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Update: August 18, 2008

Dukes Updates

Dukes Finish Strong Winning Major Hardware

Sherwood Park Home to Western Major Baseball League’s Most Valuable Player and Coach of the Year

SHERWOOD PARK, ALBERTA, Monday, August 18, 2008

The Western Major Baseball League expansion franchise Sherwood Park Dukes’ inaugural season may have wrapped up last Sunday with a loss in the Western Conference Championship series, but the Dukes brought home some major hardware yesterday as the league released the 2008 WMBL All-Star Teams and Award Winners. Leading the way all season for the Dukes, Thunder Bay native Dan Grant led all WMBL hitters this season winning the League Batting Title with a .403 batting average in the wood bat league. Grant (ex-University of Northern Iowa/NCAA Division I) not only added a 1^st Team All-Star Infield Award to his wall, but also brings home the WMBL’s Most Valuable Player Award. “Dan did a great job this summer being a consistent threat at the plate, taking pressure off our other hitters and giving our line-up depth,” states Dukes Head Coach Jordan Blundell. “Dan was a quality defender and displayed a knack for getting big hits. He lead by example everyday giving the Dukes his best effort every game,” adds Blundell.

Dukes center fielder Ryan Jacobi (Mansfield, TX; Texas Wesleyan University/NAIA) dazzled the Dukes and their fans all season, robbing opposing hitters of extra base hits with his great range and diving catches. Jacobi’s efforts in the outfield were not just noticed by the hometown fans as Jacobi was awarded a 2^ndTeam All-Star Outfield Award by the Western Major Baseball League. “Ryan took many hits away from the opposition, which I'm sure did not go unnoticed on our Pitching Staff,” says Blundell.

Leading the team from a tough mid-June to a strong 13-4 win-loss record in July and a third place overall finish, it is clear to see why Dukes Head Coach Jordan Blundell was named as the Western Major Baseball League’s Coach of the Year. Although Blundell had a head start with some players following him to Sherwood Park from the 2007 St. Albert Prospects squad (who took the year away from the league due to facility issues), Blundell recruited some new faces to the League, dealt with a couple of tough injuries and managed the team through losing three quality players to Team Canada’s entry at the World University Games with a fantastic July record. Coach Blundell heads the baseball program at Vancouver Island University (formerly Malaspina University) and is extremely proud to be recognized as Coach of the Year in the WMBL. “The league has so much talent and has so many great coaches that it's special to be given this honor,” states Blundell. Blundell continues, “Most importantly, I need to thank all my players for an outstanding season – their hard work and dedication provided me the opportunity to be recognized with this award.”

The Dukes players have all departed back to their respective colleges after a strong first season that saw the Dukes finish the regular season with the third best record and a first round playoff series win, both huge victories for an expansion franchise. The Dukes cap off their successful inaugural season with three of the major WMBL awards – a tough year to improve on, but the Dukes hope to build on the strength of their first season and fight their way to the League Championship series in 2009.

WMBL Allstars for 2008 Season
Monday, August 18th, 2008

WMBL ALLSTAR TEAMS AND AWARD WINNERS FOR 2008

1st Team Allstars

Pitchers:
LHP Robert Alcala Moose Jaw Millers
LHP Mark Hardy Okotoks Dawgs
RHP Jeff Duda Okotoks Dawgs
RHP Jake Bottari Okotoks Dawgs

Infielders:
Dustin Bissonette Swift Current Indians
Dan Grant Sherwood Park Dukes
Matt Warr Melville Millionaires
Joel Cardinal Saskatoon Yellow Jackets

Outfielders:
Riley Gavello Weyburn Beavers
Anthony Cros Okotoks Dawgs
Nickolas Longmire Yorkton Cardinals
Kyle Albright Swift Current Indians

Catcher:
Brett Thomas Okotoks Dawgs

DH:
Cory Hall Regina Red Sox

2nd Team Allstars

Pitchers:
RHP Gord Gateman Weyburn Beavers
LHP Josh Marshall Saskatoon Yellow Jackets
LHP Mike Goemans Yorkton Cardinals
RHP Brian Strawn Swift Current Indians

Infielders:
Hogan Barnes Medicine Hat Mavericks
Conrad Funk Swift Currrent Indians
Manny Kumar Okotoks Dawgs
Jason Chatwood Saskatoon Yellow Jackets

Outfielders:
Ryan Jacoby Sherwood Park Dukes
Eric McKinney Regina Red Sox
Ken Fuglerud Lethbridge Bulls
Doug West Moose Jaw Millers
Brandon Hunter Okotoks Dawgs

Catcher:
Eric Sim Moose Jaw Millers

DH:
Lee Darracott Okotoks Dawgs

Batting Champion: Dan Grant Sherwood Park Dukes (.403 avg)
Pitching Champion: Jake Bottari Okotoks Dawgs (.84 era)
Rookie of the Year: Matt Warr Melville Millionaires
MVP for the season: Dan Grant Sherwood Park Dukes
Canadian Rookie of the Year: Eric Sim Moose Jaw Millers
MVP of the Playoffs: Brett Thomas Okotoks Dawgs
Coach of the Year: Jordan Blundell Sherwood Park Dukes

