By JOE McFARLAND

The defense of their 2023 Canadian College Baseball Conference championship didn’t start off the way the University of Calgary Dinos had hoped.

After winning their season-opener 12-1 over the University of Fraser Valley, the Dinos went on a six-game losing streak.

They have also had to contend with Old Man Winter, who forced the postponement of a week-two match up with Prairie Baseball Academy then a home-and-home with the Edmonton Collegiate Hawks being hosted only in Alberta’s capital.

Heading into the final month of the CCBC season, they will be relying on veterans like Aiden Szautner to enter championship weekend on the right foot.

The sophomore outfielder was a league all-star in 2023, hitting .345 with 15 runs batted in and eight stolen bases.

After 16 games this season, he’s sporting a .333 average with four RBI and two stolen bases, admitting his start has been colder than he expected.

We sat down recently for a conversation featured on Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast, which helped us from the latest installment of “1 Thru 9.”

1. How is the team feeling after the start it’s had and then picking up three wins against Edmonton?

It has not been the start we wanted. We’re almost a little stunned after winning the championship and then having a really slow start, but we understand that it’s a long season and you just want to be at your best at the end of it. It’s a slight improvement against Edmonton. We’re happy to get those close game wins. That’s a move in the right direction, for sure.

2. What are you liking out of your team’s performance so far and what do you think is missing to this point?

Really just our bats. They’re technically cold, but we’re getting a lot of barrels that are finding gloves. Hopefully that won’t continue and once those start dropping, we’ll have a few more team at-bats – guys in scoring position with one out or two outs, stuff like that – just a couple of more RBI situations with some clutch at-bats, should turn some of those games around for us.

3. How challenging is it knowing that it’s still early in the season and you don’t want to hit the panic button yet, but you also know the sooner you get on a role, the better so that you can head into the May long championship weekend with your best foot forward?

That is pretty much all that matters, really. Just keep moving in the right direction. We definitely don’t want to hit the panic button but we do have to show some urgency and try to get some wins up so that we’re not in the bottom two heading into the championships because those are the tough positions to get wins in.

Here are the @ccbcofficial all-star selections from the 2023 Canadian College World Series Champions! 💍

1st team SP – Ethan Webster

1st team Utility – Aiden Szautner

2nd team RP – Alex Lanigan

2nd team catcher – Zach Delaquis pic.twitter.com/E4tmbAgWPo
— UCalgary Dinos Baseball ⚾️ (@DinosBaseball) June 5, 2023

4. Is it noticeable now after a few weeks of play that you have that target on your backs as defending champions and that you can’t afford to take any games or even innings off?

100 per cent. I find teams are really pitching us well right now. They’re giving us all they’ve got and it might be because of the championship or maybe the pitching seems a little bit better this year. I’m not sure exactly but they have been gunning for us this year, in my opinion.

5. As one of the veterans on the squad, what are you telling those younger guys who haven’t been through the CCBC grind yet?

Just trying to tell them to stick to their approach and not to get disheartened if a couple of barrels don’t drop. They will come. And really just to try to have some more team at-bats. If you’re struggling, lay down some bunts or do something like that to get the spark going. Just stick with it, really.

6. On a personal level, how are you feeling about your season so far?

It was also a slower start for me, personally, than I’d hoped. Coming off a strong season last year, and kind of struggling at the plate lately, but I had a great weekend in Edmonton obviously. Hopefully that continues and I can stick with that.

8. A couple of fun ones for you: what’s your walk-up tune of choice?

I go with Free Bird at the five-minute mark there. When the guitar solo starts, I don’t know why, it gets me going a little bit and I like it.

8. What’s your favourite ballpark food when you are a fan in the stands?

I think just pizza. Cheese pizza is my favourite. It’s my go-to.

9. The final one for you: what is that piece of advice or those words of wisdom you would like to impart on kids in Alberta just starting out on their baseball journeys?

Just stick with it and don’t get discouraged if things start to go wrong. Even if you have a bad season or start to feel like you can’t keep up with the pitching, all it takes is just a couple of more reps in the cages and a little bit of heart. Just stick with it and it can definitely work out the next season if you have a bad one.

The CCBC World Series is set for May 17-20 in Lethbridge.