m.