Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

Episode 197: Braden Desonia

Every college player dreams of making an impact with their summer baseball league. Braden Desonia did more than that in his first season with the Medicine Hat Mavericks. The 6’1”, 165-pound centrefielder was a terror for opposing pitchers and defenses, hitting .348 with five home runs and 42 runs batted in while stealing a Western Canadian Baseball League record 42 stolen bases, 15 more than anyone else. Desonia was also a WCBL All-Star, taking part in the festivities in Okotoks, stealing the show at the Home Run Derby, not with his power, but with the storyline of a last-minute request to have his dad, who was flying in from Mead, Washington, be his pitcher. It was a heartfelt moment in a season to remember for the Desonia family. Near the end of the regular season, our Ian Wilson recently chatted with them both about the opportunities and experiences of baseball north of the 49th parallel.

Episode 196: Michael Yusypchuk

There was already a lot of buzz around Edmonton’s Michael Yusypchuk before he joined Team Alberta for this year’s Canada Summer Games in Ontario. Last year’s Baseball Alberta 15U “AAA” Player of the Year has been spectacular with St. Albert Minor Baseball Association teams over the years, is heading to Dawgs Academy in Okotoks, and has already committed to Missouri State. Well, he added to that legacy during the summer games with a no-hitter in the semi-final against BC, striking out seven and was a walk away from the perfect game in a 4-0 victory. Alberta went on to win silver in the tournament, and once the dust settled, we caught up with Yusypchuk to talk about the performance, his baseball journey and what he believes his ceiling might be, as the Canadian Baseball Network has him listed as a top-5 Canadian to be chosen in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Episode 195: Celebrating the 1982 Medicine Hat Blue Jays

It was quite the spectacle in Toronto recently as the Blue Jays marked the 30th anniversary of their 1992 World Series championship. Fans were able to re-live those memories as the stars like Joe Carter, Dave Winfield and Devon White came back to town to celebrate the occasion. That team also had a few connections to its Pioneer League affiliate that won its first title a decade earlier. This week marks the 40th anniversary of the Medicine Hat Blue Jays taking home what would become its only championship. Pat Borders, David Wells and Jimmy Key were among those who were with the Baby Jays that season. On this week's episode, we take a trip down memory lane with a couple of key members of that team: Keith Gilliam and Kash Beauchamp.

Episode 194: Amar Mahmood

The countdown is on to the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Four cities will host the tournament from March 8th-21st. Canada will be in tough in Pool C with the defending champion United States along with Mexico, Columbia and one of four qualifier teams. There will be two qualifier tournaments, with Pool “A” in Germany from September 16th-21st, and Pool “B” in Panama from September 30th-October 5th. There will be some Alberta talent in Pool “B” with Amar Mahmood. The Edmonton product has been named to the roster for Pakistan, which is where his parents are from. He’s a rising star from AHP Academy, having already committed to De Anza College in the California Community College Association. The 18-year-old took some time this past week to chat with us about his baseball journey, his love of the game and what it means to represent his roots.

Episode 193: Clayton Loranger

2022 will be remembered as the first season with the Edmonton Riverhawks of the West Coast League. In the ultra-competitive North Division, the Riverhawks made a push for the second half pennant, falling just short during the final weekend, finishing with an overall record of 25-28. Several hometown products were able to crack the roster, including outfielder Clayton Loranger. The Sherwood Park native was outstanding, hitting .365 with two home runs, 30 RBI, and 27 stolen bases in 47 games en route to being named a WCL First Team All-Star. We caught up with the 5-11, 195-pound Stephen F. Austin State University senior recently to talk about his summer and what it meant to be a part of the inaugural season as a hometown hero.

Episode 192: Dawgs Claim 2022 WCBL Championship

For a sixth time in franchise history, the Okotoks Dawgs are the top dogs of the Western Canadian Baseball League. In front of a packed Seaman Stadium, the Dawgs clinched the title with a 4-1 win over the Moose Jaw Miller Express Thursday night. Head to our website to check out the full story. After the game, we caught up with Playoff MVP Brendan Luther, outfielder Micah McDowell, pitcher Matt Wilkinson, infielder Ricky Sanchez, outfielder Alejandro Cazorla and head coach Mitch "Big Bear" Schmidt.

Episode 191: 2022 Canadian Little League Championships

What a week it was in Calgary for the Canadian Little League Championships. Not only was the weather fantastic, but the baseball was second-to-none as teams from around the country vied for the right to represent the maple leaf in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The final was held Friday with Moose Jaw taking on the Little Mountain Baseball All-Stars, competing as Team BC. And with a 9-4 victory, BC has now won 15 of the last 16 Canadian regional championships. Our Ian Wilson was in attendance and managed to catch up with some of the players, coaches and organizers for the event, which received rave reviews from all involved. Hear from players Jaxon Mayervich and Alden Yu. manager Ulysses Yan, and 2022 tournament chair Allan Chatenay on this week's episode.

