Power and Precision

By Matt Betts

The best teams are able to find the right balance between run production and run prevention.

The Okotoks Dawgs are one of those teams, with no better example than the glove of infielder Kadyn Armitage (Surrey, BC) and the bat of Louis-Charles Larouche (Montreal, Que.).

At a time when flashy offensive analytics dominate the baseball landscape, Armitage takes pride in his defensive ability.

“It’s a very valuable trait in today’s game,” Armitage said of defence. “I’m happy to be able to pride myself on that, a lot of teams value it. A lot of people take pride in the offensive side of the game, I like to get into the defensive side of the game.”

Indiana University head coach Jeff Mercer and recruiting coordinator Zach Weatherford took notice.

This past December, Armitage decided he liked what he saw from the Hoosiers program, as well, and committed to the school.

“The coaching staff, the people, the place, everything just tied in together,” he said of the reasoning for his decision. “They’re really excited to have me and I’m excited to go there. I’m excited to go there and make an impact.”

Just because he puts an emphasis on the defensive side of the game, doesn’t mean the offence is lacking.

He swatted a pair of home runs against the Mississauga Tigers in the semifinals of the Road to Okotoks en route to leading the Dawgs to the Morneau Cup and being named a tournament all-star.

Then there’s Larouche, who put his power on display when he won the tournament’s home run derby.

Winning it was a highlight of his young career.

“It was awesome, hometown everyone was here to cheer me on,” Larouche said. “I had my team with me. I was a little bit stressed at the beginning like always, but I hit the first two and I was like “alright, there you go.’”

Following the Dawgs’ championship victory, he, too, was named a tournament all-star.

Larouche traces his power back to when he was 12 years old.

“All my coaches were like ‘this guy has power,’” Larouche said. “It’s pretty much my job. I know it’s an important thing, you either get on base early or you get the guys in. It’s really important to me.”

Uncommitted, Larouche wants to put an emphasis on his outfield defence and the mental part of the game before heading off to school, wherever that may be.

He’s in the right place to do it.

The Dawgs recruited Larouche through the 15U Ray Carter Cup in Saskatchewan and the three years he’s spent out west have already been beneficial for his development, he said.

“I feel like I developed even more power the first year I got here,” he said. “Then I developed more hitting tools and in the outfield. It’s been really fun.”