Hello, all fans of Prairie Dawgs Baseball. Since we last spoke the team had two separate series; the first being a midweek doubleheader against the University of Calgary Dinos and the second being a four-game weekend series against the University of Fraser Valley Cascades. The team split Wednesday’s games before sweeping the weekend series against UFV. Collectively, the games were total team wins. PBA played gritty blue-collar baseball coming from behind to win each game of the weekend. With numerous players playing out of position, walk-off wins, and career first home runs the weekend had all the excitement a baseball fan could ask for.

The boys have caught absolute fire these last few weeks and went on an epic stretch run. PBA won 16 of their last 17 games en route to win the Canadian College Baseball Conference once again. This stretch revealed the true character of the team. The group of twenty-six young men emerged as a family of nitty-gritty resilient dirt bags. Consistently, this team exhibited a never say die attitude as they would fight to earn every win. Players have done a fantastic job of understanding and embracing their roles, ultimately putting the team first.

Before starting play for championships, the team arrived early for the annual awards banquet. After listening to some speeches and enjoying a free meal courtesy of the city of Kamloops the team would direct their focus to the CCBC awards. Prairie Baseball Academy and its players were well represented in the all-conference awards. David Leblanc, Liam Sabiston, Dalton Wells and Jaret Semeniuk all received 1st team all-conference honours. Eric Davies, Kevin Floyd, Ethan Kano-McGregor, and myself were named to the 2nd team all-conference. Kai Poffenroth received an award for having the most wins of any pitcher in the league. Meanwhile, the PBA offense was recognized for having the highest team batting average in the league, hitting .299. Overall, it was another successful banquet for the program with such prestigious recognition.

At the beginning of every season, the team’s primary goal is a championship. Each team dreams of winning the last game of the year and having medals placed around their necks just like us. However, over the previous seven years, the Dawgs have been the only ones to hoist the trophy. Playing in a college program is a sacrifice and an opportunity. You sacrifice your time, body, and even your college experience for the chance to contribute to a legacy. Championships provide the opportunity to cement your legacy as a team. The fall World Series, 30 minutes of Hell, the flooding at PBA, long road trips, and abysmal weather all build to this one final weekend. At the beginning of this year, the team set a series of goals they felt were essential to a successful season. Three of those goals included coming first in the conference, becoming a family and winning a championship. To achieve these goals, it took every ounce of ability from the players and coaching staff. After clinching the league, the team is closer than ever. Moreover, the entire year comes down to one final weekend, although the season has been successful, there is still unfinished business.

The 2018 PBA Varsity team begins their championship run at 4:00 pm against the Okanagan College Coyotes. Games are scheduled to be live streamed on the TRU baseball youtube page. If you would like to view the live video stream yourself, please follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVAnTOUkCTw

~Chewy