Bulldogs claim another tourney title

Having a flair for the dramatics, the Emo Bulldogs repeated as champs of Kakabeka Falls fastball tournament Sunday afternoon with a thrilling 5-4 victory over the Dryden Husky.
Catcher Wayne Strachan delivered the game-winning hit–and RBI single that scored Warren Voth from second–in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Voth, who had walked, moved to second–and into scoring position–on a passed ball earlier during Dennis Mounk’s at-bat.
The win was the second time Emo pulled out a win with its final raps, and it also avenged an earlier loss to this same Dryden team at a tournament in Barwick two weeks ago.
It had been all Emo early. But after jumping out to a 4-1 lead after the first inning (sparked by a three-run homer by Voth), Dryden fought back to tie the score at 4-4 off Bulldog starter Sheldon Kelly–setting the stage for Strachan’s heroics.
“We got into a groove on the weekend and when we feel comfortable, we’re never out of a game,” said Emo’s Milt Strachan. “We’re strong throughout the lineup and the bottom of the lineup came through for us this weekend.”
Emo reached the final after trouncing the Dryden Longhorns 13-3 in just five innings (the game was called on a mercy rule)–putting the game out of reach with six runs in the first.
The Bulldogs had a much tougher time in their quarter-final game against Firesteel (Kakabeka Falls) but once again won in dramatic fashion.
First, Brent Tookenay delivered a solo shot to tie the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the seventh inning. Then, two batters later, Voth belted a mammoth shot to deep left to give the Bulldogs the thrilling 7-6 victory.
Firesteel, the only local team still alive in the tournament, appeared to feed off the boisterous home side support early, scoring four runs in the first and then making it 5-2 in the sixth.
But Voth came through again, smacking a three-run shot to tie the game at 5-5.
“We basically live and die with [the long ball]. Sometimes we would get more hits if we weren’t swinging for the fences,” Strachan admitted.
Emo was the second seed in the tournament (behind top-seeded Dryden Husky) after Saturday’s action after doubling Firesteel 8-4 and then downing the Kakabeka Falls Smog 8-3.
Sight & Sound, the other local team at the tournament, also played well until a disappointing, error-plagued 11-1 loss to Dryden Husky in the semi-finals.
Sight & Sound had reached the semi-finals after pulling off a wild comeback of their own against the Kakabeka Falls Brewers. Trailing 5-1 in the top of the seventh, the locals exploded for eight runs for a wild 9-5 win.
Sight & Sound had finished action Saturday as the fifth seed after shutting out the Brewers 3-0 but then losing 6-3 to Firesteel.