‘We owe it to the fans’: Saskatoon Berries begin WCBL post-season with Regina rematch

Playoff baseball has finally arrived for the Saskatoon Berries, and the players have unfinished business on their minds ahead of the Western Canadian Baseball League post-season.

The Berries are set for the third playoff run in franchise history, and they’re hoping this one will stretch into the WCBL’s championship series for the first time.

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In their way for the second year in a row are the Regina Red Sox, the same team which ended the Berries’ title hopes in East Division finals in a Game 3 thriller last August and went on to become WCBL champions for the third time in franchise history.

“We owe it to the fans,” said second-year third baseman Mason Roell. “Last year obviously was pretty disappointing, losing two of three at home. Hopefully we can come out and put on a show for them Friday.”

Saskatoon will be eager to avenge last year’s Game 3 loss at Cairns Field to the Red Sox, which completed a sizable upset for Regina over a Berries team which set a WCBL regular-season record in 2025, with 46 wins.

That defeat still lingers for returning members of this year’s team like Roell, who said it’s a reminder of what can happen in short, best-of-three series.

“We were ranked number one last year, and we found out that going down the stretch it doesn’t really mean anything,” Roell said.

“Anyone is going to come in and take the win from anybody.”

The Berries enter this year’s WCBL playoffs as the second seed in the East Division after a 38-18 regular season, which finish tied for the third-best record across the league.

Crowds have been packing into Cairns Field of late, with a club-record attendance of 2,360 fans watching the Berries earn an 11-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Miller Express on Wednesday in the team’s final game of the regular season.

Second baseman Gael Salinas said the energy around the ballpark has felt like playoff baseball since the all-star break.

“The atmosphere every single day just feels like the post-season,” Salinas said. “The energy we bring and the other teams bring every time they play us, it just feels like post-season. I feel like we’re ready.”

Unlike previous years, when the roster was reduced due to early school commitments, the Berries will have nearly their entire roster available for the post-season, and head coach Joe Carnahan confirmed that all of their starters will be available for the Regina series.

“We have no injuries and everybody is here to stay,” Carnahan said. “Things are looking good right now.”

Among that group is Salinas, who is was named the WCBL’s batting champion after finishing his first season in Saskatoon with a league-best .419 batting average.

Carnahan said Salinas has been a key driver for the team all year and will be relied upon once Game 1 hits against the Red Sox.

Saskatoon Berries second baseman Gael Salinas led all Western Canadian Baseball League hitters this summer, with a .419 batting average. (Steve Hiscock/Saskatoon Berries)

“He’s had quite the year this year,” Carnahan said.

“You dig into his stats, I think he got hit by a pitch 30 times this year, probably an on-base percentage well over .500 and a lot of extra base hits. He’s just been consistent all year and had a great season.”

The Guanajuato, Mexico product said it’s a humbling feeling sitting atop the WCBL leaderboard, but he knows there’s more at stake over the coming weeks.

“It’s an honour,” Salinas said. “I don’t really look at batting average. I just come out here trying to win for the guys and the team, just go out there and compete, give it my best game.”

The season series was well contested between both Saskatchewan rivals, as the Berries won six of the 10 divisional meetings against the Red Sox this year.

Saskatoon will have to contend with Regina star pitcher Kaegan Baker, who finished fifth in the league this summer with 62 strikeouts.

“We just have to have a good approach at the plate and stay within our zone,” Carnahan said. “Lay off (Baker’s) slider a little bit and just stay within our zone.”

Like last year’s second-round series, the Berries enter as the higher seed and will play two of the three games, if needed, at Cairns Field.

Roell said it’s important for the team to play with confidence and take advantage of kicking off the series on their home diamond.

“We just can’t take any innings off,” Roell said. “It’s going to be a complete, nine-inning game. Good teams on both ends, so we’ve just got to go out and compete. We know we’re the better team, but we’ve just got to stay locked in for the whole game.”

Short series have not been the norm for the Berries since entering the league in 2024, as all four of their playoff series have gone the distance at three games each.

Looking back on a Carter Beck walk-off grand-slam against Moose Jaw in their opening round last year to being eliminated just a few days later by Regina, Carnahan said it’s vital his team stays even-keeled.

“The biggest thing is just staying level,” Carnahan said. “You can’t ride the roller coaster emotionally and just keep playing the game. The game is going to tell you what to do.”

Returning faces like Roell, Ethan Murdoch and Nathan Houston will be relied upon from a leadership perspective this month for the Berries.

On the other side of the field, Regina will look to pave a path towards a repeat, with a group lead by reigning WCBL Playoff MVP Brady Bye, who set franchise records with 13 home runs and 67 RBIs.

With little room for error, Salinas said it’s up to the players to have short memories and step up when needed.

“We’ve just got to be gritty at the plate, gritty as a team,” Salinas said. “Forget about the errors we commit. Just forget about it like a goldfish. Just go out there competing and go one by one.”

A late-season addition from Indiana State University, Roell will look at bit different this playoff run compared to last season, with bright purple cleats on his feet. With a price tag of $65, it’s an investment he hopes will help lead to lifting the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy in style later this month.

“Coming from school, we don’t get a chance to wear whatever we want very often,” Roell said.

“Coming up here I was like ‘Going to a purple team, might as well match.’ Found some shoes on eBay and got a good deal.”

Saskatoon will send Zachary Landreville to the mound to pitch Game 1 on Friday night, with a 7 p.m. start at Cairns Field.