The Western Canadian Baseball League regular season is in the books, and it ended in heartbreak for the Weyburn Beavers.
Needing a win out of a doubleheader with the Regina Red Sox on Wednesday and the Swift Current 57’s to defeat the Medicine Hat Mavericks in order to at least force a one-game playoff for the final playoff spot in the East Division, the Beavers couldn’t get the job done, falling 6-5 and 5-1 at Currie Field in Regina.
The 57’s did their part to help Weyburn with an 8-7 win over the Mavericks, but without a win of their own, the Beavers finish with a 21-35 record and a game behind Medicine Hat for the fourth and final East playoff spot. Swift Current won their final three games and tied the Beavers at the 21-35 mark.
The Moose Jaw Miller Express finish atop the East with a 41-15 mark after an 11-2 loss to the Saskatoon Berries, who landed second at 38-18.
As a result, the best-of-three Division semifinals will see Moose Jaw taking on Medicine Hat, with Saskatoon playing Regina. Over in the West, the Okotoks Dawgs (42-14) will face the Energy City Cactus Rats (21-33) and the Sylvan Lake Gulls (38-15) will take on the Lethbridge Bulls (33-23). All four series are set to begin Friday.
(Note: due to difficulties with the WCBL website, in-depth stats were unavailable for Wednesday’s games)
Regina 6, Weyburn 5
A four-run third inning helped stake the Beavers to a 4-2 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth, but Regina would score four runs in their half of the inning and go on to the one-run victory.
Ian Montz and Jalen Meyers both hit home runs for Regina,
Caleb Orr started for the Red Sox and took a no decision after 4 ⅓ innings of work, Sam Jackson pitched the final two outs of the fifth and snagged the win. Garrett Mullins pitched the final two innings to earn the save.
Trey Watson started for Weyburn and went 4 ⅓ for the no decision, Logan Lynch pitched the final 1 ⅔ and was the losing pitcher.
Regina 5, Weyburn 1
The Red Sox scored three in the first inning and added another in the second for a 4-1 lead, and that would be enough to pick up the win and close out the Beavers’ season.
Kris Hahn pitched the first for Regina and picked up the win, Ethan Johnson pitched two innings before Michael Bizier, Vittorio Iacobucci, Daniel Crabtree and David Gordon and tossed a single shutout frame each.
Luke Popplewell went four innings for Weyburn and was the losing pitcher.
Saskatoon 11, Moose Jaw 2
Saskatoon scored three in the second and a pair in the third for a quick 5-0 lead, added three more in the sixth to go up 9-2 and then finished things off with a pair of runs in the eighth.
Gael Salinas hit a home run for the Berries.
Scott Broker went four innings for Saskatoon and gave up a single run, Reese Brons was the winning pitcher after allowing a single run in three innings of relief.
Simon Hayden took the loss for Moose Jaw, who used seven pitchers — including position players Will Edwards, Garryn Plummer and Thomas Soto — on the night.
Swift Current 8, Medicine Hat 7
The 57’s led 2-1 through three innings while the Mavericks struck for five in the top of the fifth, but Swift Current came back with five of their own in the bottom of the inning, and the teams would exchange single runs in the eighth.
Swift Current had a home run from Mace Wheeler in the win..
Mason Fauser started and allowed six runs over five innings, Keegan Kristmanson tossed the final four and was the winning pitcher.
Evan Morrison and Jalen King both hit round trippers for Medicine Hat.
Davin Hinote started for the Mavs and gave up two runs in four innings, Jackson Miller surrendered another five over the next three, David Heinen allowed the winning run in the eighth and took the loss.
Up Next
While times have yet to be finalized, Moose Jaw will host Medicine Hat and Saskatoon will host Regina in their Division semifinals on Friday. Both games will likely have a 7:05 p.m. start time, but check wcblbaseball.com to be sure.
