By MATT BETTS
The Morneau Cup will reside in Okotoks.
A seven-run bottom of the third inning powered the hosts to an 11-5 victory over the Sylvan Lake Gulls Prep in the championship game of the 19U Baseball Canada Road to Okotoks national championship tournament on Sunday afternoon at Seaman Stadium.
Infielder and Vernon College commit Cam Gerla (Calgary, Alta.) delivered the biggest blow of the inning with a two-run home run. Gerla said the long ball provided the spark his team needed.
“It was a 3-0 (count) and I got a take sign and saw the fastball pretty well,” Gerla said. “At 3-1, I saw it again and I took a rip at it and fouled it straight back. I said, ‘If I get it again I’m hitting it out.’ I thought I hit it too high. When it went out, I think I blacked out a little bit.”
For Dawgs head coach Jeff Duda, watching his team celebrate the victory brought him back to all the work it took to get to this point.
“I can’t say enough good things about this team,” Duda said. “We’ve got guys who have been here six or seven years and grown up through the program. The 6 a.m. weights, the two-a-days, travel, the field work, everything. For them to come out on top and reward themselves with the inaugural Morneau Cup, it’s a perfect end to a great season.”
While Okotoks never relinquished the third inning lead, the path to the championship was far from easy. After starting the tournament with wins over the Atlantic Frontier and Sylvan Lake, they dropped their third game to the Terriers.
Victories over the UBC Thunder, Etobicoke Rangers and Mississauga Tigers followed.
The final didn’t start well for the home side, as Gulls’ infielder and Southwest Tennessee Community College commit Dayne Liske swatted a two-run home run in the bottom of the first to stake the visitors to an early 2-0 lead. He would hit a second home run in the game, another two-run shot, in the sixth.
The Gulls, a second-year program, came into the tournament wanting to show they could compete with the top programs in the country.
Despite the loss, they went from trying to prove they belonged to a contender over the six-day event.
They started with a win over the Terriers before dropping their second game to Okotoks. From there, they reeled off five straight victories over the Atlantic Frontier, Abbotsford Cardinals, Terriers, UBC Thunder and Vauxhall Academy Jets,
It may not have ended the way he wanted, but Gulls head coach Josh Zanolli believes his team has nothing to hang their heads about.
“I don’t think I can be disappointed,” Zanolli said. “Being so young and new to this, and what we’ve done this week and how well we played, I have zero disappointment. I’m incredibly proud.”
As a veteran of the Dawgs program, Gerla is thrilled to be a part of the team that brought the title home.
“It feels awesome, I can’t wait to see our name on that trophy,” Gerla said. “It’s just an awesome group of guys. It was awesome being with them for four years.”
