Comeback victory sends Okotoks Dawgs back to WCBL championship finals

The Okotoks Dawgs found themselves in a familiar situation on Tuesday night down early in a win-or-go-home playoff match.

Then an eight-run onslaught in the fourth inning spurred acomeback for the Dawgsagainst the Sylvan Lake Gulls in theWestern Canadian Baseball League'splayoff divisional round.

The 10-4 win means they'llplay in theleague's championship final series. They'll take on the Moose Jaw Miller Express for a chance at franchise history, starting Thursdaynight.

The players recognize the historic opportunity to three-peatfor a second time, but they aren't letting in get in the way of the task at hand.

"You kind of got to take it game by game and pitch by pitch," said outfielder Alejandro Cazorla, who grew up in Okotoks.

"To do it with thegroup of guys that I'm doing it with, that makes it even more special."

Already leading the league with the most championships, the Dawgs will get a chanceto add to their banner count with an eighth championship and the third in as many seasons.

The team also achieved the three-peatfeat more than a decadeago, winning titles in the 2007, 2008 and 2009 campaigns.

"It's really hard to win championships," said head coach Lou Pote.

"But to be able to have a chance to do this for a third time, that's a testament to the whole group. They've been awesome. They've been resilient."

Okotoks goes into the first game of the best-of-three series against Moose Jaw after knocking off the LethbridgeBulls and the Sylvan Lake Gulls.

During the regular season campaign, the Dawgsboasted a 42-14 record and earned the second-seed in the league's west division. They'll have home field advantage over the Miller Express as the higher-ranked team.

"Selfishly, I don't want a Game 3 and I wouldn't want to bring it back to Okotoks but the fans are the reason why Okotoks is the place it is," Cazorla said.

"To be able to get an opportunity to three-peat again, I think that kind of shows our gratitude for everything [the fans] have done for us throughout the years."

First pitch of Game 1 of the seriesis at7:05 p.m. at Seaman Stadium in Okotoks.