Latest news with #WCBL
CTV News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Lethbridge Bulls gearing up for the 2025 WCBL season
The boys of summer are back for another season, and the Lethbridge Bulls are gearing up for what they hope will be a championship campaign. The boys of summer are back for another season, and the Lethbridge Bulls are gearing up for what they hope will be a championship campaign. LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. — The Lethbridge Bulls are gearing up for what they hope will be a championship campaign. Bulls players and coaches spent much of Tuesday preparing for the start of the WCBL season. Despite not having much time to practise, the team feels good about where they're at. 'It seems like we got some dudes with a lot of pop, good contact players, good defence. That's just going to be an all-around effort,' said Drew Bufford, a catcher entering his first season with the Bulls. The Bulls are coming off their winningest season in team history with a 36-20 record last summer. Despite the success, the Bulls were bounced by the Okotoks Dawgs in three games in their first-round playoff matchup. 'You just have to play the same as we did last year. Keep the same energy, keep (the) same focus. I think our arms are going to be what is going to help us a lot this year, because we kind of fell off at the end and I think (if) we stick with that, we'll be good,' said third-year outfielder and pitcher Jack Kalisky. The team will have to rely on lots of new faces to carry the squad to the playoffs this season, as they only have a handful of players coming back from last year. Lethbridge Bulls The Lethbridge Bulls are preparing for their 2025 baseball season. (CTV News) So far, the coaching staff likes what they've seen from their additions. 'I like the kind of competition level where guys are trying to earn the pencil themselves every day. So, I think it's going to be a breath of fresh air having some new guys in here,' said head coach Ryan MacDonald. Lethbridge will start the summer off with a five-game road trip before their home opener on June 5. Coaches see it as a good way for the team to bond quickly. 'It's just nice to get on the road and kind of get their feet wet and see, you know, kind of some other programs around the league,' said MacDonald. 'Shake off the cobwebs for the first couple. You know, a lot of these guys haven't played baseball since the first of May, end of April with conference tournaments and stuff like that.' The Bulls open their season against the Brooks Bombers on Friday night.
Global News
4 days ago
- Sport
- Global News
Saskatoon Berries ‘juiced' to build on inaugural WCBL season in 2nd year
After a memorable first season in the Western Canadian Baseball League, the Saskatoon Berries are ready to do it all over again. The first wave of players have arrived at Cairns Field taking part in three days of practice ahead of the team's 2025 WCBL season opener on the road Thursday against the Weyburn Beavers. 'A whole lot of excitement here and we're just ready to get going,' Berries pitcher Matthias Trondson said. 'We didn't get as far as we wanted last year, so we have a great opportunity on our hands this year.' The Berries are entering their second year as a franchise after taking the WCBL by storm last year, bursting onto the summer collegiate baseball scene with their inaugural season. Despite coming out of the gate slowly, the Berries finished their first regular season with a 31-25 record to grab the third seed in the East Division and match up against the Medicine Hat Mavericks in their first playoff series. Story continues below advertisement Saskatoon came out on top in three games over the Mavericks to earn its first series win, before falling in three games in the East finals to the Moose Jaw Miller Express. 'I think that win against Medicine Hat in the opening round was big for our team, proving that we belong here,' Trondson said. 'Looking forward to this season, everything is ahead of us. We think that there could be some special things down the road for us.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Looking forward to this season, everything is ahead of us. We think that there could be some special things down the road for us." Ahead of opening pitch in 2025, the Berries will be returning 11 faces from their inaugural season roster, including reigning WCBL Top Canadian and Rookie of the Year Carter Beck. A threat both at the plate and in the Saskatoon outfield, Beck was named a first-team all-star after posting a .374 batting average with 11 home runs and 38 RBIs. Named most valuable player at the 2024 WCBL All-Star Game as well, the Carnduff, Sask., product is coming off his first season of NCAA Division I baseball with the Indiana State Sycamores, where he was recently named to the all-Missouri Conference Valley team for his production. 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 While the team is still awaiting his arrival from Indiana State, Berries head coach Joe Carnahan said he will add immediate punch to the lineup in the coming days. Story continues below advertisement 'He had a great season down at Indiana State and we're thrilled to have him back, obviously,' Carnahan said. 'He'll come in and he knows what it's all about. He was excited to come back, wanted to come back and we're looking for a leadership role from him.' Among the returning players to Cairns Field this summer will be catcher Bailyn Sorensen, infielders Ethan Menard and Cory Wouters, outfielders Beck and Jalen Freeman, as well as Trondson, Carter Kopp, Adam Beamin and Colin Plain on the mound. 3:58 Saskatoon Berries home opener Saturday to mark second season Putting the league on notice last season with a run that saw the Berries finish one win shy of reaching the WCBL finals, their strong first season has allowed Carnahan more opportunities to recruit new players to the roster in 2025. 'A lot of players wanted to come play here,' Carnahan said. 'So it was a little bit different recruiting this year once everybody's seen actually what goes on here in Saskatoon and the support that we get throughout the city.' Story continues below advertisement Two of those additions will be in the pitching rotation with Klevert Martina and Matthew Whitney coming over from the Swift Current 57's and Fort McMurray Giants, who both were among league leaders in strikeouts last season. While in the infield, Saskatoon has picked up Melville, Sask., product Nathan Houston, who has spent the last two years starring with Moose Jaw and finished third in the WCBL in batting average in 2024 with a .385 mark. 'It was pretty hard not to notice what they were doing last year,' Houston said. 'It was kind of the talk of the league, everybody was focusing on this new team and what they were doing. The fan base is really cool and from the guys in the organization, I hear they do it right.' Houston came out on top in Saskatoon and Moose Jaw's second round battle last year, where he would end up hitting .548 with five RBIs in the Miller Express's run to the league championship series. According to Wouters, it will be a huge boost patrolling the infield with one of the top two-way players in the league. 'I played against him last year and played against him a little bit growing up,' Wouters said. 'He's been the same way every year that I've known him. He's just a really good ball player, so it's awesome to have him on our side instead of playing against him this year.' Story continues below advertisement The Berries are coming off a banner year at the ticket office as well, packing Cairns Field with more than 55,000 spectators over the course of their inaugural season, which ranked only behind the three-time defending champion Okotoks Dawgs. Houston said that environment was a key driver in his jump north to play in Saskatoon. 'I can't explain how excited I am,' Houston said. 'I got lots of family coming up to watch. Playing in front of that many fans is going to be really cool for the first time, not playing against them. It's going to be fun having those fans behind our back.' The Berries will kick off their sophomore season on the road for their first two games before opening up Cairns Field on Saturday afternoon to host the Regina Red Sox, a game that can't come soon enough for their crop of new and returning players. 'We can't wait to see the fans and play in front of them,' Trondson said. 'Saturday is going to be a great day, the weather is going to be nice and we're all ready.' Saskatoon's season opener goes at 7 p.m. on Thursday evening at Tom Laing Park against Weyburn, before Houston and the Berries pay his old team a visit in Moose Jaw on Friday evening. Opening pitch for the Berries' home opener is set for 4 p.m. at Cairns Field on Saturday, battling their rivals from Regina.
