A loaded lineup just got a whole lot more potent for the two-time defending league champions.
The reinforcements have well and truly arrived for the Okotoks Dawgs (10-1) with Bellevue University standouts Brendan Luther, Logan Grant along with Reinhardt University sluggers Nash Crowell and Tucker Zdunich returning to the lineup together for the first time in Sunday’s 12-4 win over the Lethbridge Bulls at Seaman Stadium.
“We were keeping up with it and saw that we had a really good start,” said Zdunich, a Dawgs Academy alumnus from High River. “And I wanted to come back and add to the team and just play our game and help out whichever way we could.
“Getting Luther back and getting that core group back together, it’s really fun and we’re going to take off from here.”
Zdunich, coming off a stellar senior season with Reinhardt University with a .379 batting average, 17 home runs and 67 RBI, showcased his power in his home debut on Sunday.
The power-hitter smashed the top of the foul pole in right field in the seventh inning for a three-run bomb, putting the exclamation point on the 12-4 win.
“I’m feeling my swing right now and coming back to a field I played at quite a bit,” said Zdunich, part of Okotoks’ 2022 championship team. “I’m pretty comfortable transitioning back to this and it’s just keep it rolling now.”
Crowell and Zdunich have been teammates at Reinhardt for two seasons and through the academy prior to that.
“We’re really close friends so we’re bouncing off eachother with our energy,” said Zdunich, who had a three home run game with Reinhardt in the playoffs. “We’re both power hitters so it’s fun hitting home runs together and leading our teams to success.”
On Sunday, Luther, the two-time Playoff MVP for Okotoks, had four hits and two RBI with outfielder Kadyn Williams adding a two RBI single and Ricardo Sanchez posting a two-hit afternoon.
On the mound, Zane Morrison earned his first win of the season with Brody Forno, Ashton Luera, Cade Herrmann providing scoreless relief out of the bullpen.
The Dawgs saw their undefeated streak to start the season snapped at eight games with a 12-4 defeat Friday in Lethbridge.
Okotoks got right back in the win column the following night with a 3-1 triumph over the Gulls in Sylvan Lake. The low-scoring affair marked just the third time in its first 10 games Okotoks did not hit double digits in runs.
This week, Okotoks has a home heavy schedule.
Following a June 11 stop in Edmonton, the Dawgs are home to the Brooks Bombers on June 12 followed by two-game sets versus the Prospects, from June 13-14, and Fort McMurray Oil Giants, June 15-16.
For more information, go to dawgsbaseball.ca.
