“Pitching wins championships.”
The old baseball adage might be in full effect for AHP Academy Renegades as they head towards The Road to Okotoks.
The program that brought us Cleveland Guardians reliever Erik Sabrowski and a strong contingent of college hurlers over the last few years will be leaning on their arms again as they look to capture the inaugural Morneau Cup.
We got a glimpse of their prowess during the recent Spokane Wood Bat Classic, where Caleb Paquette and Sidney Fillenberg combined for a no-hitter, then just a couple of days later saw another no-no from Gabe Fink, Michael Szpak and Ty Badry.
However, program director Taylor Burns says that’s not all they have in their arsenal.
“This group has an ability to win in different ways and execute the little things at a high level,” he told Alberta Dugout Stories.
“Our depth is also a strength.”
In other words: the competition has been warned.
WINNING IN DIFFERENT WAYS
All of those factors were on full display at the Prairie Regionals in Lethbridge and Vauxhall at the end of May.
They started the tournament off with a thrilling 7-4 win over the Webber Wildcats, highlighted by an outstanding pitching performance from Sam Davis, who struck out 10 in six innings of work while Tyler Diprose drove in three runs.
Then they played another tight game, walking off the Parkland Twins 4-3 thanks to a Jayden Kane single.
The different ways of winning continued as they knocked off the Calgary Cubs 7-2 and then outlasted Dawgs Red 13-11.
“The key to our success at the Qualifiers was how laser-focused we were with each and every one of our processes,” said pitcher Easton Gruending.
“Every stretch, every rep, was 100 per cent effort and we were able to just sync to our training and let the work show.”
The Renegades were set to take on Gulls Prep in the semis before the storm clouds rolled in and postponed the rest of the tournament.
A TEAM TO BEAT
Heading into Okotoks, the Renegades believe they are a force to be reckoned with, given their performance at Regionals.
They were also winners of the Langley Blaze Easter Classic during the spring, further solidifying themselves as a threat to walk away as Morneau Cup champions.
“I think this group is really resilient and learned how to play for each other during Regionals,” Burns said. “They have done an awesome job of buying into the offensive approach and executing at a high level.”
He says a lot of players step up in big moments at every tournament and he has no reason to believe it won’t happen again.
“I feel like we all thought we were kind of the team to beat in Lethbridge and Vauxhall,” said infielder Cale Harsch, who hit .400 with a homer and four runs batted in during that tournament.
“We’re pretty excited to just go after everyone and try to knock them down the best we can.”
The Garden City Community College commit believes The Road to Okotoks will be about who “handles hard the best” and sticking to their game plan.
COMING THIS FAR
In just a few short years, AHP has asserted itself as a power to be reckoned with in Western Canada and they now get the opportunity to show to the rest of the country what they’re capable of.
Winning a national championship would mean a lot for players like Harsch, who is in his fourth season with AHP, and was part of their junior academy and first-ever Rustlers program before moving up to the Renegades.
“I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys to be with and in this opportunity to have – I can’t wait,” he said.
“To win it all with this group in the very first year of it, just to be crowned the best team in Canada, would be unreal.”
Davis, who is heading to Virginia Tech, says playing at a national championship is something not everyone gets to do, so they will be soaking in every minute of it.
“Winning the first Morneau Cup would be an absolutely incredible experience,” says the southpaw.
“Being the first to ever win this event would bring a long-lasting remembrance to our team and the AHP program as a whole.”
As for his message to the troops heading south July 14-19, Burns keeps it pretty straightforward.
“We didn’t come this far to come this far.”
AHP is in Pool D with the Etobicoke Rangers, Langley Blaze and Ontario Kobras. You can get your tickets to The Road to Okotoks here or watch all games online here.
