There’s no doubt that pitching is one of the most important positions in baseball.
And for the Sylvan Lake Gulls of the Western Canadian Baseball League, their pitching has been vital for their success, and have some of the best in the league on their roster.
Gulls Josh Tucker and Ty Boudreau currently lead the league in strikeouts with 56 and 44. They are also tied for the second-most wins in the league with four each, with the leader Nate Mensik at six. Boudreau also threw a no-hitter earlier this season.
The rest of the rotation has been solid with Steven Hospital leading all WCBL pitchers with an ERA of 0.60 and has only allowed 12 hits all season. Hunter Jones also only allowed one hit and struck out nine batters on Tuesday in a doubleheader against Swift Current.
Gulls pitching coach Matt Hape said the pitchers have been incredible.
“I think single-handedly they’ve kept us in a lot of ball games and there’s been some dominant outings. Tucker down in Regina struck out 14 in six innings and Boudreau had the no-hitter like there’s been some really dominant performances,” Hape said.
Despite their success, Hape said he can’t take all the credit and that he’s happy to have such a talented and hardworking group. However, there isn’t a secret formula to what he teaches his pitchers and said it really varies from player to player. What he’s been working on with Tucker might not be what he’s been working on with Boudreau.
“I think the biggest thing is we’re trying to figure out what does Josh Tucker do that’s really elite and effective and pitch to that. We make sure that we’re pitching to each and every guy’s strengths. One area that we’ve really progressed in as a pitching staff is once a guy gets on first base he just stays there. We’re controlling the running game really well so It’s very challenging to score off of us when they have to have three-four hits together when we have the type of guys on the pitching staff that we do.”
Hape said what pitchers do is by far the most important facet of the game. When you look at any championship level in any baseball league the teams that make it the farthest and are the most dominant are largely due to the pitching staff.
This is his first season with the Gulls but has been coaching for four years now including three in the United States. Hape pitched in Salt Lake Community College and at Montana State University before trying his hand at coaching. After a former coach asked him to join his staff he said he got addicted to the profession.
“I think this is my calling in life and I love showing up to the ballpark and being able to work with guys like Josh Tucker. It makes life fun for sure,” he added.
What motivates him as a coach is looking back at some of the coaches he had in his playing career and how they made an impact on his life. Some of his fondest memories and life skills he has learned were thanks to his coaches and hope to do the same for his players.
In his first season with the Gulls, 21-year-old Tucker has emerged as one of the WCBL’s best pitchers. Not only is it his first season in the league but also his first time living outside of the United States.
“I love it here. People are nice and it’s been a really great pleasure up here. I love the people, the community, and the fans who rally behind us every day. The only bad part has been the weather for the most part,” he said.
The Spokane, Washington product pitched the last two seasons for a team in Dickinson, North Dakota where he also led the league in strikeouts and nearly broke the record. Tucker seems to have a knack for striking batters out as he’s leading the WCBL in strikeouts this season by a large margin.
Tucker said his success has been due to execution when he has two strikes and limiting the number of walks he gives up, which he said has been a problem in the past.
“I’ve always had the ability to strike out a lot of guys and it comes easy to me. I work up and down in the zone and mostly just trying to execute my pitch,” he said.
Tucker has aspirations to play professionally and said what drives him to play baseball is that he owes it to himself to keep going. There have been times when he has wanted to stop and give up playing.
“I just try to remember when I was younger and still a kid and enjoyed playing the game to have fun every day. So I try to have fun with it now and that makes me enjoy it and I usually do better when I’m having fun,” Tucker added.
The Gulls success has continued this week as they have now won four games in a row. On Wednesday the Gulls beat the Brooks Bombers 6-3 at home and on Thursday they defeated the Edmonton Prospects in a high-scoring affair 7-4 at Gulls Stadium.
Against Edmonton third baseman Tyler McWillie and Sam Stem both had a home run in the game. McWillie had four RBIs after going two for four in the batter’s box.
Ryun Cross got the start on the mound throwing for three and one-third of an inning allowing four runs but struck out four batters. Jesse Simpson came into the game and also pitched for three and one third of an inning. He only allowed one hit and struck out five. Tyler Hampu closed out the game in Sylvan Lake striking out four and holding Edmonton to one hit.
Next up for the Gulls is two more home games on Friday and Saturday against Medicine Hat and Okotoks before heading to Edmonton on Sunday.