Saskatoon Berries look back on inaugural WCBL season after playoff exit – Saskatoon
With one final strikeout in the ninth inning on Tuesday, the Saskatoon Berries saw their first season of existence end on their home ground of Cairns Field.
THE Berries lost a 5-3 decision in Game 3 of the WCBL Eastern Division final for the Moose Jaw Miller Express, who see their season end one win away from an appearance in the WCBL Championship Series.
“I think we’re obviously a little disappointed at first,” said Carter Beck, the Berries’ star outfielder. “But looking back, we’re all certainly proud of how we handled things throughout the season and how it went. I think there’s a lot of guys that are looking forward to coming back next year for Round 2.”
The Berries’ inaugural season started on a sour note, losing their first five games as a franchise. But what followed was a stellar second half of the regular season and the program’s first playoff win against the Medicine Hat Mavericks in the Eastern Semifinal.
Fans took notice with over 55,000 tickets sold during the Berries’ first summer of play, ranking second in the entire WCBL.
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“When we started out, a lot of people were skeptical about what this meant,” Berries president Steve Hildebrand said. “I was very confident, I know our group was very confident. I think our team, on and off the field, showed that we were here to stay and created a lot of great memories for a lot of people in this city.”
Although the Berries missed out on their chance to hoist their first championship trophy, they are looking at the 2024 season as a success and hope the buzz generated this summer will create lifelong baseball fans in the community.
“You look out in the crowd, you look around the city, you look everywhere and you see everybody wearing Berries gear,” Berries head coach Joe Carnahan said. “All the kids and everything, hopefully it gives baseball a little boost and gets everybody excited, wants to play it as a young kid.”
The Miller Express and Okotoks Dawgs will begin the WCBL finals on Thursday, with Okotoks looking to win its third straight championship.
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