Kyle Poapst Starts in bulls’ 14-7 win in home opener
The Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) kicked off with 3 games across the League on Friday, June 18th. The Lethbridge Bulls took on the Okotoks Dawgs Black team in their home opener, playing to a sellout crowd of 500 socially distanced fans out to enjoy a game for the first time in nearly 2 years. Getting the nod as starting pitcher for the Bulls was Kyle Poapst, a veteran Bull who joined the team originally in 2018. The man who calls Stettler, AB home took some time from his various duties with the team to sit down and talk to us about his start and the Bulls’ first win of the new season.
Like many of the fans, the start in Game 1 was the first game situation Kyle has seen in quite a while. His last league play was in February of 2020. Kyle opened up easily with us about his uncertainty in the off season and whether he would even be able to rejoin the team this year. Following a summer off in 2020 spent bouncing between home in Stettler and work in Lethbridge, Kyle noticed some changes in his practice pitches. After a few weeks of his pitches dropping more than he’s used to, Kyle got his arm checked out and received a confirmed diagnosis of tendonitis early in fall 2020. “I really didn’t know what was next, baseball-wise”, Kyle tells us. He worked hard and credits a successful off-season recovery to the care provided by Tarek Adelman and the team at Lime Physio in Lethbridge (www.limeclinic.ca). All the uncertainty of whether he’d be able to play this year aside, Kyle tells us the game was definitely his first in a long time and it brought the energy and emotion to a whole different stage.
“It was as exciting as I thought it’d be!”
“It was as exciting as I thought it’d be!” Kyle says of getting the start. His immediate focus upon getting the nod went to keeping his emotions under control. “My mental game has always been the weakest part of my game. You get too excited or too low on the roller coaster and it’s hard to be repetitive in your motions and stay on track. I’m not worried I’m going to lose the game for my myself, but I want to make sure I give us a chance to win.” Kyle was successful in keeping his game under control, even after picking up an early boost by striking out the first batter to start the game.
“I love summer ball.” Kyle says, recalling that moment. “I’m very energetic and love to play with emotion. If I strike someone out I love that energy. I felt that energy with the crowd! I made a little gesture with my nose, sort of a “smell you later” thing at the other guy. When I get beat on a pitch I welcome the hitters to give it right back to me, it’s all part of the game. Even later when I was resting through the 6th or 7th inning with some of the other guys we’re talking and saying it’s crazy to be back, to be playing in front of people again. It’s totally different”
Kyle managed his game through the first 3 innings, holding the opposing Dawgs Black to 1 run in the 2nd inning. Kyle was relieved by Jake Anderson in the 4th. The win was the first for Chance Wheatley as the new head coach for the Bulls, and despite Poabst starting, relief pitcher Anderson picked up the pitching W for the Bulls.
Our interview then turned to Kyle’s life in Lethbridge and love for baseball in general. He laughed as he shared with us that he was in the locker room after the game chatting with a few other Bulls veterans when they noticed they were the only ones left in the room. A bit of a Bulls tradition is for the team to relax and enjoy each other’s company in the room after a win, but it seems in the excitement leading up to game 1, that message didn’t get to the new players on the team, something Kyle says they’ll make sure to share before their next home game.
Otherwise he says, “We did some teambuilding this week and some guys are already starting to gel.” Baseball, like a lot of sports communities, has players seeing familiar faces often and several players have either played with or against their current teammates at different stages of their careers. “It’s a really good group of guys.” Kyle tells us. “We were all going to go to the beach this week, but the weather changed and it got really windy so we had a BBQ at the field instead and got to play some spikeball. Then we had a little fire. It was a good time.” He assures us all public health regulations were followed throughout the events.
When he isn’t starting on the mound for the team, Kyle also works at Spitz Stadium for UnderTheLights, the organization that runs most of the Bulls’ operations. Kyle’s spent several months leading into this season at the stadium painting and doing general repairs. Now that the season’s started, he’s pulled laundry duty for the team so he tells us that prior to his interview he was just on the phone with the previous laundry guy getting tips on which Oxo to use for their uniforms.
Kyle says that after a while all baseball all the time can get a bit exhausting, but he is trying to compartmentalize his free time to focus on other things. Painting, general maintenance tasks, and other non-baseball duties help with that he says.
As the season progresses, Kyle hopes to keep building his arm strength and endurance and see his starts lasting longer in future games. He wants to ensure he continues to control what he can control, and help his team win at the end of the season. And he points out, “The first game’s in the bag.”
After this season, Kyle is headed to Lancaster, California to play for the Antelope Valley Pioneers while taking a degree in Sports Management. He’s already connected with a few other Canadians headed there looking for housing, and he’s excited to be able to pursue new opportunities now that COVID restrictions will be easing.
As we wrap up, Kyle leaves us with this insight on his game: “I’m grateful it’s a game I get to play every day and to have parents who still drive 4 hours just to see me in a game, like they did this weekend. That means a lot to me. I also try to give knowledge to the new guys coming in. I get to help them learn from my mistakes on or off the field. I hope to give back to game that’s given so much to me.”
More photos of Kyle and the team in the win last night can be found here: www.mppphotography.ca/p611546611