CTV News
5 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘A bad taste in your mouth': Experienced Regina Red Sox hope to flip the script in 2025
This year's iteration of the Regina Red Sox is hoping to change the narrative heading into the 2025 Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) season. Regina dominated the league's East Division last season, finishing with a 38-18 record, five games better than the second place Medicine Hat Mavericks. However, come playoff time, the Sox were swept in the best-of-3 first round series by the four-seed Moose Jaw Miller Express – a bitter defeat fresh in the mind of Regina product Zander Oudie-Senger. 'I always watched the Moose Jaw and Regina rivalry,' the pitcher said. 'Losing to them last year did hurt.' 'But it is baseball at the end of the day. I know if we stick to our game, we'll make it far this season,' Oudie-Senger added. Oudie-Senger is one of 15 returning players from last year's roster that includes 2024 Most Outstanding Pitcher and All-Star Colton Anderson, as well as All-Star Outfielder Jackson Syring. Infielder Matthew Fox also believes there is extra motivation coming into 2025. 'It felt like we were supposed to win and we just didn't play as good as we should have,' Fox said. 'There's a bad taste in your mouth,' Head Coach Rye Pothakos told CTV News. 'We had a very nice ball club last year; we had a great regular season, and I think a lot of returners want to even the score a little bit.' Rye Pothakos Regina Red Sox Head Coach Rye Pothakos watches as his team practices at Currie Field on May 27, 2025. (Donovan Maess) Regina has made the WCBL's postseason consistently since 2010, but have just two championships in the last 14 years – last winning it all in 2012. Despite all their regular season success, earning the top spot of its division seven times in that time span, the Red Sox have been swept in four-straight playoff series – including the 2019 league final. 'It is great motivation,' Pothakos said. 'We have a real nice club this year. And for the new guys, they can follow the lead and get them comfortable.' 'We had a team good enough to take it all [last year], and we've got a lot of those main parts back,' Fox said. 'We've got everything we need to win it all [this year].' 'You can tell over time [this team] is going to win a championship here,' Oudie-Senger said. Regina gets their regular season started Thursday night against the Swift Current 57's. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Currie Field. Regina Red Sox Regina Red Sox infielder Matthew Fox takes swings at batting practice ahead of the team's 2025 season. (Donovan Maess) Moose Jaw Miller Express Standing in the way of success for Regina is the team which eliminated them in last year's playoffs – the Moose Jaw Miller Express. The Millers finished fourth place in the East Division in 2024 with a 29-26 record. Although each series presented a steep uphill battle, Moose Jaw defeated Regina and Saskatoon enroute to the league championship series. 'We were kind of up and down after finishing first in the division [in 2023],' Miller Express skipper Eric Marriott said, 'We squeaked into the playoffs and got hot at the right time.' The Millers would go on to lose the league final 2-1 to Okotoks on a walk-off homerun in the 9th inning of Game 3. 'That could have been a one swing from us,' Marriott said. 'And we could have been holding the trophy. If we do what we do continuously this summer, we should be right there at the end of the season.' Marriott says there are at least seven players returning from the East Division pennant winning team. 'When we recruit players coming in, we let everyone know we want to defend the East and we want to make another run and win a ring,' the coach said. '[Other teams] know what we bring to the table.' 'We have made a name for ourselves and it's a good game whenever the Miller Express are in town,' Marriott added. The Millers open their season Thursday night on the road in Medicine Hat against the Mavericks. Elsewhere in Southern Sask. Meanwhile, the Weyburn Beavers and Swift Current 57's will also be looking for different results in 2025 after both teams missed the playoffs in 2024. For the Beavers, last season marked the third-straight campaign since the league resumed play post COVID-19 pandemic in which the team failed to make the postseason. Prior to the 2020 and 2021 season suspensions, Weyburn had made three-straight playoff appearances from 2017 to 2019. It is a similar story for Swift Current who missed the playoffs for the first time in 14 years, according to WCBL records which go back to 2010. The 57s have 10 returning players, three of whom are seniors. Weyburn gets their season started Thursday when they host the Saskatoon Berries. Swift Current is on the road in Regina.
