Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look back at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list ...
For the second year in a row, the ‘Battle of Highway 11’ is going the distance between the Regina Red Sox and Saskatoon Berries.
The Red Sox staved off elimination on Saturday night at Currie Field, as they earned a 5-3 victory over the Berries in Game 2 of Western Canadian Baseball League East Division semi-finals.
Infielder Jalen Meyers went 4-for-4 at the plate including a RBI for Regina, while star Brady Bye hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning to push the Red Sox to victory.
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Regina’s win on Saturday has secured a deciding Game 3 in the best-of-three series, which will be played on Sunday night back in Saskatoon at Cairns Field.
As for the Berries, it’s the fifth straight playoff series in franchise history which will require a third and deciding game.
The Red Sox drew first blood on Saturday with back-to-back singles by Jake Fowler and Meyers in the bottom of the first, which was followed by a ground-out by Ian Montz to score a run for the 1-0 lead.
Saskatoon slugger Ethan Murdoch picked up his first home run of the WCBL post-season in the top of the third inning, as he took Regina pitcher Samuel Jackson to deep centre field for a two-run shot to jump in front by one.
That Berries lead was short-lived however, with Meyers doubling to right field in the bottom half of the inning to score Alex Roux from second base for the 2-2 tying run.
In the top of the fifth inning, Saskatoon again took the lead with a Brock Laird single into the outfield scoring Nathan Houston to make it a 3-2 ballgame.
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!? 🤯🤯🤯
— Regina Red Sox (@ReginaRedSox) August 9, 2026
BRADY BYE CRUSHES A THREE-RUN SHOT! We lead 5-3 in Game 2 😤#RoadToRepeat | #ReginaRedSox pic.twitter.com/Xj1vGPXkcp
It was in the bottom of the fifth however which saw the biggest turning point of the night, as Bye took the second pitch he saw from Berries starting pitcher Merek Yeager to deep right field to score three runs for Regina.
From there, defence took over with the Red Sox keeping Saskatoon off the score sheet the rest of the way with relief pitcher Kris Hahn getting Berries outfielder Nash Nichols to strike out to end the game.
Regina’s pitching was stellar in the Game 2 win with Jackson allowing three earned runs on eight hits with five strikeouts over 6.1 innings of work, while Hahn only allowed one hit against over the final 2.2 innings with a trio of strikeouts.
As for Yeager, he was pulled following the fifth inning after allowing five earned runs on eight hits against and four strikeouts.
It’s the second straight year Saskatoon and Regina will play a deciding playoff game, after the Red Sox stunned the Berries in Game 3 of East Division finals last year with a 6-2 victory as part of their WCBL championship run.
Game 3 is set for 7 p.m. at Cairns Field on Sunday night with the winner advancing to the East Division final to face the Moose Jaw Miller Express, who swept the Medicine Hat Mavericks on Saturday with a 12-5 victory.
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