A special season ended with a dramatic gold medal finish for a group of Outlaws.
The Okotoks Outlaws earned the Baseball Alberta 18U AA Tier I Provincial Championship in walk-off fashion with a 6-5 triumph over Leduc’s Black Gold 47’s in the gold medal game, Aug. 6 in Grande Prairie.
“It couldn’t have happened in any better way, it was a perfect way to end it off,” said Outlaws catcher Spencer Trotter, the overager on the squad. “Winning Tier I, I’ve never done that in my whole career so it’s pretty special.
“We were all super close with one another, everyone was friends with everyone which gave a calming presence so we could just go out play. We didn’t have to think too much, we were just going out there and having fun.”
In the bottom of the seventh, third baseman Tyler Dees singled and scored the winning run on a walk-off RBI double off the bat of Jordan Szilagyi to break the 5-5 scoreline.
“Jordan hit the ball in the air and the whole crowd went silent to see if it would drop and as soon as the ball landed everyone went ballistic in the crowd,” said Outlaws pitcher and shortstop Colton King.
“As soon as Tyler was rounding third and we knew he was going to get home, the whole team was on the field going absolutely crazy.
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt excitement or the feeling of being proud of your team like that before.”
King got the start in the provincial final with Kaden Raknerud coming out of the bullpen.
“I don’t get too nervous during baseball, but going in starting was a little bit stressful,” King said. “It’s provincial gold game, everything is on the line and it’s up to me to start the game.”
Raknerud came on in relief for the final two innings and was relieved to not have to get back on the mound in extra-innings.
“It was a great experience and crazy just pitching with pure adrenaline,” said Raknerud. “I’ve never really been in a situation like that where I’m having to clutch up and show my colours.
“Everyone played super well and came together as a team and it felt really good to be part of that.”
The Outlaws brought a 20-5 record into the tournament and qualified as one of the top positioned teams during league play.
In Grande Prairie, they kept up the momentum with a dominant run through round-robin highlighted by a 7-1 win over Camrose, 14-7 triumph over Olds and 10-6 victory over Stettler.
In the semifinal, Okotoks got past the host Grande Prairie by a 5-2 score to advance to a showdown with a tough 47’s squad.
“Every time we had played them we lost, so we knew we had to overcome them,” Raknerud said. “We knew that we had to leave nothing on the table and just go at those guys as hard as we could.
“We came really close the last couple of years, but just didn’t have enough. We felt like if we didn’t win provincials this year it would be a let-down.
“For guys like Spencer, this was his last year he’ll be able to play, with him being such a big leader it was really nice to be able to go and win a provincial championship with him.”
Head coach Jeff Raknerud tipped his cap to the special group on the diamond, noting the close-knit squad has a number of players who’ve known one another throughout their school years and minor baseball careers.
“It was pretty special,” the coach said. “You play competitive sports, and you need a lot of things to go right to win a provincial title and it was pretty nice to be a part of a team like this to bring it home.
"A big thanks and congratulations to the other coaches, Jason King and Drew Reynolds, as well as the manager and treasurers, Tammy King and Sheri Raknerud. Also thanks to the parents for all the support and volunteering this year. Was pretty special to have such a great group of players, parents and coaches come together and win this championship."
