Okotoks baseball is again at the top of the class on two fronts.
At the 2023 Baseball Alberta Awards on Nov. 25, Okotokian Abby Szilagyi was named the 14U Girls Player of the Year with Ethan Renaud of the Okotoks Dawgs Academy taking home 13U AAA Player of the year honours.
“It was kind of surprising, to be honest, there was a bunch of good players this year,” said Renaud, a Grade 8 student at St. John Paul II Collegiate. “It’s always interesting to see all of the different guys and that I’ve grown as much as I have.”
Renaud, a pitcher and shortstop for the Dawgs, made an impact in all phases.
At the plate, he hit for a whopping .596 average, with nine home runs and 58 RBI.
On the mound, he pitched 46 innings, with 117 strikeouts, produced a 1.20 ERA while holding batters to a miniscule .112 batting average.
Renaud said he sought to be a leader for the whole team.
“As pitchers, you set the tone and help the team for everybody and being a leader, you’ve got to try your best, show up, be respectful and always be the top guy,” he said.
Renaud said he found inspiration in the older members of the academy and trying to follow in the footsteps of the top Dawgs, listing Taye Thierman as a role-model.
“I’ve tried to (soak) in as much energy and learn as many things as I can and get stronger,” he said. “It’s always so fun to come in and see the older guys hit and see how good they are since they’ve gone through all of it and you are as well.
“So you’ve got to strive to get to their level or past their level.”
The 13U AAA Dawgs, coached by Tyler Milton and Fernando Fuentes, won the provincial title in the summer.
“They’ve taught me different skills, hitting, playing infield and all of the pitches that I have, they’ve shown me all of that,” Renaud said of his coaches. “How to get my velocity up, how to get more power, all of that stuff.”
A multi-sport athlete, Renaud was the starting quarterback for the Foothills Bantam Eagles in the fall and led the team to a Tier II city championship and Tier III provincial title.
Renaud, along with Eagles teammates Daniel Bowers, Maddox Robichaud and Lucas Adams and coach Tim Henderson, got to represent the Calgary Bantam Selects on their trip to Las Vegas.
“I just try to stay active, stay healthy, stay fit and keep the athleticism,” he said of his approach. “It’s helped me with teamwork, working together and not getting down on each other.
“That it’s not always about you, it’s about the team.”
Szilagyi said she was pretty excited to find out the good news.
The 14-year-old helped Team Alberta take gold at the 14U Western Championships held in Richmond, B.C. in the summer.
Szilagyi pitched in the final and hit a key double in the seventh inning against the host team in the championship and posted a five-RBI game in the semifinal victory over Saskatchewan.
“It was really cool, I had never heard of it before this year,” Szilagyi said of her westerns experience. “I was doing some work in the offseason with Lou Pote with the Dawgs and he sent a video to the (Alberta) coach and they reached out.”
The Okotokian, who plays third base and pitcher, played for the Outlaws U15 AA Division I team during the season in addition to individual training with Pote, a World Series champion with the Anaheim Angels.
The St. John Paul II Collegiate student also boasts a considerable multi-sport athletic background.
On top of her talent on the diamond, she’s a star goaltender with the Rocky Mountain Raiders U15 AA hockey team and plays on school teams.
“I think it’s just staying active all of the time. It can get a little busy, but I like it,” she said.
“My glove hand is pretty good in hockey.”
For more information on the awards, visit baseballalberta.com.
