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The Okotoks Dawgs are suddenly on the ropes.

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After a spectacular start to their Western Canadian Baseball League playoffs, the Dawgs are now facing elimination.

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Okotoks fell 7-2 to the visiting Sylvan Lake Gulls in the opener of their best-of-three West Division final at Seaman Stadium on Tuesday night.

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The Dawgs, who belted out 40 runs and 42 hits in a two-game sweep (24-7, 16-6) of the Energy City Cactus Rats in their division semifinal, managed just five hits in Game 1 vs. the Gulls.

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Okotoks took the lead in the bottom of the first inning on a Cal Gates double that brought Ricky Sanchez home.

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Sylvan Lake starting pitcher Noah Bourgeois then shut the door. He worked six innings, only giving up that solitary run on four hits while striking out six and walking three batters.

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The Gulls took the lead for good with a four-run third inning.

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Jaden Flores got the visitors on the board with a solo home run, then Johnboy Rittenhouse took Dawgs starter Logan Rumberg deep for a three-run blast.

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Coleman Parry’s two-run shot in the fourth inning, and Elijha Hammill’s RBI double in the seventh accounted for the other Sylvan Lake runs.

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Rumberg gave up the seven runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings of work. He struck out four and walked three.

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Jack Bello came on in relief and pitched 2.2 innings of one-hit ball while fanning two and walking two.

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Jordan Kievman scored the Dawgs’ other run on a Nash Crowell groundout in the ninth inning.

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That was the only run surrendered by Gulls reliever Seth Mahler, who closed out the win by giving up just one hit over three innings. He also struck out four batters.

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The result is a wakeup call for Okotoks, which earned the President’s Trophy as regular-season champs with a 42-14 record before that opening-round onslaught. Sylvan Lake finished second in the West at 38-18.

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The Dawgs also find themselves in the same position as a year ago, when the Gulls completed a sweep in the West final to deny Okotoks a chance at a fourth straight Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy.

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Now the Dawgs need to regroup for Game 2 at Gulls Stadium on Wednesday (7:05 p.m.). If they force a deciding contest, it would be back in Okotoks on Thursday (7:05 p.m.).

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In the East final, the second-seeded Saskatoon Berries also struck first on the road, defeating the top-seeded Moose Jaw Miller Express 7-4.

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