They played their brand of baseball right to the end.
Through the ups and downs of the Baseball Alberta Elite League season, the Parkland Twins believed they had to stay true to themselves if they wanted to come away as champions.
With an air of resilience and professionalism, they did exactly that in capturing the league championship in dramatic fashion before turning their attention to the Baseball Canada 18U National Championship in Fort McMurray.
They were rewarded for their gritty performance with a silver medal, which they displayed with pride as they returned home.
“Our team’s key to success was sticking together through adversity and trusting the process,” utilityman Dzeo McNaughton told Alberta Dugout Stories. “We just believed in one another and had a ton of fun grinding through the tough times as a team.”
While they fell short of their ultimate goal, the team is thankful for the opportunity to wrap up their Baseball Alberta journeys with the team they have spent years with.
ROUND ROBIN ACTION
It was a tight turnaround for the Twins heading to nationals after claiming the BAEL championship with a walk-off 7-6 win over the Red Deer Rangers.
They took advantage of their two-week break to heal any lingering injuries and to mentally prepare themselves for being the Baseball Alberta representative at nationals.
“Our coaches really emphasized playing Twins baseball,” said infielder Jake Schmidt. “Not playing into the other team’s games and just keep playing how we have been would be enough to bring us towards a national championship.”
Their resilience would be put to the test early after a 1-0 tournament-opening loss to B.C. Luke Mahar tossed a complete game five-hitter, striking out five, but the offense just couldn’t get going.
They quickly got back on track with a dominant 11-1 win over the host Fort McMurray Oil Giants, highlighted by McNaught’s 3-for-3 night with three runs batted in and four runs scored. Pitcher Caleb Acevedo threw a complete-game one-hitter in the victory.
The Twins then picked up an 8-4 win over New Brunswick and a 4-2 loss to Ontario going into their final round-robin game against Manitoba.
THE MARATHON
No one could have predicted what was about to happen as the Twins needed the win to advance to the quarterfinals.
It certainly didn’t start the way they hoped, as Manitoba built up a 6-0 lead going into the sixth inning.
Thanks to a combination of singles, walks, errors and wild pitches, they clawed their way back into the game, trailing 6-5 after their half of the sixth.
In the top of the seventh, Mahar hit an RBI double to tie the game while Braeden Bohach-Murray held Manitoba scoreless in the bottom half, sending the game to extra innings.
Frame by frame, the pitching and defense were relentless as the late-night start stretched into the early morning.
“Being in the dugout was super-fun, but also challenging,” McNaughton said.
“Running out onto the field inning after inning knowing the game could be over right there was a grind, but we just knew we had to keep pushing through and putting up zeroes so we could eventually score.”
Still 6-6 into the 14th inning, their opportunity finally came thanks to a wild series of events which led to Nathan Jones advancing from first to third on an errant pickoff attempt then scoring on an error.
The defense walked back onto the field with Garet Ostapchuk taking the ball for his seventh inning of relief.
After handling a cramping scare with plenty of electrolytes earlier in the game, he was excited to have the game in the palm of his hand.
“Honestly, that’s what I live for,” said the Spruce Grove native. “It was a big grind for sure but the adrenaline was pumping.”
Ostapchuk induced a flyout and a popout before hitting a batter and allowing a single to put runners on the corners.
With a full count, Magnus Asmundson popped out to first baseman Seth Clark to end the threat and the marathon game with Alberta capturing the 7-6 victory.
CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY
Short on sleep thanks to an 11 a.m. first pitch, the Twins were set for a rematch with B.C. and didn’t seem fazed by what had happened just a few hours earlier.
Clark homered and drove in three while Mahar registered another two RBI in a 10-2 romp to get them into the championship final against Ontario.
They struck first when Connor Murphy drove in Mahar in the second, but then Ontario went to work, scoring two in their half of that inning, adding four runs in the third and five in the fifth to finish the walk-off 11-1 mercy.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for head coach Shane Dawson’s contingent, who believed they could find one more way to win.
However, that feeling of disappointment quickly subsided as they realized they were still bringing home some hardware.
“For me, to come home with a medal shows how special of a group we had,” Schmidt said. “It meant a lot to me to do it with a group I had been working with for the last seven years.”
“These guys aren’t just my teammates, they are my family, and being able to experience nationals with them only made it better.”
For the graduating seniors like Ostapchuk, it’s another chapter of Twins baseball that they were proud to be a part of.
“Bringing home a silver means everything to me and I couldn’t have asked for a better send-off from the Parkland Twins,” said the Edmonton Collegiate Hawks commit. “To finish our season on a high is reflective of the dedication of our coaches, teammates and parents through the season.”
The 2027 Baseball Canada 18U National Championships will be hosted in Stonewall, Manitoba.
