Episode #416: Saskatoon Berries Claim WCBL Championship

It was a low-scoring affair with Aiden Kilshaw hitting an RBI groundout in the first.

He then drove in another run with an RBI walk in the third.

Nathan Houston scored on an error in the fourth before the Gulls finally got on the board with Dom Giusti coming in on an error.

The Berries finished the scoring in the seventh when Ethan Murdoch hit a solo home run.

Final score, Berries 4, Gulls 1, and the difference in this one was pitching.

Zachary Landerville, Brooks Jones, and Wesley Shackelford combined to allow just one run on three hits while striking out 11.

The series shifted to Saskatoon for Sunday, and the Berries offense struck early and often, putting up one in the first and two in the second before the Gulls responded with one of their own in the third.

The dagger was a five-run sixth inning punctuated by a Josh Henson three-run bomb.

Killshaw hit a solo jack in the seventh, and they put up two more in the eighth to make the final score 11-1.

Again, pitching was a big piece of the victory for the Berries, who saw Merrick Yeager, Brooks Jones, and Colin Plain combine to allow just one run on eight hits while striking out 12.

Another big factor for the Gulls was they committed three errors in each game.

And a major turn in Game 2 as star infielder John Boy Rittenhouse was suspended after a ninth inning ejection in Game 1.

It's a league rule when it comes to late inning ejections during the season, but one that it sounds like might need some revisiting in the offseason as neither team seemed overly happy with the ruling given the conversations that I had around the ballpark.

Heartbreak for the Gulls, who fall short of the championship for a second straight season, while on the other side, sheer elation.

Ian and I were both in Saskatoon for Game 2 and spoke with several players, starting with veteran outfielder Ethan Murdoch.

He was the first to grab the Harry House Memorial Trophy, and the Swift Current native hit .300 for the postseason with three homers and six RBI.

It was a low-scoring affair with Aiden Kilshaw hitting an RBI groundout in the first.

He then drove in another run with an RBI walk in the third.

Nathan Houston scored on an error in the fourth before the Gulls finally got on the board with Dom Giusti coming in on an error.

The Berries finished the scoring in the seventh when Ethan Murdoch hit a solo home run.

Final score, Berries 4, Gulls 1, and the difference in this one was pitching.

Zachary Landerville, Brooks Jones, and Wesley Shackelford combined to allow just one run on three hits while striking out 11.

The series shifted to Saskatoon for Sunday, and the Berries offense struck early and often, putting up one in the first and two in the second before the Gulls responded with one of their own in the third.

The dagger was a five-run sixth inning punctuated by a Josh Henson three-run bomb.

Killshaw hit a solo jack in the seventh, and they put up two more in the eighth to make the final score 11-1.

Again, pitching was a big piece of the victory for the Berries, who saw Merrick Yeager, Brooks Jones, and Colin Plain combine to allow just one run on eight hits while striking out 12.

Another big factor for the Gulls was they committed three errors in each game.

And a major turn in Game 2 as star infielder John Boy Rittenhouse was suspended after a ninth inning ejection in Game 1.

It's a league rule when it comes to late inning ejections during the season, but one that it sounds like might need some revisiting in the offseason as neither team seemed overly happy with the ruling given the conversations that I had around the ballpark.

Heartbreak for the Gulls, who fall short of the championship for a second straight season, while on the other side, sheer elation.

Ian and I were both in Saskatoon for Game 2 and spoke with several players, starting with veteran outfielder Ethan Murdoch.

He was the first to grab the Harry House Memorial Trophy, and the Swift Current native hit .300 for the postseason with three homers and six RBI.