Prairie Baseball Academy open fall season

By Lethbridge Herald on September 12, 2022.

Herald Photo by Justin Seward PBA Dawgs' pitcher Justin Schmahl whips a pitch in against Vauxhall Academy during opening weekend of the fall season on Saturday at Lloyd Nolan Yard.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

The Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs kicked off their fall season on alumni weekend with split squad games against the Vauxhall Jets and Parkland Twins on Saturday.

The Dawgs only had two practices prior to the games.

“It’s been a crazy week trying to just take care of a lot of other things other then baseball,” said PBA coach Todd Hubka.

“But I’m glad the weekend is over with. Now we can concentrate on baseball and practices. As of today, we’re really young and it showed in spots. We have a lot of kids that are competing for the varsity team— I think we’re really athletic. I like a lot of the young guys with the core that we have coming back for the varsity.   I think we have a pretty good chance to be pretty good this year.”

Hubka thinks these games are a matter of getting to know each other.

“They’re pressing and they’re trying way too hard,” said Hubka.

“They’re playing outside of who they are as a player and when they learn to relax a little bit and get comfortable with the surroundings, with the coaches, the field, good things will happen. But you could tell today there was a lot of pressing going on and swinging at some bad pitches and just bad feet on defence. I think that’ll come just as we continue on in the fall and relaxing a little bit.”

The fall season is chance for players to compete for spots in the spring season and Hubka simply doesn’t think he has to remind the players what they’re playing for.

“They know what they’re playing for and reasons where they fit in the program,” he said.

“I just had a quick meeting with them and just told them ‘Play to your ability and don’t play outside of who you are.’”

The team will rekindle for more intrasquad games this weekend with the focus of more at bats, ground balls.

The following weekend will see an Edmonton academy come down to play games, Vauxhall will be back the weekend after and a Red Deer team will come to Lethbridge later on before heading into the World Series later in October.

“That’s our favourite time of the fall is the World Series,” said Hubka.

“It seems the competitiveness goes to the top and we look forward to it every year.”