Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

2020 and 2021 must have been excruciating for busy-bodies like Madison Willan. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the 21-year-old multi-sport star with Baseball Alberta, Baseball Canada, the University of Alberta Pandas hockey team, golfer and more to spend less time playing the sports she loves. The Edmonton product was definitely happy getting back to her old routines in 2022, and was rewarded for her...

There’s no doubting Brent Radlinsky ’s dedication to the New York Yankees. All you need to do is see the wall behind him when he’s hosting his podcast or chatting with you on Zoom. It’s all jerseys and memorabilia. There’s also no doubting his love of the game of baseball. Whether it’s talking about the game on his Fourteen Twenty Sports Bar podcast , the occasional writing he does for Belly Up Sp...

It was certainly a year to remember for Halen Knoll. The Edmonton product was dynamite on the mound to start the spring with the Edmonton Collegiate Hawks, leading the CCBC with 70 strikeouts while registering a 3-4 record and a 3.39 ERA en route to being named a First-Team All-Canadian and a finalist for league MVP. After a stint with the WCL’s Edmonton Riverhawks, Knoll traveled up to Fort McMur...

It was a year to remember in Brooks as, for the first time since entering the Western Canadian Baseball League in 2016, the Bombers made it to the postseason. It’s been a challenging few years, especially after the interruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Bombers were able to take that time to refine what they were doing on and off the field so they would be ready for 2022. Near the en...

It took Ty Penner just ten minutes to go from wondering how he wasn’t selected in this July’s MLB Draft, to agreeing to a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Phillies . The Vauxhall Academy of Baseball product admits, from there, it turned into an absolute whirlwind, traveling between Alberta, his college home at UBC, and Clearwater, Florida to begin his professional baseball journey. That w...

Yeah, you read that right. We are now 200 episodes into this passion project, with the first one debuting almost four years ago to the day: October 30th, 2018. This doesn’t happen without all of you, so thank YOU for taking the time to listen in to the long-form stories of baseball in our province. To mark the occasion, we welcome back ADS co-founder and writer extraordinaire Ian Wilson to talk ab...

Ashley Stephenson's name is synonymous with Baseball Canada's Women's National Team. A member of the squad from 2004-2018, she played in everything from World Cups to Pan-Am Games and everything in-between. She was also a two-time winner of the Jimmy Rattlesnake Award for her on-field accomplishments, team spirit and leadership. That award was later renamed in her honour. After Stephenson's playin...

The Calgary International Film Festival will have a baseball flavour to it this year (September 22-October 2). “It Ain’t Over” takes a look at the life and times of New York Yankees great and Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra. Famous for his on-field play as well as his wit, humour and “Yogi-isms”, Berra was also misunderstood. Director Sean Mullin tries to set the record straight by chatting with B...

Every college player dreams of making an impact with their summer baseball league. Braden Desonia did more than that in his first season with the Medicine Hat Mavericks. The 6’1”, 165-pound centrefielder was a terror for opposing pitchers and defenses, hitting .348 with five home runs and 42 runs batted in while stealing a Western Canadian Baseball League record 42 stolen bases , 15 more than anyo...

There was already a lot of buzz around Edmonton’s Michael Yusypchuk before he joined Team Alberta for this year’s Canada Summer Games in Ontario. Last year’s Baseball Alberta 15U “AAA” Player of the Year has been spectacular with St. Albert Minor Baseball Association teams over the years, is heading to Dawgs Academy in Okotoks, and has already committed to Missouri State. Well, he added to that le...

It was quite the spectacle in Toronto recently as the Blue Jays marked the 30th anniversary of their 1992 World Series championship. Fans were able to re-live those memories as the stars like Joe Carter, Dave Winfield and Devon White came back to town to celebrate the occasion. That team also had a few connections to its Pioneer League affiliate that won its first title a decade earlier. This week...

The countdown is on to the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Four cities will host the tournament from March 8th-21st. Canada will be in tough in Pool C with the defending champion United States along with Mexico, Columbia and one of four qualifier teams. There will be two qualifier tournaments, with Pool “A” in Germany from September 16th-21st, and Pool “B” in Panama from September 30th-October 5th. T...

2022 will be remembered as the first season with the Edmonton Riverhawks of the West Coast League. In the ultra-competitive North Division, the Riverhawks made a push for the second half pennant, falling just short during the final weekend, finishing with an overall record of 25-28. Several hometown products were able to crack the roster, including outfielder Clayton Loranger. The Sherwood Park na...

