A clutch cameo appearance from Geoff Dodson powered Abbotsford’s Yard Dogs fastpitch squad to the B.C. senior men’s championship last weekend in Nanaimo.
Dodson had missed the Yard Dogs’ first two games of the tournament while attending a family reunion in Washington state on Saturday. But the third baseman hustled onto a ferry on Sunday morning and made it just in time for the final, which pitted the local squad against the Sooke Smoke.
With the score tied at zeros in the bottom of the fourth inning, Dodson connected on a three-run home run to break the game wide open. The Yard Dogs ended up winning 4-0, with pitcher Travis Kunz tossing a three-hit shutout.
“It’s crazy, just crazy,” Yard Dogs coach Bob Avery said with a chuckle, reflecting on Dodson’s heroics. “We pick him up from the ferry, and he hits a three-run bomb to win the game. Just incredible.”
The Yard Dogs were already set to attend the Western Canadian Championships in Abbotsford, which run Aug. 16-19 at Exhibition Park, as the host team. By virtue of winning the B.C. title, they also earn an automatic berth to next year’s Western Canadians.
“It’s going to be a big event,” Avery said, looking forward to the Westerns in Abbotsford. “We feel our chances are pretty good – we’ll be up there. We’re not going to be pushovers.”
In the short term, the Yard Dogs are set to embark on the Fraser Valley Men’s Fastball League playoffs. The post-season begins Thursday, though the first-place Yard Dogs and another Abbotsford team, second-place The Farm, have opening-round byes. Games run Tuesdays and Thursdays at Centennial Park.
