Regina's Randy Bryden golden at World Senior Men's Curling Championship
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CTV News
4 hours ago
- CTV News
‘Authors of our story': Cinderella Red Sox bring WCBL championship back to Regina
The Regina Red Sox are the 2025 WCBL champions, their first league title since 2012. The Regina Red Sox returned to Regina Sunday morning as the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) champions for the first time since 2012. 'It feels pretty good,' manager Rye Pothakos told CTV News. 'A lot of emotions after the game with a nice celebration on the field. I'm so happy for [the players], all the work they put in this summer, it came together at the right time and they're very, very, very happy.' Regina was crowned champions Saturday night, defeating the Sylvan Lake Gulls in a winner-take-all Game 3 on the road. Winning 5-4 to clinch the series. Regina Red Sox The Regina Red Sox are the 2025 WCBL Champions (Source: X/@wcbleague) Ayden Page finished the game on the mound. He says it was the first time he closed out a game to win a championship. 'I can't really describe the feeling,' Page said. 'I just threw strikes and was trying to do anything but walk guys.' 'With Page on the mound, I knew that we had that in the bag,' catcher Brady Bye said. 'They got that last kid up there, and he hit that ball, I knew right away Montz was going to get it. I just got filled with a bunch of joy and emotion and it was awesome.' The final out was caught by centre fielder Ian Montz, who also said it was the first time he made the final out to clinch a championship win. 'The ball was hit pretty hard and it was hit on a low line drive. So as soon as it was hit, I was like, 'Oh, I got to get to the spot,' Montz explained. 'This was my first summer playing while I've been in college. And it's crazy that the first time I play, I get to do something like this.' The 2025 championship is the third time Regina has won the WCBL's Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy since joining the league in 2005. Road Warriors After finishing third place in the East Division in the regular season, Regina did not have home-field advantage for any of their three playoff series. Sweeping the Medicine Hat Mavericks, taking two of three against the record-breaking Saskatoon Berries before defeating the Gulls. The Sox lost just twice in the playoffs, but did not lose a single game on the road. 'About two weeks ago, I started to feel it,' Pothakos said. 'We had a team meeting and told the guys, 'Let's write our last chapter of this season. Let's be the authors of our story and don't let anyone else hold the pen.' 'The guys took that to heart and they finished it off with a great ending [to] the season,' the skipper added. Facing elimination in Game 2, Regina was down to their final out, down two runs. A 2-RBI double by Justin Simard tied the game before Rafael Jackson would bring in the go-ahead and winning runs a batter later. Then in Game 3, Regina fell behind in the 5th inning. Coming back in the 7th to seal the deal. Few around the league gave the underdog Red Sox a chance to win going into the playoffs. 'They believed in themselves and it didn't matter what anybody else thought,' Pothakos said. 'Everybody in the room believed in each other. We have that culture, we have that character, and it carried us through. They're a scrappy bunch.' Brady Bye Regina Red Sox catcher Brady Bye was named the WCBL Finals MVP (Source: X/wcbleague) Hometown MVP Bye, who is from Regina, led the Red Sox through the postseason. In eight games, the catcher bat .333, going 12/36 with 2 extra-base hits, striking out just seven times and driving in a team-leading 10 runs. Earning himself WCBL playoff MVP honours to cap it off. 'My teammates did it all for me,' Bye said, quick to deflect credit. 'They got on base to allow me to score some runs. I'm so grateful for [them].' '[He] put the team on his back,' Pothakos said about Bye. 'We relied on him to catch most games and he showed up to hit a well. He's a great player, character guy and was a leader on this team.' Upon returning to Regina, the team was met by some local fans. Hometown kids Bye and Zander Oudie-Senger remembered back to when they were young, watching the Sox win in 2011 and 2012. 'I watched those guys growing up and winning championships,' Oudie-Senger said. 'Being able to win now feels surreal.' 'I hope this [win] goes a long way [to growing baseball in Regina],' Bye added. 'I hope the city can enjoy this one.' For Jesse Earlier this year, tragedy struck the Red Sox organization. Local pitcher Jesse Lubiniecki was killed in a car accident June 3 while travelling back to Regina to join the club for the summer. 'You guys all got behind Jesse, even the guys who didn't know him,' President Gary Brotzel told the team when they returned to Regina. 'And you brought the trophy home.' The team says their late teammate was on their mind throughout the season. Before each game, the Red Sox would join together on the field arm-in-arm. They would say a prayer and then chant 'three-three' in a huddle to remember Lubiniecki. For one final time before each player left back to their college teams, they did the chant above the trophy in the team's clubhouse. 'This was awesome,' infielder Justin Simard said in the huddle. 'This is the best time I've ever had in my life.' 'It means so much,' Oudie-Senger said. 'I know he was watching down on us all year long. Being able to pull that out him is amazing.' 'He was taking care of us,' Bye said. 'Just a really good and awesome feeling to be able to go out there and do that for him.'
CTV News
5 hours ago
- CTV News
Regina-product Brady Bye wins WCBL playoff MVP
Regina Watch Regina's Brady Bye was named the WCBL's playoff MVP, leading the hometown Sox to their third championship.
Global News
7 hours ago
- Global News
Regina Red Sox ride Cinderella run to first WCBL championship since 2012
After a 13-year wait, the Regina Red Sox finally savoured the feeling of once again hoisting the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy. For the first time since winning it all in 2012 as part of back-to-back titles, the Red Sox are Western Canadian Baseball League champions following a 5-4 victory Saturday night over the Sylvan Lake Gulls in Game 3 of the championship series. It's the culmination of a Cinderella run for Regina, which only lost two games during the playoffs—and doing so after a season which had its fair share of tragedy and struggles. The Red Sox saw most of their mid-season starters depart the team early for college commitments and other baseball opportunities. They finished the regular season with an unremarkable 29-27 record to earn the third seed in the East Division. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Regina would go on to sweep the Medicine Hat Mavericks in the opening round of playoffs before winning a three-game series against the record-breaking Saskatoon Berries in the WCBL East Division final. Story continues below advertisement 2:09 Saskatoon Berries see record-breaking season end with East Division Final loss The Red Sox dropped the opener of the league finals 3-2 in extra innings on Friday night in Regina, Facing elimination against the Gulls on Saturday, they entered the top of the ninth inning trailing 6-4 and went down to their final out. But Regina staved off that outcome with a six-run ninth inning to earn a remarkable 10-7 comeback victory. It won Saturday's Game 3 final with a winning two-run single from Rafael Jackson in the seventh inning. On social media, the Red Sox dedicated their championship to their teammate Jesse Lubiniecki who died in late May in a single-vehicle crash in Montana while driving back to his hometown of Regina from Taft Community College in California. Red Sox catcher and local product Brady Bye was named WCBL Playoff MVP, leading all post-season batters with 10 RBIs in eight games with a .333 batting average.