For a sixth time in franchise history, the Okotoks Dawgs are the top dogs of the Western Canadian Baseball League. In front of a packed Seaman Stadium, the Dawgs clinched the title with a 4-1 win over the Moose Jaw Miller Express Thursday night. Head to our website to check out the full story. After the game, we caught up with Playoff MVP Brendan Luther , outfielder Micah McDowell, pitcher Matt Wi...

What a week it was in Calgary for the Canadian Little League Championships. Not only was the weather fantastic, but the baseball was second-to-none as teams from around the country vied for the right to represent the maple leaf in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The final was held Friday with Moose Jaw taking on the Little Mountain Baseball All-Stars, competing as Team BC. And with a 9-4 victory, BC h...

This week, we take a look back at a great accomplishment by Dawgs Academy’s 18U Black squad. They headed south of the border for a few tournaments over the summer, including the Perfect Game World Series in West Palm Beach, Florida. After going 3-1-1 in the round-robin, the Dawgs didn’t turn back, beating NEB National 4-2 in the final. Dawgs starter Tyrelle Chadwick, who picked up the win in the f...

What a year it’s been for Gavin Logan. The Oyen, Alberta product and Dawgs Academy grad took full advantage of being the starting catcher for Oregon State, hitting .281 with three home runs and 36 runs batted in while committing just one error in 45 games as he was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and All-Pac-12 Tournament Team. While the Beavers fell short of their goal of winning the NCAA nati...

Words probably can’t describe the feeling everyone had Saturday night after witnessing the Western Canadian Baseball League’s All-Star Game festivities in Okotoks. A crowd of 6,000+ people, the players and coaches enjoying every minute of it, some incredible moments of baseball, fireworks at the end, and a million memories made, and it feels like we’re just scratching the surface. Make sure to hea...

Three days. 30 teams. 20 rounds. 616 baseball prospects chosen in the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft. Among them, 15 Canadians including two from Alberta . Dawgs Academy product and Oregon State catcher Gavin Logan went in the ninth round, 258th overall to the Arizona Diamondbacks, while St. FX Academy product and Old Dominion University first baseman Matt Coutney was taken in the tenth round, 2...

It’s been a long couple of years without WCBL baseball in a trio of Alberta communities. Over the past few episodes, we’ve chatted with hometown athletes Dax Wandler of the Brooks Bombers and Sean Dunn of the Fort McMurray Giants about coming back this season and the excitement in their respective communities. The third team to return is the Medicine Hat Mavericks and who better to talk about to t...

Talk about a homecoming for Sean Dunn. The Fort McMurray product has been chomping at the bit to get back onto the field with his hometown Giants in the Western Canadian Baseball League for a while now, as the pandemic got in the way of their return in 2020 and 2021. The Giants are in a dogfight for a playoff spot in the West Division, hoping to get there for the first time since entering the leag...

Justin King might be the king of self-awareness. As a young multi-sport athlete, he admits he realized one day he wasn’t the fastest skater, so he decided to focus on playing baseball. A gifted hitter growing up in Okotoks, King decided to try pitching in his final college season at the University of Louisiana-Monroe in Spring 2021. As his Twitter bio states: “couldn’t hit 95 so now we a pitcher.”...

It’s been a long road back to the diamond for Dax Wandler. The Brooks Bombers infielder last appeared in the Western Canadian Baseball League in 2019, hitting .242 with a home run and five RBI for his hometown team. He needed surgery following that season, but hit some roadblocks along the way. The 5-10, 160-pound COVID freshman is finally back on the field and hoping to turn a few heads so he can...

The Battle of Alberta might be one of the most heated rivalries in all of pro sports. The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers have hated each other from the very beginning. That rivalry not only transcends hockey, but sports in general as well. When it comes to baseball, any time Alberta’s two largest cities face each other, it’s bound to have fireworks. Never was that more prevalent than on June 1...

There have been plenty of great storylines about Alberta baseball products doing big things in US college programs this spring. One of those has been watching two Dawgs Academy products help Central Arizona College claim the Junior College World Series. Tyrese Johnson hit .340 with a pair of homers, 23 runs batted in and nine stolen bases, while Matt Wilkinson went 5-2 with two saves and a 1.87 ER...