Bulldogs earn top 10 finish in Fargo

The Emo Bulldogs placed in the top 10 at the North America Fastpitch Association World Series last week in Fargo, N.D with a 3-2 record.
“The competition was tough. If you made an error, you lost the game,” noted Bulldog team member Brent Tookenay.
The Bulldogs got off to a great start in their first game Aug. 23 against Bourbanis Ill. Pitcher Warren Voth held the opposition to just four hits as Emo won 6-2.
Dan Oleksak led the way offensively by going three-for-three at the
Shane Bliss drove in another run with a towering triple to centre field, then Dave Taggart iced the game with a three-run homer in the sixth inning.
But things took a turn for the worse for the Bulldogs on the second day of action (Aug. 24) with a 15-2 drubbing at the hands of a team from St. Paul, Mn.
Import Jason Johnson had control problems on the mound from the start, noted Bulldog coach Jim Fowler, and Emo quickly found themselves trailing 8-0 after two innings.
Grant Swire smacked a two-run double to plate Emo’s only runs.
“We were brutal against St. Paul–we were humiliated,” said Tookenay.
For some of the Bulldogs, their game against the Waseda University team from Tokyo, Japan on Friday (Aug. 25) was the highlight of the trip. “It was an honour and a privilege to play Japan,” enthused Fowler.
Spectator Paul Clarke echoed Fowler’s comments. “I have played and saw a lot of ball in my day,” he said. “It was a throwback from the olden days but those kids were small and fast.
“They didn’t make mistakes. They are one of the better fastball teams I have seen in a world-class organization,” he noted.
And better still, the Bulldogs won the game 7-5. Voth, who went the went the distance on the mound scattering six hits, and Tookenay each hit a pair of homers to pace Emo.
Then in their first game Saturday (Aug. 26), the Bulldogs went up against the tourney favourites from New York and eked out a narrow 6-5 win.
Dennis Mounk lined a three-run triple to the fence in the fifth inning to pace the Bulldogs. Johnson pitched five innings for the win, with Voth getting the save.
But the Bulldogs ended the tourney on a losing note later Saturday with a disappointing 5-3 loss against Omaha Metro (Nebraska). Voth, who accounted for all of Emo’s runs with a three-run blast, was tagged with the loss.
“The World Series was exciting,” enthused Fowler. “It is in a class Fort Frances has never seen before.”
This was the first time the Bulldogs had attended the 46-team tournament and they were unsure of what to expect.
“I think we could have made it to the finals if Brook Swanson [who was hurt in the qualifiers] could have pitched for us in the tournament,” noted Bulldog coach Glen Kellar.
In related news, John Desaulniers of Pinewood was named the tournament’s most valuable player after pitching nine games, including four in a row, to help host Fargo capture the title.