It came down to the final day of the regular season, but the playoff picture is finally set in the Western Canadian Baseball League.
Thanks to the Regina Red Sox sweeping the Weyburn Beavers in a doubleheader on Wednesday night, the Medicine Hat Mavericks secured the fourth and final playoff spot in the East Division.
As a result, the final standings see the Moose Jaw Miller Express take top spot in the East with a 41-15 record, three games up on the 38-18 Saskatoon Berries in second place. A late-season surge saw the Red Sox pull out of danger and finish with a 26-30 record and in third, four games up on 22-34 Medicine Hat. The Mavericks ended up clinching the postseason berth by a single game over the 21-35 Swift Current 57s and Weyburn Beavers.
That sets the stage for Friday night with the first games of the East Division semifinal, which will see Moose Jaw taking on Medicine Hat and Saskatoon doing battle with Regina.
The Miller Express had the definitive advantage over the Mavericks in the regular season with an 8-2 record that included six straight wins for Moose Jaw to close out the season series.
Game 1 of their playoff is set for 7:05 p.m. on Friday, with Game 2 at a time to be determined in Medicine Hat and Game 3 if necessary back in Moose Jaw on Sunday, also at a time to be determined.
Despite the disparity in their records, the season series between Saskatoon and Regina was a pretty close one. The Berries came away with a 6-4 win overall, but six of their meetings were decided by less than three runs, leaving plenty of potential for some close games.
Action begins on Friday in Saskatoon at 7 p.m. at Cairns Field, with Game 2 at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Currie Field in Regina and the deciding game, if necessary, at 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Over in the West Division, the Okotoks Dawgs take on the Energy City Cactus Rats and the Sylvan Lake Gulls face the Lethbridge Bulls. Both those series also start Friday and end Sunday.
Be sure to keep an eye on wcblbaseball.com for scores from throughout the postseason.
