Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

And then there were four. The Western Canadian Baseball League's Division Series all wrapped up with the Okotoks Dawgs, Sylvan Lake Gulls, Moose Jaw Miller Express and Saskatoon Berries emerging victorious. We take a look back at each of their first-round matchups and look ahead to the Division Championship Series, which are set to begin on Tuesday. Joe and Ian had this conversation as part of the latest "WCBL Report" recorded on Monday.

The field of 12 teams is now down to eight, and in just a few days, we’ll be down to four, and then two will be looking to claim the Harry Hallis Trophy as WCBL champions.
Over the next couple of weeks, Joe McFarland and Ian Wilson will look ahead to each postseason round, then will bring you full coverage of the championship series, which is set for August 15-17.
But it all starts here with the Division Series. In the East, the #1 Moose Jaw Miller Express will battle the #4 Medicine Hat Mavericks and the #2 Saskatoon Berries face the #3 Regina Red Sox. In the West, the #1 Okotoks Dawgs take on the #4 Energy City Cactus Rats while the #2 Sylvan Lake Gulls and #3 Lethbridge Bulls will lock horns.

We put the wraps on another busy week of baseball (including the MLB Trade Deadline, a couple of promotions in the minors and the start of the Women's Pro Baseball League season). Then we hear from the Baseball Canada 19U Women's Nationals Hitter of the Tournament and bronze medalist Braidy Birdsall (Saskatoon), Morneau Cup champion and Washington State commit Jack Bello (Richmond/Dawgs Academy) and Morneau Cup silver medalist and USC-Lancaster commit Lucas Gensler (Edmonton/ATHX Academy). 
5:54 - Braidy Birdsall
18:23 - Jack Bello
27:13 - Lucas Gensler

We're back with another edition of the show after a few extra days off following a wild stretch of daily shows during The Road to Okotoks and the WCBL All-Star Game. We get you all caught up with the news, then hear from Swift Current 57s record-breaker Jake Hiromoto, Parkland Twins extra-innings hero Garet Ostapchuk and Baseball Sask's Greg Brons as we revisit Carter Beck getting drafted by the Atlanta Braves.
7:47 - Jake Hiromoto
14:24 - Garet Ostapchuk
27:23 - Greg Brons

Saskatoon: you did good. Real good. The Western Canadian Baseball League made its maiden All-Star Weekend voyage to the home of the Berries, where they put on a show. It was the first time the league wasn’t in Okotoks since the pandemic. We talk to the players, organizers and check in with Ian Wilson to discuss the weekend and what's to come in 2027.
1:14 - Gael Salinas - Saskatoon - Bunt Competition Champion
3:55 - David Simmons - Energy City - HR Derby Champion
8:32 - Thomas Soto - Moose Jaw - Chasing Stolen Base Records
14:04 - Dallen Rude - Saskatoon - The Muenster Connection
18:49 - Carter Roth - Medicine Hat - All-Star Game MVP
21:08 - Steve Hildebrand - Saskatoon - The Host with the Most
24:47 - Aqil Samuel - Sylvan Lake - Next Year's Host
29:45 - Ian Wilson - Dugout Stories Chief Correspondent

The Morneau Cup came to Okotoks and that’s where it will be staying. Dawgs Academy defended home turf in style with an 11-5 win over Gulls Prep in the finale of the inaugural Road to Okotoks 19U academy national championship Sunday afternoon. We take a look back at all the action from the day and hear from the champs, go through the tournament all-stars and award winners, then check back in with the namesake of the new tournament, Justin Morneau.
2:17 - Jeff Duda
7:08 - Taye Thierman
9:03 - Cam Gerla
10:54 - Kadyn Armitage
12:29 - L.C. Larouche
15:56 - Rhys Whiteford
19:17 - Justin Morneau

It's down to the Final Four at the Morneau Cup. A busy Saturday with the play-in round and quarterfinals, so we take a look at some of the big performances from the day, plus get you set for the semifinals, which will feature three Alberta teams: Vauxhall Academy faces Gulls Prep while Dawgs Black battles the Mississauga Tigers. We also sit down with Baseball Canada architect Greg Hamilton to see how he's feeling after seeing a ton of baseball, and we chat with Jaxson Smith Peterson from Prep Baseball Canada about what he's noticed during the course of the inaugural tournament.
3:05 - Greg Hamilton
9:08 - Jaxson Smith Peterson

And then there were 12. The Road to Okotoks has come to an end for four teams as the Morneau Cup round-robin is now complete following Friday's action. We take a look at the storylines from each match-up, who is getting the bye to the quarters, who is involved in the play-ins, and who is going home. We also recap the first Home Run Derby, which was won by Dawgs Academy slugger L.C. Larouche after he hit 10 bombs in the final round.
4:07 - L.C. Larouche - Dawgs Academy
8:01 - Tanner Morris - Vauxhall Academy
10:48 - Trentin Kooy - Team Sask

It was another scorcher of a day with some outstanding contests throughout on Day #3 of Baseball Canada's inaugural Morneau Cup round-robin. We take a look at the storylines from each of the games, then have eight different guests join us to talk about their thoughts and mindsets during this national championship.
3:41 - Pryor Dyck - Team Sask
6:39 - Cade Britz - Team Sask
9:15 - Calum Andersen - Vauxhall Academy
13:49 - Matthew Getz - Vauxhall Academy
16:44 - Cam Gerla - Dawgs Black
21:47 - Gabe Fink - AHP Academy
24:12 - Dayne Liske - Gulls Prep
27:32 - Tyler McWillie - Gulls Prep coach

Another fantastic day for baseball in Okotoks for day #2 of The Road to Okotoks and the Morneau Cup. We take a look at the standings, the game-by-game analysis, and welcome SEVEN guests to the show to talk about their experiences and expectations at the inaugural tournament.
3:43 - Aiden Kilshaw - Baseball Sask
6:49 - Braxton Bussing - Gulls Prep
9:17 - Sam Davis - AHP Academy
13:31 - Tyson Dyck - Webber Academy (drafted by UBC Thunder)
15:47 - Will Zielinski - Vauxhall Academy
19:55 - Jeff Duda - Dawgs Academy
21:05 - Conner Morro - Blue Jays Academy/Brooks Bombers alumni

What a beautiful day in Okotoks as The Road to Okotoks officially began with a full slate of games. We give you a quick rundown of the action with some highlights from each game, before chatting with a quintet of players.
3:21 - L.C. Larouche - Dawgs Academy
5:47 - Easton Kitura - Vauxhall Academy
10:54 - Jayden Kane - AHP Academy
14:16 - Ethan Chenard - Medicine Hat Junior Mavericks (drafted by Etobicoke Rangers)
17:45 - Beck Button - Webber Academy (drafted by Abbotsford Cardinals)

Welcome to the first of daily episodes shining a light on The Road to Okotoks. The inaugural event is finally here and it all got started on Monday with practices and a media day, giving us an opportunity to chat with players, coaches and dignitaries. We spent most of the day at Seaman Stadium and Tourmaline Field catching up with tons of people. To get us rolling, we hear Baseball Canada's Jason Dickson, Okotoks Mayor Tanya Thorn, Dawgs coach Matt Stairs and we get a surprise visit from Dawgs alum and current San Francisco Giants prospect Matt "Tugboat" Wilkinson.
2:52 - Jason Dickson
11:55 - Mayor Tanya Thorn
16:18 - Matt Stairs
25:07 - Matt "Tugboat" Wilkinson