The Sherwood Park Dukes (www.dukesbaseball.ca) are the newest collegiate summer team franchise in the Western Major Baseball League and will play their inaugural season at Centennial Park Diamond #9 in Sherwood Park, Alberta, a legacy of the 2007 Western Canada Summer Games. The WMBL includes teams from Saskatchewan – Melville Millionaires, Moose Jaw Miller Express, Regina Red Sox, Saskatoon Yellow Jackets, Swift Current Indians, Weyburn Beavers and the Yorkton Cardinals, and Alberta – Lethbridge Bulls, Medicine Hat Mavericks, Okotoks Dawgs, the Sherwood Park Dukes as well as the Red Deer Generals and St. Albert Prospects who have been granted leaves of absence for the 2008 season. The Dukes are locally owned and operated with their “Diamond of Dreams” motto and their vision “to build a community oriented organization that will enrich Sherwood Park’s quality of life by providing affordable wholesome family entertainment and promote the benefits of athletic competition through the successful ownership of a summer collegiate baseball team.”

Dukes deliver sensational season

InTheNews
*August 15, 2008*--The Sherwood Park Dukes’ defeat at the hands of the Okotoks Dawgs in the Western Major Baseball League West Division championship last weekend shouldn’t be viewed as a loss, but rather as an overwhelming victory for baseball in Strathcona County. In just their first season of existence in the collegiate-level summer league, the Dukes were successful on the field with a winning record and an exciting playoff run, and they also took baseball’s profile in the community to new heights, attracting hundreds of fans to each home game making a name for themselves around town.
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Dukes enter Dawg pound

InTheNews
*August 8, 2008*--The Sherwood Park Dukes fought their way through the Yellow Jackets’ nest and are ready to enter the Dawg pound. The Western Major Baseball League expansion franchise won its first-ever playoff series this past week, as the Dukes defeated the Saskatoon Yellow Jackets 3-1 in the best-of-five West Division semifinal round. The Okotoks Dawgs swept the Lethbridge Bulls 3-0 in the other semifinal series, setting up the division final showdown between the Dukes and Dawgs, which started Thursday and continues this weekend.
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Bourne's identity changing

InTheNews
*August 1, 2008*--Sherwood Park Dukes general manager Richard Bourne will be sporting significantly less hair the next time his team hits the baseball diamond. The Dukes players have all shaved their heads into mohawks during their drive towards the Western Major Baseball League playoffs, which start tonight (Friday) against the Saskatoon Yellow Jackets at 7:05 p.m. Bourne promised the players during the team’s southern Alberta road trip last weekend that if they clinched home-field advantage for the first round of playoffs, he too would shed some locks and sport the mohawk. So when the Yellow Jackets lost to Moose Jaw on Tuesday night, clinching home field for the Dukes in the West Division semifinal series, Bourne had to face the razor.
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Dukes continue to dominate

InTheNews
*July 29, 2008*--Three wins and a loss by a single run this past weekend have put the Sherwood Park Dukes in an ideal position to kick off the post-season. The expansion Western Major Baseball League squad has had an exceptional inaugural regular season, sitting seven games above .500 at 24-17 heading into its final test before playoffs on Monday night in Swift Current against the Indians (score unavailable). As the second-place team in the WMBL West Division, the Dukes are slated to take on the Saskatoon Yellow Jackets in the first round of playoffs starting Friday.
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Dukes deliver with Team Canada

InTheNews
*July 25, 2008* -- While their teammates back in Sherwood Park have been preparing for the post-season, three members of the Dukes have been battling it out with the top university-aged baseball players on the planet. Three players for the Western Major Baseball League expansion Dukes -- Marshall MacDonald from Red Deer, Sheldon McDonald out of Spruce Grove and Kyle Prevett from Langley, B.C. -- are currently competing in the Czech Republic for Team Canada at the World University Baseball Championships.
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Dukes dump Dawgs

InTheNews
*July 25, 2008* -- The Sherwood Park Dukes got to play their final regular season home game completely safe in the knowledge that they would be back. The Dukes officially clinched a Western Major Baseball League post-season berth on Tuesday night after Medicine Hat lost, ensuring that Wednesday’s matchup against the league-leading Okotoks Dawgs would be played without even a hint of concern about a return to Centennial Park. And with the burden off their backs, the Dukes put in one of their best performances of the season, giving their fans notice that they didn’t just make the playoffs but may also be able to do something in them with a dominating 9-1 victory over the defending league champs.
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Dukes destroy Saskatoon

InTheNews
*July 22, 2008* -- Just when it looked like the Sherwood Park Dukes couldn’t get any hotter, they exploded for their biggest offensive performance of the season on Sunday. The Dukes swatted the Saskatoon Yellow Jackets by a whopping 21-5 margin on the road in Saskatchewan, as every starter recorded a hit and all but one had multi-hit performances.
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