For the Dawgs’ King of the Ks, it is all about the team.
First-year pitcher Ryan Rogers ranks first in the Western Major Baseball League (WMBL) this season with 56 strikeouts in only 44 innings.
Despite his strong start thus far, Rogers deflected praise to his teammates for his success on the mound.
“I just go out there and pitch,” he said. “I try to let my defence work most of the time.”
Rogers has a 3-4 record thus far with a 2.25 ERA.
The hard-luck pitcher took the ‘L’ in the Dawgs’ 3-2 loss to the Medicine Hat Mavericks Monday in the Hat, despite pitching a complete game and recording 10 strikeouts.
The Owensboro, Kentucky native has quickly carved out a significant role for the Dawgs, said head coach Brandon Newell.
The Dawgs’ bench boss attributed his pitcher’s success to a level of unpredictability he brings to the mound.
“He throws all three pitches at any count so the hitters stay off balance all the time with him,” he explained. “They don’t know what’s coming. They can’t sit on a pitch at any count with him.”
Don’t be fooled by his reserved demeanor either, Newell indicated.
Once Rogers takes to the mound, winning is foremost in his mind.
“He’s ultra competitive just like a lot of our pitchers are,” Newell said.
It’s that competitive streak, combined with the results that have earned Rogers the all-important respect of his teammates.
“When he runs out there, our guys expect to win,” Newell said.
Rogers said the support of his teammates has helped with the transition to the WMBL.
“It’s a great group of guys,” he said.
As they continue to mesh as a team, Rogers cautioned the fans haven’t seen anything yet.
“I feel like we’re going to do some damage in the playoffs. I still feel like we haven’t even hit our peak yet so it’s going to be scary when it happens,” he said.
Fresh off his Junior season at Lindsey Wilson College in Kentucky, Rogers noted the difference between Canadian baseball and U.S collegiate baseball is considerable.
Not to mention, he added, the fan support in Okotoks is about 10 times what he is used to in college.
“It’s been a real big difference baseball-wise, umpires, everything. The whole scenery is different compared to back home. The league I played in back home, we barely had 100 fans but you come up here and you play in front of thousands. It’s pretty awesome,” he explained.
While some players had difficulty adjusting to playing in front of so many, the 6-2, 230-pound hurler has made it clear through his performance this season he thrives off it.
A tough week
Now that they’ve hit the Dawg days of summer, Okotoks’ college baseball team is looking to ramp up the intensity for the playoff stretch.
Based on last week’s play, they aren’t there yet.
The Dawgs dropped two consecutive games on Thursday and Saturday before finishing off the weekend on a high-note with a 9-5 victory over the Moose Jaw Miller Express on Sunday at Seaman Stadium.
Following a 12-9 road loss to Lethbridge, the Dawgs fell 2-0 to the Miller Express on Saturday in front of their home crowd at Seaman Stadium.
The loss came despite a strong outing from pitcher Andrew Kittredge.
The Dawgs’ hurler threw seven innings, allowing just one earned run and striking out seven.
“I was struggling all day with command of my fastball so I had to rely on my slider but lucky for me, I had a pretty good one today,” Kittredge explained.
After playing sparingly at the University of Washington this season, Kittredge said he is finally starting to hit his stride as the Dawgs head into the home stretch.
Staring at another defeat at the hands of Moose Jaw the following day, the Dawgs scored eight-runs in the seventh inning on the way to a 9-5 victory.
Tyler Hollick and Rylan Chin both delivered solid offensive performances in the win as each managed to score a run and collect an RBI.
As they head into the month of August, Newell said he would caution his team against taking it easy.
“We just have to find a way to have a little better sense of urgency,” the Dawgs coach said. “You just can’t turn it on once the bright lights go on in the playoffs.”
The Dawgs’ record dropped to 26-12 after losing 3-2 to the first-place Medicine Hat Mavericks on Monday night in the Hat.
The Dawgs will host the Edmonton Prospects on Thursday at Seaman Stadium followed by a big game against the division-leading Mavericks on Saturday. Both games are scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m.
