Murray Wood: Highlights from this year's family reunion
Summer is a time for homecomings and reunions, and in Saskatchewan that often means city folks going out to the family f...
The Saskatoon Berries have forced an elimination contest.
The Berries won 8-4 in Regina to beat the Red Sox at Currie Field and force a final game in the best-of-three series in the Western Canadian Baseball League East Division finals.
Saskatoon needed a win after the Red Sox won 8-7 in Saskatoon on Sunday.
Saskatoon scored three runs in the fifth and seventh innings to power its way to the victory over the Red Sox.
After the first two innings, it was Regina who was holding a 2-1 lead after scoring single runs in the first two frames after Saskatoon scored in the opening half-inning of the game.
Regina held that lead until the fifth inning, when Saskatoon put up three runs of their own. Ethan Menard and Nathan Houston both had RBI singles in the inning while Mason Roell stole home on a wild pitch.
Regina also scored runs in the fifth and sixth innings with Zayd Brannigan hitting in a run and Ian Montz hitting a home run.
Cory Wouters scored an RBI single in the seventh for the Berries while Jalen Freeman recorded a double, which brought in two more runs.
Matt Whitney was the starting pitcher for the Berries. He went three innings and surrendered two earned runs. Klevert Martina pitched two-and-one-third innings, also giving up two runs. Saskatoon’s Clay Mixon and Colin Plain didn’t allow Regina to score while they were on the mound. Saskatoon pitchers recorded 10 strikeouts in the contest.
The Regina Red Sox will look to advance to the WCBL Finals by winning in Saskatoon. (Wanda Harron Photography)
Red Sox starter Landon Riley went five innings, earning three strikeouts and giving up three earned runs. Colton Bank was the only other pitcher for Regina in the game, recording a strikeout and giving up two runs.
During the year, Saskatoon had a record of 46-9, which was the most regular-season wins by a franchise in WCBL history. In the first round of playoff action, Saskatoon also needed three games to beat the Moose Jaw Millers. Moose Jaw won Game 1 by a 6-4 margin, but Saskatoon won the next two games, 15-6 and then 16-12.
Regina finished third in the East Division standings with a 29-26 record. They took on the second-seeded Medicine Hat Mavericks. The Red Sox emerged victorious in that series after beating the Mavericks 6-2 in Medicine Hat and then beating them 13-7 in Regina.
During the year, Saskatoon won the season series between these two clubs by a 7-3 margin.
Game 3 of the series between Saskatoon and Regina will take place on Tuesday at Cairns Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
The winner of the series will take on the Sylvan Lake Gulls, who beat the Okotoks Dawgs 8-4 on Tuesday to sweep the West Division finals. The Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy will be decided in the best-of-three series set for Aug. 14-16.
