By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

It was a good old fashioned baseball night.

Let’s see there were the two Okotoks Dawgs managers, a coach, four Dawgs Academy coaches, who had either played or worked out, four current Dawgs summer college players on laundry duty and two guests …

One and all gathered in the coaches room, either seated at the table or standing, Wednesday night after a Dawgs win’ at Seaman Stadium.

At one time, we counted four simultaneous conversations going on among the 13 people there at the same time. As the evening wore on, we looked for the volume button, but others beat us to it. And they were cranking it UP.

There were sentences which began “how about the time …” or “remember that night …” or “who is the worst player (the best) ever at …” And tons and tons of laughs.

Standing in the door way, not saying a word was catcher Chase Logan (Oyen, Alta.) wearing a green Linn-Benton Community College t-shirt. He was a silent observer. Who knew the excitement that was about to unfold?

Chase Logan received a text from his older brother Gavin Logan.

Still, he never said a word with the news that would first silence and then excite everyone in the room.

Then, Gavin facetimed his brother and asked to speak to Tyler Milton, the Dawgs 13U coach, infield coordinator, part-time third base coach with the summer team, Western Baseball League All-Star Game organizer and organizational all-star do-it-all for the Dawgs.

Milton broke the news as the phone was passed around the table at 11:45 p.m. Alberta time:

Gavin Logan, a former Okotoks Dawg, drafted in the ninth round of 2022 draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks from Oregon State, currently with the class-A Hillsboro Hops, had been promoted.

Cheers enveloped the room. The other conversations ended … never to be re-started. Completely forgotten. That’s what happens when good news arrives on an old-fashioned baseball night.

“To double-A … yeah,” cracked one happy coach.

No. Triple-A Reno.

A trio of reinforcements 💪

The @dbacks have signed LHP Anthony Gose and RHP Trevor Richards to Minor League Free Agent contracts and transferred C Gavin Logan to Triple-A Reno! pic.twitter.com/1CrBB1kFm9
— Reno Aces (@Aces) June 19, 2025

More cheers.

“I told Gavin that his brother Chase has the same piercing blue eyes looking out from behind his mask when he stares in our dugout as he did,” said pitching coach Joe Sergent.

Infielder Rickey Sanchez extended congrats to his former teammate when it was his turn. Ditto for current Dawgs INF Connor Crowson (Okotoks, Alta.) and OF Jake Skaggs.

Then the phone reached co-manager Mitch Schmidt, who began clapping and cheering that his former player was a stubbed toe away from the majors. Gavin said something we could not hear and Schmidt gave his patented giggle.

“Knowing my brother, he was probably tearing up a bit at that point,” said Chase on the bus to Brooks Thursday afternoon. “He has been waiting for for this promotion.”

It wasn’t a promotion. No, it was more of a leap as he skipped the double-A level.

The phone continued to make the rounds to co-manager Lou Pote, seated with his pal Paul Kmiecik of Chicago. He was in Canada on business. The two had not seen each other in 25 years.

There even a show with an Elvis impessionist and a sing along to George Strait — ll at their videos played in the background.

* * *

The best old-fashioned baseball night I ever heard of was a farewell dinner for Pat Gillick at Tio Pepe’s in Clearwater. I wasn’t there that night, but heard all about it the next day.

Two scouts were arguing loud and long. They needed a bathroom break and headed to the washroom at the same time. They continued to argue a second time and needed a second trip to the urinals.

Finally, they returned to the large table of scouts.

“What on earth were you guys arguing about?” someone asked.

The one scout looked at the other. Both shrugged. Neither could remember, but it was apparent “a good time was had by all.”

* * *

Former Blue Jays catcher Gabriel Moreno was placed on the 10-day injury list Thursday in Toronto because of a contusion on his right hand. Moreno was scratched Tuesday after injuring his hand during batting practice and did not play Wednesday. Catcher Aramis Garcia was promoted from Reno.

J.J. D’Orazio is injured at double-A Amarillo and has been sent to the Diamondbacks’ complex in Arizona. .

As for older brother’s flight plan: Hillsboro was playing in Tri-Cities, so Gavin had to get up at 5 a.m. to make Pasco, Wash. airport, south of Spokane, then it was a flight to Denver for a connecting flight to join the Reno Aces, who were playing at El Paso, Tex.

Save that baseball 🥳

Gavin Logan collects his first Triple-A hit and ties the game at ☝️ pic.twitter.com/ZfSPxtZVHX
— Reno Aces (@Aces) June 21, 2025

This season at Hillsboro, Gavin had hit .241 with seven doubles, a homer and 11 RBIs in 27 games with a .728 OPS. The former Dawg is a career .197 hitter with 29 doubles, four triples, 10 homers and 57 RBIs in 172 games at rookie-class Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks Red, class-A Visalia and Hillsboro.

