By JOE McFARLAND

It’s been a good while since Alberta has brought home a medal from the Baseball Canada Cup.

So long, in fact, that most of the players suiting up in the 2026 edition of the tournament weren’t even in kindergarten when it happened.

While they had no recollection of Erik Sabrowski, Justin King, Clayton Keyes and crew claiming silver in Saskatoon in 2014, Team Alberta was looking to make their own memories this summer.

Armed with a solid core of players who had played together at different times during their respective journeys in the game, they endured big wins and heartbreaking losses to get into the bronze medal game.

And in dramatic fashion, they broke the dry spell with a walk-off 7-6 victory over New Brunswick.

“I think most of us were aware that Alberta hadn’t medaled in a long time, but I don’t think we knew it had been 12 years,” utilityman Mac Warawa told Alberta Dugout Stories. “Being able to be the team that hopefully breaks that ice and helps build some momentum for the future is awesome.”

The players credit a full team effort and a special camaraderie for the bronze and hope it inspires future teams to go for gold.

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SETTING THE STAGE

The Baseball Canada Cup hadn’t been kind to Team Alberta over the last couple of tournaments with a seventh-place finish in 2023 and sixth in 2024.

With no tournament in 2025 (it happens in non-Canada Summer Games years), it gave Baseball Alberta the chance to really dive into the 17U talent base and find the players it needed to make a run at the podium.

Once the team was assembled, many of the players were able to connect as they had either been teammates before or had crossed paths.

It allowed for discussions to happen before they took off for Summerside, P.E.I.

“We had a sports mental coach come in and talk to us for an hour during our practice the day before we left,” said infielder Brooks Froese. “We worked on what our goals were, our intentions, and what we needed to do to gel as a team.”

Their mindset going into the tournament: win it all.

MEMORABLE ON THE MOUND

Things started exactly as planned when they landed in Summerside.

Five players including Warawa, Bo Anderson, Gerit Vanderwal, Riley Wolbeck and Xavier Lampshire homered in a 20-1 romp over Newfoundland and Labrador.

They followed that up with a decisive 8-1 win over Nova Scotia and 8-6 triumph against New Brunswick on day two of the tournament.

Alberta kept rolling on the third day with a 5-2 victory against P.E.I. with Warawa, Lampshire and Riley Dusterhoft combining for a three-hitter while striking out nine.

“We had outstanding pitching all tournament long,” said Froese, who hails from Red Deer.

That trend continued heading into Saturday’s final round-robin game, with Ronan Johnson twirling a complete-game five-hitter while striking out four, although the offense couldn’t get going in a 2-1 setback to Quebec.

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That landed Alberta in the quarterfinal, where Finn Gavigan allowed just three hits while recording eight punchouts in a 7-2 win over Manitoba.

SUPER SUNDAY

It was Warawa’s turn to make a difference on the mound heading into the semi-final against B.C. on Sunday. The Lacombe product did his part by tossing six innings of five-hit baseball, allowing three runs while striking out three.

However, the offense hit another dry spell as Wolbeck drove in the lone run in a 3-1 loss, putting Alberta into the bronze medal game.

New Brunswick started strong with a pair of two-run innings before Alberta clawed back to tie in the second thanks to three bases-loaded walks and a wild pitch that scored Tyler Diprose from third.

The two teams exchanged runs before New Brunswick took another one-run lead in the seventh, setting the stage for an intense final half inning.

Anderson walked and Wawara was hit by a pitch, who were both moved over by a sacrifice bunt from Dusterhoft.

They had to stay put when Sloan Reid struck out and, with two out, Diprose came up to face Evan Warr. On a 1-0 pitch, the St. Albert native drove the ball into centre field and the baserunners got on their horses.

Anderson scored easily while Warawa was given the green light from head coach Kurtus Millar to try for the win.

“Before the pitch was even thrown, it was in the back of my mind that I was probably going to get the wave.”

“Having played on teams in the past that love aggressive base-running, I’m trying everything I can do to score,” Warawa said.

A MOMENT FROZEN IN TIME

It was a moment that Warawa admits comes close to simply blacking out and letting his body take over.

“As I’m about halfway down the (third base) line, I see the catcher get super-low for the throw,” said the second baseman. “All I can really hear is Bo (Anderson) screaming at me to slide on the inside.”

His Alberta teammates had risen in the dugout in anticipation of the call from the umpire.

“All I can remember is Tyler hitting that ball up the middle and hopping the fence, holding my breath waiting for Wawara to score,” said Wolbeck.

When the umpire signaled “safe,” chaos ensued.

“That dogpile was something I have never experienced before,” the Leduc native continued. “It was one of the coolest moments in my baseball career so far.”

While it wasn’t the medal they initially set out for, the players had accomplished something no Alberta team had in 12 years.

And the pride was oozing out of them after the celebrations had wrapped up.

“I think the key for our team was our ability to come together as one,” said Froese, who was named the tournament’s top shortstop. “We became a team so quickly, which gave us an advantage over most of the other provincial teams.”

For Wolbeck, he hopes this tournament sets a standard in Alberta and puts it back on the map of provinces with great players.

“I feel like we are a bit overlooked when it comes to talented provinces,” said the 16-year-old. “This result should get us some recognition, and I know I’ll be back for sure next year to hopefully bring a medal back again and hopefully the win the whole thing.”

Summerside will once again play host to the Baseball Canada Cup in 2027.

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