By JOE McFARLAND

It all came down to the final weekend of the regular season.

The Canadian College Baseball Conference had playoff positioning and even a couple of spots left to figure out going into the May long weekend.

And the teams didn’t disappoint, with Prairie Baseball Academy pulling away in the end to capture the regular season pennant.

Meantime, just two games separated Okanagan College, the University of Fraser Valley and Edmonton Collegiate.

The University of Calgary swiped the fifth playoff spot early in the weekend while Vancouver Island University snagged the sixth and final berth on the final Sunday in what is the first year where not every team was making it to the CCBC World Series in Lethbridge.

On the outside looking in: the new University Baseball Club out of UBC, Thompson Rivers University and Victoria Collegiate.

After the opening day of championship weekend, where PBA eventually captured its first championship since 2017, the circuit held its annual awards banquet to celebrate the best of the spring.

OVERLOOKING THE VALLEY

When you’re among the league leaders in almost every offensive category, it’s easy to see why you would be in the running for most valuable player.

Such was the case for Keegan Drinkle of the UFV Cascades as he nearly doubled everyone else in the league in doubles as his 24 were 10 more than the next closest players.

He also drove in 59 runs, which was 14 more than second place Caedyn Colford of Edmonton Collegiate.

The Cascades catcher was also third in the league in average (.429) and tied for fifth in home runs (seven).

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“I came into the year with the mindset of doing everything I can to help my team win games and, during the winter, I worked hard to get to where I am,” Drinkle told Alberta Dugout Stories.

“I’m just happy to see that my hard work paid off and happy to have helped my team win and get us to where we were able to this year.”

The freshman edged out Nick Sauve of Okanagan College and Will Turner of Prairie Baseball Academy for most votes.

TOP PITCHER ON THE PRAIRIE

In a year dominated by massive offensive outburst, a handful of pitchers were able to keep things relatively in check.

For Prairie Baseball Academy hurler Sean Bavis, he did it right from his first moment on the bump with a seven-inning masterpiece in his debut.

He tied for the league lead in wins with five, was fourth in earned-run average at 3.78, and tied for fifth in strikeouts with 47.

Not bad for a freshman, who says it means a lot to have the coaches from around the league think that he was the best.

“It shows the work I put in to get better over the offseason and show how much playing baseball means to me,” he told Alberta Dugout Stories. “It also shows how much support my team gave me to help me achieve this award. Without them, I wouldn’t have won it.”

Ryan Powers of Okanagan College and Alex Lee of the University Baseball Club rounded out the top three vote-getters for Pitcher of the Year.

FRASER VALLEY FRESHMAN

Even through Drinkle and Bavis were both freshman, voters decided to go in a different direction for Rookie of the Year.

That’s where they found Cascades outfielder Brady Dorwart, who put together an exceptional season near the top of the batting order.

He hit .382 with five doubles and four triples, while finishing third in the league in RBI (43) and second in stolen bases (29).

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Dorwart gives credit to his family for their support and to the group of Coquitlam players who helped make some fun drives to the ballpark for practices and games.

“It means a lot to me to win this award and to see all my hard work pay off,” he said. “A big thank you to my coaches and teammates who helped keep me in a straight line and kept my head high throughout the season. I’m excited to keep improving moving forward.”

Logan Cassidy of the University Baseball Club and Drinkle captured second and third, respectively, in voting.

WINNING AS A TEAM

Looking back on the year that was, it was the UFV Cascades offense that shined through.

The team led the CCBC in several offensive categories including average (.327), doubles (90), runs batted in (312), total bases (623) and stolen bases (155).

On the mound, it was PBA leading the charge in team ERA (5.37) while the Cascades held opponents’ batting average to a league-low .245.

And defensively, the expansion University Baseball Club took care of the ball the best with a fielding percentage of .964, committing a circuit-low 45 errors.

First Team All-Conference

Name	Position	Team	Hometown
Sean Bavis	SP	Prairie Baseball Academy	Canmore, AB
Alex Lee	SP	University Baseball Club	Burnaby, B.C.
Ryan Powers	SP	Okanagan College	Beausejour, MAN
Lazlo Clements	RP	University Baseball Club	San Rafael, USA
Riley Starko	RP	Edmonton Collegiate	Vermilion, AB
Nick Sauve	C	Okanagan College	Calgary, AB
Caedyn Colford	IF	Edmonton Collegiate	Drayton Valley, AB
Keegan Drinkle	IF	University of Fraser Valley	Maple Ridge, B.C.
Nate James	IF	University of Fraser Valley	Burnaby, B.C.
Will Turner	IF	Prairie Baseball Academy	Calgary, AB
Jacob Carlson	OF	University of Calgary	Stillwater, USA
Logan Cassidy	OF	University Baseball Club	Bolton, ON
Brady Dorwart	OF	University of Fraser Valley	Langley, B.C.
Trevor Nicoll	DH	Vancouver Island University	Errington, B.C.
Colin Baxter	Utility	University of Calgary	North Vancouver, B.C.

Second Team All-Conference

Name	Position	Team	Hometown
Ketih Manby	SP	Thompson Rivers University	White Rock, B.C.
Ethan Webster	SP	University of Calgary	White Rock, B.C.
Zach Willard	SP	Prairie Baseball Academy	Mission, B.C.
Brady Augustin	RP	Okanagan College	Nelson, B.C.
Zak Wright	RP	Prairie Baseball Academy	Claresholm, AB
Jake Tanner	C	Edmonton Collegiate	Calgary, AB
Ryan Deagle	IF	Victoria Collegiate	Campbell River, B.C.
Nate Garth	IF	Prairie Baseball Academy	Calgary, AB
Coleman Kawaguchi	IF	Okanagan College	Squamish, B.C.
Koby Smith	IF	Edmonton Collegiate	Sundre, AB
Dominic Biello	OF	Victoria Collegiate	Victoria, B.C.
Tyler Burton	OF	Victoria Collegiate	Victoria, B.C.
Jared Sucro	OF	Thompson Rivers University	Kamloops, B.C.
Jai Berezowski	DH	Victoria Collegiate	Victoria, B.C.
Alex McLauchlan	Utility	Vancouver Island University	Nanaimo, B.C.

Gold Glove Awards

Name	Position	Team	Hometown
Lucas Miracle	C	Thompson Rivers University	Trail, B.C.
Jack Swinton	1B	Okanagan College	Victoria, B.C.
Aiden Mackenzie	2B	Prairie Baseball Academy	Headingly, MB
Coleman Kawaguchi	3B	Okanagan College	Squamish, B.C.
Kaden Collins	SS	Okanagan College	Penticton, B.C.
Dominic Biello	LF	Victoria Collegiate	Victoria, B.C.
Tyler Burton	CF	Victoria Collegiate	Victoria, B.C.
Jared Sucro	RF	Thompson Rivers University	Kamloops, B.C.
Ethan Webster	P	University of Calgary	White Rock, B.C.