For the first time in franchise history, the Saskatoon Berries are headed to the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) championship series after sweeping the Moose Jaw Miller Express in the East Division Final. Saskatoon took the series with back-to-back 7-4 wins over the Millers Tuesday and Wednesday to reach the WCBL final. Berries’ slugging right fielder Ethan Murdoch was just 2/10 in the series, but he made his hits count in Game 1. The Swift Current product got Saskatoon going early in the series by juicing a solo homerun to left field in the very first inning at Ross Wells Park Tuesday night. Mason Roell added a solo homerun of his own late in the opening inning as the Berries climbed out in front to start the game. Saskatoon scored seven unanswered runs in Game 1 on the road before Moose Jaw finally got on the board, as the Berries stole the opening game of the division final 7-4 on the road. In Game 2 at Cairns Field Wednesday, the Millers jumped out to a 2-0 lead with two runs in the second inning. With RBIs from Aiden Kilshaw, Nick Stinson and Nate Houston, Saskatoon countered with a five-run bottom of the third inning to jump out in front and did not look back. The Millers got within a score in the sixth inning, but Wesley Shackelford locked down the Moose Jaw offence with two scoreless innings and two strikeouts in relief to earn the save and push the Berries to the WCBL championship series. Since joining the WCBL and bringing a franchise back to Saskatoon in 2024, the Berries had reached the East Division final all three seasons. However, they were on the losing side of their previous two attempts, losing to Moose Jaw in 2024 and to the Regina Red Sox in 2025 — after posting a league record for most wins in a single season. Now the Berries will face last year’s finalists, the Sylvan Lake Gulls, in the WCBL Championship. Sylvan Lake swept the Okotoks Dawgs in the West Division Final with a 7-2 win in Game 1 and a 9-8 win in Game 2. The Gulls are also looking for their first WCBL championship after joining the league in 2021. They reached the WCBL championship last season for the first time, ultimately losing to the Red Sox in three games. Series schedule: Game 1: Saturday, Aug. 15 @ 7:05 p.m. – Gulls Stadium, Sylvan Lake, Alta. Game 2: Sunday, Aug. 16 @ 7:05 p.m. – Cairns Field, Saskatoon Game 3 (if necessary): Monday, Aug. 17 @ 7:05 p.m. – Gulls Stadium
