This was supposed to be the Sylvan Lake Gulls' year.
After two straight years of losing to the Okotoks Dawgs in the Western Canadian Baseball League postseason, it appeared for the majority of the 2024 campaign that the Gulls assembled one of the best, if not the best team in franchise history.
The team that was supposed to lead them to the promised land.
Loaded with talent on the mound and at the plate the Gulls won the president's trophy as the best team in the regular season with a 44-12 record. This was the first time the Gulls had ever done so since entering the WCBL in 2021.
After sweeping the Brooks Bombers in the opening playoff round in the West Division, the Gulls got their shot at the back-to-back defending league champions, the Okotoks Dawgs.
This was the matchup they were hoping for. The Gulls wanted their revenge and an opportunity to take down the team that had dominated the league for at least the last five years.
They got off to a good start winning Game 1 at home 5-3 off a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning by Marques Abulhosn. In Game 2, the Gulls lost a nail-biter 3-2 in Okotoks but remained optimistic heading home to play in front of a sold-out crowd in Game 3.
In a do-or-die situation, the Gulls came out swinging and brought in two runs to lead the game after the first inning. It was clear the Gulls were feeding off the energy of the crowd.
But defensively, things began to unravel for the Gulls in the fourth and fifth innings. The Dawgs knocked in 10 total runs which forced the Gulls to rotate through four pitchers before they stopped the bleeding.
A push from the Gulls in the bottom of the ninth inning including a two-run moon shot from Jason Green wasn't enough to overcome the deficit. As a result, the Gulls lost to the Dawgs in the West Division Finals for the third straight year.
"We thought that this was going to be our year and that we'd beat them this year," said Gulls right fielder Matty Fung.
"Getting that first win in Game 1 was huge but we just didn't take advantage of that and carry it on into Games 2 and 3."
Fung thought they played well as a team in holding their opponents to just a few runs, especially in Games 1 and 2.
"I think we made one or two more mistakes than the Dawgs in Game 2 which cost us but in Game 3 they just came out swinging and we couldn't stop them. Their offence was very good," Fung added.
Head coach and general manager Jason Chatwood said he liked his team's start in Game 3 but after the big momentum shift in the fourth inning, his team couldn't recover.
"It was a tough way to end it but I hope the guys hold their heads up high. It was a special year from start to finish and I'm proud of them. Congratulations to Okotoks for a great season," Chatwood said.
"I think we put ourselves in a chance to win like we wanted to. We got that home-field advantage... We put ourselves in a one-game matchup but obviously, it's baseball and anything can happen. Tonight we came up on the wrong end of it so it's just baseball I guess."
Despite that, Chatwood believes they'll continue to be one of the top teams in the league moving forward and that a lot of guys will want to return to the team next season.
"Sylvan is starting to turn into a spot where a lot of guys want to come play," he added.
Fung, who just finished up his third season in Sylvan Lake, has one more year of eligibility in the WCBL.
The community has embraced him and that was evident following the loss when more than a few dozen kids approached him for an autograph and a few hugs. Whether or not he'll be back next year depends on if he gets any professional opportunities.
If he doesn't, the California product hopes to return to the franchise that's become a second home to him.
"If I have an opportunity to come back next year I'll be back. I just can't thank the coaches enough, the fans, the community, and the leadership community here," Fung said.
"I'm going to return to school in the fall and then graduate in the spring. I hope to continue playing after the spring so if I don't get drafted or signed I could come back here and play another summer. Hopefully, I'd get picked up after that."