That makes three Dawgs off the 2019 team at triple-A or better: Oregon State’s Jacob Melton with the Houston Astros, Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) with triple-A Durham Bulls and Logan. Plus, LHP Matt Wilkinson (Surrey, BC) has 57 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings at class-A Lake City.

* * *

On a windy Thursday night in Brooks mom, Erin, and pop, Barry, made the 90-minute trip from Oyen, home of mayor-for-life Doug Jones, who started the Badlands Badgers academy.

Barry had received a text around 11:30 Alberta time from Gavin “still up?” He replied yes “but mom has gone to bed.” Gavin said he would facetime in two minutes.

“I knew it was good news from the look on his face,” said Barry. “His manager at Hillsboro (Mark Reed) told him he had a good chance to play. He has been asked to go early the last few springs so he knows the pitching coach, Doug Drabek.”

Javier Colina is the manager and the bench coach is Jordan Procyshen, a former Dawg selected in the 14th round from Northern Kentucky by the Boston Red Sox.

Barry has a 3,000-acre spread with 500 head of Red Angus Simmental cattle. Mom, Erin, is a small-business advisor for TD Bank. Daughter Quinell, studying dietetics and nutrition at the University of Alberta, helps out at the farm when the boys are playing. Barry’s brothers Rod and Bruce help out, too.

* * *

Chase said on the bus sailing past Bassano, that it was so fitting and appropriate that his brother called him while he was still in the Duvernay Fieldhouse.

“He spend so many hours working out in that building, even in the off-season he is still around the place — working out in the mornings and then helping the catchers (and instructors Aaron Ethier and Procyshen) or working camps,” Chase said.

Gavin stays with his former billets when in Okotoks.

Gavin Logan DOES NOT condone theft.#AllHoppedUp pic.twitter.com/uvbfHefvjC
— Hillsboro Hops (@HillsboroHops) April 19, 2025

Chase’s mom and dad were at Seaman Stadium Tuesday night when Chase homered in his first start.

“Off the bat I kind of thought it was down,” Chase said, “then I thought it might be off the fence, so it was a big sigh went it went over the fence.”

Nearby was Chase’s Linn-Benton coach Andy Peterson.

“That ball had a piece of fence on it when it went out,” said Peterson jokingly,

Chase said Peterson had zero reaction when he rounded third.

“Zero homers for us all season and he goes deep his first start for the Dawgs,” Peterson said.

Replied Chase, “I hit more than you did.”

They used to have a game-winning RBI stats in the majors … until realizing that a first-inning single in a 9-1 win was not a game winner. Chase’s blast — breaking up an 8-8 tie — was a game winner.

We asked Chase who was the most famous player from Oyen. He said it was either Joel McGrath, of the University of Mary or his cousin Chris Jorgenson (New Brigden, Alta.) selected in the 47th round by scout Dale Tilleman (Taber, Alta.) and the Diamondbacks in 1999. Jorgenson played three games before suffering a career-ending injury.

Chase caught the NWAC championship game as the Lin-Benton Roadrunners edged Tacoma 3-2 in 10 innings in Longview, Wash. He also put down all the proper fingers in a 2-0 semi-final win against Spokane earlier in the day.

Chase caught the opener and had two hits in a 1-0 win 10-inning win against Bellevue. He also started behind the dish in a 4-2 win over Lower Columbia on May 23 and was part of a 10-inning, 7-5 victory against Umpqua on May 25.

On the season, he hit .192 at Linn-Benton with two doubles and seven RBIs. Dawgs OF Jackson Fera and RHP Easton Corey were also a part of Peterson’s championship team.

* * *

Logan doubled and picked a runner off first as the Dawgs scored twice in the top of the ninth for a 6-5 win over the Brooks Bombers Thursday before 311 people.

Jake Skaggs worked a one-out walk, Nash Crowell plopped a single into right and with two out Ricky Sanchez reached on an infield single to load the bases. Benito Bonilla knocked in the tying run with a ground ball to deep short and pinch runner Eric Machej scored on a poorly advised throw which sailed over short.

Zane Skansi hit a solo homer in the first in support of starter Brody Forno (Okotoks, Alta.), who worked four innings allowing six hits and three runs — two earned — while striking out two.

Easton Corey worked a 1-2-3-4 ninth for the save … the final out coming at 10:25 pm Thursday night.

All in all … a good old-fashioned baseball night turned into a good old-fashioned memorable 24 hours for the Logan brothers.