There’s no place like home for the Prairie Baseball Academy (PBA) Dawgs.
The Lethbridge-based squad has become the regular host of the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC) World Series over the last few years at Spitz Stadium.
When the new turf at the home of the Lethbridge Bulls was deemed not ready to be played on, officials moved championship weekend to PBA’s usual home: Lloyd Nolan Yard.
Along with home-field advantage thanks to winning the CCBC’s regular season pennant, the Dawgs capped off an unbeaten weekend with a 12-7 victory over the Edmonton Collegiate Hawks on a sunny Sunday afternoon to claim the league championship.
“I’m just proud of the way the kids played all year,” head coach Todd Hubka told Alberta Dugout Stories.
“Just everything. It was an exciting year with our pitching staff, our hitters and we played the game the right way. I thought we were the best team (this year) and we proved it.”
It was the 11th title in program history since 2002 and its first since 2017.
THE LONG ROAD BACK
Hubka admits it had become almost a given for a while that his Dawgs would be in the championship game.
After wins in 2004, 2006 and 2008, they went on an unprecedented run of seven consecutive CCBC titles from 2011 to 2017.
Okanagan College and the University of Fraser Valley captured the next two before the pandemic, then the Dawgs dry spell continued for the following five years.
They were always in contention and were among the spring circuit’s top teams during the regular season but were always missing one or two key elements that would put them over the top for another crown.
Coming into the 2026 season, Hubka felt like he had all the right pieces with a solid core of returning veterans in the lineup and a deep pitching staff full of young arms capable of handling big moments.
While the team took some lumps during a pre-season trip to the U.S., he says they learned a lot about themselves by facing some early adversity.
It served them well as they started the CCBC season off with nine wins in their first 11 games, then followed that up with a nine-game winning streak.
By no means were they in cruise control though, as they were in a dead heat with Okanagan College for first place right until the final weekend of the regular season, eventually finishing with a 25-11 record, winning the conference by two games.
SETTING THE STAGE
For the first time in the CCBC’s history, not every team was making it to championship weekend.
With the addition of the new University Baseball Club out of the University of British Columbia, the league decided that only the top six teams would be making the trip.
PBA, holding the No. 1 seed, started the tournament off with a 7-3 win over Vancouver Island University, thanks to a three-hit performance from rightfielder Declan O’Kane and four other players posting two-hit games.
Their relentless offense and strong pitching was on full display in their second game of the tournament, an 18-0 romp against Edmonton Collegiate, who had been the only other unbeaten team in the tournament.
Jack Mortimer led the charge offensively, going 4-for-5 with four runs batted in and three runs scored, while Sean Bavis rendered the Hawks’ offense without wings, allowing just two hits while striking out five in the seven-inning complete game.
The win gave PBA a berth in the final, while the Hawks had to play Okanagan for the other spot.
BACK-AND-FORTH AFFAIR
The Hawks would get their chance at revenge when they won a wild 21-17 contest to give the Coyotes their second loss of the double-elimination tournament.
However, the Dawgs had other plans as they turned to Abbotsford, B.C. native Aiden Beck on the mound.
“I just tried to keep it like any other game when I was playing catch and getting ready,” said the right-hander, who said he found out about the start the day before while sitting in the bleachers with his family. “Coach (Josh) Burgmann was like, ‘Hey, just like any other game, right? Don’t make it any bigger than it needs to be.’”
Beck didn’t allow a run in his first inning of work despite a couple of base runners, as catcher Willis Takahashi picked them both off trying to steal. He also struck out Hawks slugger Caedyn Colford.
Then the offense provided their hurler with some buffer in their half of the first, as O’Kane took Riley Starko deep for a two-run homer.
The flood gates opened in the third inning as the Dawgs put up five runs, then another three in the fourth, and it looked like a repeat of the previous meeting with their northern counterparts.
The Hawks weren’t ready to pack it in though, scoring three runs in the fifth to put an end to Beck’s day.
They kept coming in the sixth, tagging Zak Wright with three more runs before Will Paterson took over to stop the bleeding and the score still 10-7 in favour of the hosts.
He went on to twirl three more innings of shutdown baseball while his offense put up some insurance with a run in the sixth inning and another in the eighth courtesy of another blast from O’Kane.
The celebration began when, with two outs in the top of the ninth, Daku flew out to centrefielder Nathan Webb.
“Unreal – it’s the best feeling in the world,” O’Kane said. “This is such a great group to deal with, so we couldn’t end it on a better note.”
A TIGHT-KNIT GROUP
After the trophy presentation and team photos were taken in front of the scoreboard at Lloyd Nolan Yard, the players couldn’t help but take a moment to soak in all that they had accomplished.
Many, including Paterson, were also quite hoarse as they were heard chanting and screaming throughout the contest.
“It just comes down to the mindset as we talk all the time about wanting to win,” said the Surrey, B.C. product. “We just brought it right from the get-go and for all nine innings.”
It’s a team chemistry that is unmatched in the eyes of shortstop and leadoff hitter Tetsu Nishida.
“I think we never got down throughout the entire playoffs,” said the Calgary native. “Even when they started to come back, we knew we still had the lead and that they were still the ones chasing us. We finished number one, so we just had to play like it and keep that mindset throughout.”
One-by-one, the players took photos with the championship trophy, then shuffled off towards their clubhouse to continue their celebration.
ANOTHER BANNER AWAITS
The banners won by the Dawgs over the years hang upstairs in the Dawgs’ facility at Lloyd Nolan.
Just before he walked inside, first baseman Nate Garth stopped to take a look at the field one more time, then smiled from ear-to-ear.
“I always look at those banners and it’s great to finally have one with my name on it,” said the Calgary native. “This group is just the greatest one to win it with.”
Before long, they will head their separate ways with some returning in the fall, some going onto four-year schools, and some starting their own careers.
Hubka says he’s already looking forward to next year’s team, which will have a lot of familiar faces thanks to a very young core, especially on the mound.
For now, he’s soaking in the moment of being a CCBC champion once again.
“I’ll cherish this one,” said the PBA Hall of Famer. “Who knows when the next one is, right? So cherish the ones that you win.”
