By JOE McFARLAND

At 6-foot-6 and 185 pounds, it’s no surprise that Sean Bavis is turning a lot of heads in his freshman season at Prairie Baseball Academy.

It isn’t just his size that’s doing the trick either, as the product of the Rockies – he has roots in Banff, Canmore, Cochrane and Calgary – has been fantastic on the mound as well.

The Calgary Cubs alum jumped in head-first by allowing just one run on seven hits and a walk while striking out seven over seven innings in his debut, a 4-2 win over the expansion University Baseball Club out of the University of British Columbia.

Proving it was no fluke, Bavis again went seven innings the following weekend, allowing three runs on four hits and no walks while striking out 11 in a 6-3 win over Vancouver Island University.

He’s now made five starts for PBA, posting a 3-1 record and a 3.52 earned run average, striking out 36 batters of 30+ innings of work.

A fan of rock-and-roll (his go-to walk-in tune would either be “Enter Sandman” or “Hell’s Bells”), Bavis joined us on a recent edition of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast, which helped us get to know him for our latest installment of 7^th Inning Stretch.

1. You made quite the impression in your CCBC debut. How happy were you with that performance?

I was actually really happy. Going back, it was the first time I’ve gone seven innings since I was 18. And just being able to go out there and give a quality start and get the win for the team to win the series, it just made me really happy.

2. Looking back on it, what was your key to success?

That fastball/slider combo that I had was working really well. I got up on hitters and then they would chase sliders or weak contact on the fastball and just limiting that hard contact really worked.

3. How do you keep that momentum rolling as we go through the season?

Honestly, just kind of keep it similar. Really attack, really try to get up on these hitters, limit walks. and keep the contact to just weak contact.

4. What would it mean to you to win a CCBC championship in your freshman season?

Oh man, it would mean everything. Winning as a squad, as a family, that would mean a lot, especially with these guys. They’re all great guys. Winning would obviously be super great.

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5. You’re originally from Canmore and Banff and spent some time growing up in Cochrane and Calgary as well. How did you get into the game in the first place?

Well, back in the day, there was a Canmore Little League and we played against Cochrane. Then I was asked to play on a Cochrane team and it just snowballed from there. I played in Cochrane for a couple years, mainly my 15U years. Then I ended up finding a home in the Calgary Cubs after my second year of 15U was done. They had just a great community there.

6. Do you remember the moment it flipped for you from “this is a fun sport” to “this is something I want to chase”?

Honestly, I think I’ve wanted to play baseball since I was maybe seven years old. I’ve always really loved the sport, especially after being able to get the opportunity to go out and watch the Blue Jays in person. It just made me love the sport. I’ve always wanted to play baseball ever since I was a little kid.

7. For those young kids starting out on their baseball journeys and they want to get to where you’re at now, what’s that one piece of advice or words of wisdom you’ve love to impart upon them?

Put in the work and trust yourself. That’s the big thing. If you don’t trust yourself, you’re not going to make it.