After two tours of duty, a third season closer to home has been the charm for a homegrown Dawg.
Okotoks Dawgs Academy alumnus Logan Grant is making the most of his first opportunity to play for the collegiate Dawgs as a versatile catcher and infielder with a propensity to hit for contact and power in the middle of a loaded lineup for the Western Canadian Baseball League outfit.
“He came through the academy, he played in Sylvan one year, played in Swift Current one year and to have him back home is awesome,” said Dawgs interim manager Lou Pote. “Just his versatility, being able to catch, play third base, it makes our team a lot better with the ability to move him around a little bit.
“He hits for power, but also has really good at-bats and he’s another presence in the middle of the order.”
In eight games this summer, Grant is swinging it to a remarkable .515 batting average with two dingers and 11 RBI with appearances as a catcher, third-baseman and designated hitter.
“Just to be home for the summer, getting to enjoy that and be around my parents and playing for the academy in high school, I know a lot of these guys and to play with a lot of old teammates is a lot of fun,” said Grant, from Chestermere. “It’s been awesome, the guys are great, the fans are great, it’s the best fan-base in the league by far and I just love playing here.”
The 21-year-old brings WCBL experience to the field with his 2021 campaign spent with the Sylvan Lake Gulls during their expansion season in the collegiate loop followed by a 2022 season with the East Division’s Swift Current 57s.
“Home team, it’s a lot of fun with the (Okotoks) fans on your side and you kind of get used to the crowds,” he said. “Versus when you’re the away team, you come in and not a lot of places get fans like this so you come in and it’s kind of nerve-racking, teams come in with 5,000 to 5,500 people here."
Grant entered the summer season with wind in his sails after a stellar college campaign.
In his first year with the Bellevue Bears, after transferring from Bismarck State College, Grant hit .375 with 10 home runs and 57 RBI to earn the North Star Athletic Association Newcomer of the Year award while receiving First Team All-NSAA honours.
He chalked up his success to not overthinking, trusting his skills and focusing on enjoying the game.
“I caught a lot of games this year, played a little bit at third, I can do a little bit of everything,” he said. “I like being in the lineup and I’ll play wherever they need me to play.”
Grant said his preferred position is behind the plate and that might have something to do with his background as a former AAA level hockey goalie.
In his final AAA season on the ice, Grant formed quite the goaltending tandem with Okotokian Gage Alexander, an Anaheim Ducks prospect, on the Rockyview Raiders.
“I finally hit my growth spurt that year,” Grant said. “And I come in with Gage as my goalie partner being 6-foot-7, I was kind of upset about that. But he’s a great dude, I haven’t seen him in a while, but he was awesome.”
That versatility has served him well in the WCBL.
With team depth and positional optionality comes opportunity in different spots to shine for Dawgs hitters.
“When I’m writing down the lineups, I’ve got some guys further than down than they’re probably accustomed to hitting,” Pote said. “And it’s exciting to put a lot of different names down there where they’re usually in the middle of the order and we can move them down if they’re not swinging it well.
“Whenever you can have that flexibility to move guys down and maybe take a bit of a breather and not press and try to be that middle of the order hitter, they’re going to see more fastballs and it’s setting them up for success.”