Episode 190: Tyrelle Chadwick

This week, we take a look back at a great accomplishment by Dawgs Academy’s 18U Black squad. They headed south of the border for a few tournaments over the summer, including the Perfect Game World Series in West Palm Beach, Florida. After going 3-1-1 in the round-robin, the Dawgs didn’t turn back, beating NEB National 4-2 in the final. Dawgs starter Tyrelle Chadwick, who picked up the win in the final with a 3-hit, 3-walk, 5-strikeout in six-plus inning performance, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Pitcher. While he’s only 19, he already has experience in summer college ball with the Dawgs Black WCBL squad in 2021 and then his hometown Kamloops NorthPaws for a few games before coming back to the Academy this summer. An Illinois State recruit, he’s also the son of former Edmonton Trappers and California Angels pitcher and current TRU Wolfpack head coach Ray Chadwick. We caught up with the promising young right-hander to talk about his baseball journey, winning the Perfect Game tournament and what he’d like to one day accomplish. 

Episode 189: Drafted - Gavin Logan

What a year it’s been for Gavin Logan. The Oyen, Alberta product and Dawgs Academy grad took full advantage of being the starting catcher for Oregon State, hitting .281 with three home runs and 36 runs batted in while committing just one error in 45 games as he was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and All-Pac-12 Tournament Team. While the Beavers fell short of their goal of winning the NCAA national championship, they were a powerful squad and it showed when eight players were selected in the MLB Draft in July. That includes Logan, who was taken in the ninth round, 258th overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has received a hero’s welcome in Okotoks, including throwing out a first pitch at a Dawgs game then catching the ceremonial toss from Matt Stairs at the WCBL All-Star Game. I caught up with him at those festivities to talk about his whirlwind last few weeks, as we last connected for Episode 170. Read the story we wrote earlier this year about Logan here and the story of his fellow drafted Albertan, Matt Coutney, here.

Episode 188: WCBL All-Star Game Spectacular

Words probably can’t describe the feeling everyone had Saturday night after witnessing the Western Canadian Baseball League’s All-Star Game festivities in Okotoks. A crowd of 6,000+ people, the players and coaches enjoying every minute of it, some incredible moments of baseball, fireworks at the end, and a million memories made, and it feels like we’re just scratching the surface. Make sure to head to albertadugoutstories.com for the game story and photo gallery that we posted earlier this week. We have plenty more stories to come in the days ahead. Here on the podcast, instead of one guest telling us the story of the day, we have a series of shorter interviews done before and after the game, to help capture the day’s events. Listen in to hear from Matt Wolff of the Brooks Bombers, Braden DeSonia of the Medicine Hat Mavericks, McCoy Pearce and Micah McDowell of the Okotoks Dawgs, Weyburn Beavers slugger Nolan Machibroda, and Sylvan Lake Gulls infielder and All-Star Game MVP Ethan Ho.

Episode 187: Drafted - Matt Coutney

Three days. 30 teams. 20 rounds. 616 baseball prospects chosen in the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft. Among them, 15 Canadians including two from Alberta. Dawgs Academy product and Oregon State catcher Gavin Logan went in the ninth round, 258th overall to the Arizona Diamondbacks, while St. FX Academy product and Old Dominion University first baseman Matt Coutney was taken in the tenth round, 298th overall by the Los Angeles Angels. Congratulations to all for taking the next step in your baseball journey. And congratulations as well to those who will undoubtedly get free agent contracts in the days and weeks ahead, just like Vauxhall Academy grad and UBC slugger Ty Penner did with the Philadelphia Phillies. For this week’s episode of the podcast, we catch up with one of the three recently-signed Albertans. We got to know Coutney on Episode #176, talking about his baseball journey and his stellar season at ODU, where he was one of the nation’s top home-run hitters this season. And he really actually started heating up in April after inserting a contact lens that he had been prescribed but didn’t think would make a big difference. We caught up this week to talk about getting drafted, the process as a whole, and what it meant to him and some of his biggest fans.

Episode 186: Nathan Stark

It’s been a long couple of years without WCBL baseball in a trio of Alberta communities. Over the past few episodes, we’ve chatted with hometown athletes Dax Wandler of the Brooks Bombers and Sean Dunn of the Fort McMurray Giants about coming back this season and the excitement in their respective communities. The third team to return is the Medicine Hat Mavericks and who better to talk about to than Nathan Stark. The Medicine Hat product grew up coming to Mavericks games, and has had the fortune of being with the team since 2017, including their 2018 championship run. While those years were special, this year is even more sweet as he has his brothers, Josh and Zach, on the roster as well. In fact, as we record this episode, they’ve all been on the field at the same time on a couple of occasions. Nathan is the eldest brother who played his high school ball with the McCoy Colts before moving onto Colby Community College, LSU-Shreveport and Doane University. It’s been quite the journey for the 6-foot-3, 171-pound right-hander, who joined us earlier this week to talk all about it.