Saskatoon Berries ready for playoffs after record breaking season
WATCH: The Saskatoon Berries have enjoyed an impressive regular season that will go down in the history books.
The Saskatoon Berries are feeling confident as they head into playoffs after their record-breaking regular season.
'It was a little bit of a struggle leading up to it, lost two games and that one was getting close to coming down to the wire. But standing there kind of gave me the opportunity to walk it off and took that opportunity and broke a record,' Mason Roell told CTV regarding his grand slam walk off on Sunday.
Roell's impressive hit puts the Berries at 46 regular season wins, which is a new record for the Western Canadian Baseball League.
'What's great about this team is that all the guys are really close and we're good friends with each other, so we're always happy when anyone else succeeds [we] get to cheer each other on and I think that's kind of just a sentiment to the team,' Roell said.
The Berries have been on a roll for most of the season, only slowing down towards the end of the regular season after two consecutive losses to the Regina Red Sox.
'It was almost like a monkey off the shoulders. We tied and then lost a couple games like 'oh, we need to go get this win'. And then, when we did it, it was kind of a relief. And then just focus on playoffs now instead of the regular season,' first baseman Cory Wouters said.
Playoffs begin on Wednesday, with the Berries hosting the Moose Jaw Miller Express. The team's assistant coach Chance Wheatley shared that while the team is remaining focused and expecting a tough battle against Moose Jaw, he is feeling good going into playoffs.
'We got a ton of confidence. And we're set up pretty well for the playoffs here, health wise and all that. So I think we're where we want to be, and we're excited to get rolling with it,' Wheatley said.
This 46-9 season comes only two years after the Berries' inception. Outfielder Ethan Murdoch credits much of the team's success to an enthusiastic and supportive community.
'The organization is really well run, top to bottom...they take great care of us. And at the end of the day, the fans support, too, is just a huge, positive, we love playing here. We love playing at home. We played really well at home this year,' Murdoch said.
Murdoch says the fan turnouts have been a huge contributor to the team's success. With home field advantage going into playoffs, the Berries are ready to give their fans all they've got in the hopes of bringing the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy home to Saskatoon.
'Two-thousand people out here and it's really loud and it makes for a fun environment. When you play every day in the summer, [it] gets a little long. But it makes it feel a little easier when you have all these people out here and it's loud,' Murdoch said.
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