Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

Episode 232: Chance Wheatley, Eric Rataczak & Zach Stark

As always, we start off by taking a look back at the week that was, including a special shout-out to a Sherwood Park pitcher who threw a no-hitter over the weekend. Then we recap the last week in the Western Canadian Baseball League and sit down for chats with Lethbridge Bulls coach Chance Wheatley, Brooks Bombers slugger Eric Rataczak and Medicine Hat Mavericks hometown hero Zach Stark.

Episode 231: Jason Chatwood, Quinn Tocheniuk & Max Stagg

We take a look back at the week that was in major baseball news for Alberta, including Matt Coutney's promotion and the Baseball Alberta Women's Team announcement. We also rewind on the WCBL week that was, and chat with Sylvan Lake coach Jason Chatwood, Okotoks pitcher Quinn Tocheniuk and Fort McMurray outfielder Max Stagg.

Episode 230: Mark Goodman, Kalem Haney & Connor Crowson

We take a look back at the week that was with some of the highlights around baseball in Alberta, and are joined for conversations with Medicine Hat Mavericks head coach Mark Goodman, Lethbridge Bulls infielder Kalem Haney and Okotoks Dawgs product Connor Crowson.

Episode 229: Matty Fung, Ryan Kucy and Adam Golby

As we continue getting to know the people around the Western Canadian Baseball League this summer, we have a trio of players joining us this week. Sylvan Lake Gulls utilityman Matty Fung is among the league leaders in batting average and stolen bases, Brooks Bombers infielder Ryan Kucy is off to a great start in his collegiate career, and Medicine Hat Mavericks starter Adam Golby is looking to build off a great rookie campaign that included an All-Star Game nod as a member of the Swift Current 57s.

Episode 228: A Few Familiar Faces

We take a quick look back at the first week of the Western Canadian Baseball League season and some of the early leaders. Then we sit down with Brooks Bombers head coach Ruddy Estrella, Fort McMurray Giants catcher Jordan Bach, and we conclude Ian Wilson's trek to the Okotoks Dawgs' Media Day with quick updates from Ryan McFarland, Brody Forno and Nash Crowell.

Episode 227: Welcome to the WCBL’s Opening Weekend

The 2023 Western Canadian Baseball League season is underway. Over the next few months, ten teams in Alberta and Saskatchewan will battle it out, with the goal of raising the Harry Hallis Trophy in mid-August. You can read the West Division preview story here and the East Division preview story here. Here on the podcast each week during the summer, we’re going to switch things up and endeavour to bring you a handful of coaches, players and surprise guests to give you some variety with each episode. This week, we sit down with Okotoks Dawgs head coach Lou Pote and pitcher Matt Wilkinson, who has some news about his summer plans, as well as reigning WCBL Pitcher of the Year Josh Tucker of the Sylvan Lake Gulls and rookie Lethbridge Bulls outfielder Demitri Shakotko.

Episode 226: Dinos Win 2023 CCBC Championship

For the first time in the program’s history, the University of Calgary Dinos are Canadian College Baseball Conference champions. After posting wins against Thompson Rivers University and Prairie Baseball Academy in the round-robin, they edged the Victoria Golden Tide 7-6 to get themselves into the CCBC final. Given that it’s a double-elimination format, Victoria bounced back with an 11-10 win over PBA to get themselves into the final for a rematch. And what a finale it was in Lethbridge as the Dinos edged the Golden Tide 8-7. We hear from head coach Cam Williams, as well as players Zach Delaquis, Marcus Coderre and Cale Yuzdepski.

Episode 225: Jacob Honke

It all comes down to this. A championship is on the line this weekend in Lethbridge as the Canadian College Baseball Conference season comes to an end. It feels like the regular season just flew by, but the Alberta teams surely made an impact. Prairie Baseball Academy finished on top with a 21-11 record, with the Edmonton Collegiate Hawks and University of Calgary Dinos finishing third and fourth, respectively. But it’s anyone’s game come the final weekend, and one player who can attest to that is Jacob Honke. The EC Hawks infielder is heading into his last collegiate games as he’s set to graduate from the University of Alberta, with an eye on becoming a strength and conditioning coach, something he’s doing already with Taylor Burns at Absolute Human Performance and AHP Academy. Honke, who hails from Red Deer, joined us recently to talk about being a veteran presence heading into championship weekend, the evolution of the Hawks program since he first started, and what it means to have family not only on, but off the field with him.

Episode 224: Marcus Coderre

Blink, and you might just miss it. For any player entering their final year of college eligibility, it feels like it doesn’t take very long to go from raw rookie to standout veteran. Such is the case for Marcus Coderre. The fifth-year University of Calgary Dinos third baseman has become a key piece of the leadership group that has helped turn the program around, to the point where they are now a serious contender heading towards the Canadian College Baseball Conference Championships in a couple of weeks. The 5-foot-11 Coderre is hitting .228 with 11 RBI and 2 stolen bases in 26 games, but more importantly has been instrumental in helping the young Dinos core establish itself quickly, sitting with a 15-13 record as we recorded this episode. The Calgary product joined us recently for a great chat about his baseball journey, his hope to give back through coaching, and what he’s learned under Calgary Wildcats senior director of baseball operations and former MLB hurler Chris Reitsma.

Episode 223: Carter Claerhout

While we didn’t actually get a chance to meet at the Prairie Baseball Academy annual banquet earlier this year, it was hard not to notice Carter Claerhout. The 6-foot, 235-pound Red Deer product isn’t just a physical presence, but seems to almost always be smiling. And if he knew at the time just how good he’d be this spring, that smile would probably be even bigger. After flirting with .600 for the better part of the first half, the first baseman has settled in at .483 with three homers and 19 RBI in 20 games to lead the entire Canadian College Baseball Conference in each category. It’s a fantastic follow-up to his 2022 season, where he hit .356 with seven dingers and 45 RBI in 32 games. But PBA fell short of winning the league last year, and that’s ultimately what is fueling the Southern Arkansas University commit, who joined us for a great chat a couple of weeks ago. A special thanks as well to Cindy Adachi for sharing her photos of Carter for our podcast use.

Episode 222: ”Lucy Tries Baseball”

We’ve had authors on the show before, but none quite like Lisa Bowes. The well-known broadcaster spent many years at TSN as well as CTV Calgary. A few years ago, she used her journalistic chops to start writing children’s books. The series, entitled “Lucy Tries” and illustrated by James Hearne, follows Lucy on her sports adventures. The first five books saw Lucy try luge, short track, soccer, hockey and basketball. The sixth book, “Lucy Tries Baseball,” hit store shelves earlier this month, and isn’t meant just to shine a light on the sports, but to inspire kids to get active as well. To mark the book’s release, I had a great chat with Lisa via Zoom recently to talk about what inspired her to write the book, how she approaches the writing process, and the importance of inclusion in sport.

Episode 221: Alberta Girls Baseball League

Buzz is starting to grow around the newest addition to the Baseball Alberta fleet of offerings. 2023 will be the pilot season for the new Alberta Girls Baseball League. It will feature three associations: the Beaumont Minor Baseball Association, Edson Prospects Baseball and the Rocky and District Baseball Association. All three took part in the Spruce Grove Girl’s Baseball Tournament in 2022, and were all keen to grow it into a league. Not only do they hope to grow the game and grow as a league with more teams in the future, but also help keep girls in the game longer to become more of a pipeline for future provincial and national teams. We sat down for a great chat with Baseball Alberta Girls/Womens Director Barb Northcott recently, to talk about the league, the potential, and the hope to also change the conversation about girls and baseball.