Published by Alberta Dugout Stories
Celebrating Alberta’s past, present and future in baseball. Hear from the players, coaches, officials and others involved in the game, as well as the latest news and notes from around the sport in our province.
Listen on Apple PodcastsWe'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
Welcome to the silly season for baseball in our neck of the woods. National championships are getting underway, The Road to Okotoks is nearing, and the Western Canadian Baseball League All-Star Game is set for next weekend. To get you all set up, we hear from Baseball Sask rising star Beth Sarauer (Clavet) about her excitement to play for three provincial teams, Kaleb Bozek (Castor) of Vauxhall Academy and the Brooks Bombers on all the things he's up to this summer, and our Ian Wilson stops by for a mid-season(ish) check in on the WCBL and his excitement for the All-Star Weekend in Saskatoon. 7:26 - Beth Sarauer 17:20 - Kaleb Bozek 27:59 - Ian Wilson
Plenty of news around the baseball world as we enter the month of July. Then we get to know a trio of guests with ATHX Academy product Caleb Mercer (Fort McMurray), Baseball Alberta rising star Avery Mullin (Leduc) and we catch up with Saskatoon Berries hurler Adam Korte (Muenster). 5:50 - Caleb Mercer 19:46 - Avery Mullin 33:54 - Adam Korte
We get you caught up on yet another busy week in the baseball news business before a trio of fantastic conversations. Baseball Alberta unveiled its 14U, 16U and 19U women's national events coming up later this summer and one familiar face is Airdrie's Natalie Kerr, who joins us to talk about her journey in the game. Then we head to the Western Canadian Baseball League to hear from one of the leading hitters in Swift Current 57's star Jake Hiromoto and one of the circuit's top pitchers in Okotoks Dawgs hurler Wyatt Sadleir. 7:39 - Natalie Kerr 21:33 - Jake Hiromoto 37:38 - Wyatt Sadleir
It has been a crazy week with one major story dominating the headlines. We take a deep dive into all that has transpired as the Western Canadian Baseball League has granted approval to the Energy City Cactus Rats hosting home games for the rest of the season. We provide a lot of context and some lengthy clips from league president Kevin Kvame's news conference on Wednesday. After that, we hear from Regina Red Sox veterans Justin Simard and Colton Bank, Medicine Hat Mavericks infielder Johnny Vulcano, and we catch up with Cochrane's Simon Baker after his award-winning college season. 11:54 - Justin Simard 15:53 - Colton Bank 19:08 - Johnny Vulcano 27:37 - Simon Baker
More guests and more news! We have a jam-packed episode of the show as we get to know Dawgs Academy hurler AJ Rogers as he gets ready for a busy summer. He’s pitching in the MLB Draft League right now and is also getting ready for The Road to Okotoks. Then Ian Wilson kickstarts our season of “In The Dugout” with a quartet of guests: Thomas Soto and William Edwards of the Moose Jaw Miller Express and Rydell and Kyrell Adair of the Swift Current 57’s. We also have a bit of a mailbag segment to round out the show. 6:40 – AJ Rogers 20:03 – Thomas Soto 28:35 – William Edwards 33:06 – Rydell Adair 37:10 – Kyrell Adair 40:15 – Mailbag Questions
Slowly but surely we're getting ourselves back into a regular cadence. And that includes putting the wraps on another busy week of news in the baseball world. Then we dive into The Road to Okotoks and last weekend's Prairie Qualifiers, which were rained out on the final Sunday. In the end, Baseball Canada opted to allow all four semi-final teams to get to the main event in July. We get to know a player from each of the teams on the latest edition of the show. Read "Next Stop: Okotoks" for more on the Prairie Qualifiers. 7:08 - Hudson Nikkel - Vauxhall Academy 19:10 - Cale Harsch - AHP Academy 30:34 - Rhett Anderson - Baseball Sask 44:23 - Owen Coumont - Gulls Prep
What a Friday it was in Carnduff as the Western Canadian Baseball League came to the community and put on a show for the second-annual Rural Roots Baseball Classic. A massive tip of the cap to everyone involved in organizing yet another memorable day in celebrating the past, present and future of baseball in Carnduff and southeastern Saskatchewan. Last year’s inaugural event in Oyen was fantastic and this season’s was another spectacle with a packed house coming to see the Saskatoon Berries and Weyburn Beavers do battle. Check out the photo gallery here . 1:10 - Ian Wilson 13:05 - Ethan Murdoch 20:23 - Jackson Fox 23:30 - Garnet Hansen 27:14 - Blair Beck
We put the wraps on a very busy week for baseball across the prairies by taking a look at the female game with some pretty exciting news over the last couple of weeks. We have a quartet of guests joining us to get through it all, including a new league in Calgary , a new academy in Saskatoon , an update from the Women's National Team, and a long-time national team member who made a special appearance in Lethbridge over the past week. 2:02 - Sydney Barry 10:55 - Addie Ziebart 19:27 - Julianna Scott 27:08 - Nicole Luchanski ( via the Bullhorn in Lethbridge )
We’ve chatted with players and now it’s time to provide a little insight into how we see things shaping up around the Western Canadian Baseball League this summer. Joe and Ian are the special guests for the WCBL Report’s Season Preview Show, hosted by Clark Monroe. Thanks to the league and IKS Media for sharing the audio so that we can bring all our thoughts to you. Enjoy! Check out our one-stop-shop for all our written WCBL season preview stories here .
Welcome to part two of our WCBL Season Preview Extravaganza! After spending the last episode in the East Division, it's time to take a look at the West Division with a guest from each of the six teams and their expectations heading into the summer. 1:19 - Sylvan Lake Gulls - Kai Rempel 7:22 - Okotoks Dawgs - Brody Forno 12:39 - Lethbridge Bulls - Cardel Dick 19:32 - Brooks Bombers - Deri Steiert-Couture 25:01 - Fort McMurray Giants - Jordan Breen 30:13 - Energy City Cactus Rats - Hudson Kozicki
The Western Canadian Baseball League season is upon us! As has become a new tradition here on the show, we've lined up quick check-ins from one player with each team to look ahead to the summer and what they're expecting out of their respective teams. Today, we focus on the East Division, while the West Division comes tomorrow. 1:09 - Regina Red Sox - Brady Bye 6:34 - Saskatoon Berries - Aidan Marien 12:34 - Medicine Hat Mavericks - Evan Morrison 18:13 - Moose Jaw Miller Express - Nathan Pisio 25:24 - Weyburn Beavers - Brayden Mayencourt 30:40 - Swift Current 57s - Hudson Unger