Lethbrige to face Edmonton in WCBL final

Photo: WCBL

August 19, 2021

Official Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) News Release

There will be a new Western Canadian Baseball League champion in 2021.

The Edmonton Prospects played the role of spoiler by sweeping the reigning champion and top-seeded Okotoks Dawgs Black in their semi-final best-of-three series.

In Monday’s Game 1, Conor Bronson went 2-for-4 with a double, stolen base and three runs batted in to pace Edmonton’s offence in a 10-5 victory at Seaman Stadium in Okotoks. Then on Tuesday, Scott Gillespie pitched a gem by going seven innings, allowing just one hit and one run in his hometown of Sherwood Park as the Prospects edged the Dawgs 2-1.

The other semi-final featured two teams seemingly going in opposite directions. The Sylvan Lake Gulls had won seven straight games, including four against the Lethbridge Bulls. Meantime, the Bulls were riding a six-game losing streak, capped by a combined no-hitter thrown by three Gulls pitchers.

Despite the recent history and the tag of “underdog,” the Bulls capitalized on strong pitching and timely hitting to also complete the two-game sweep of the Gulls.

In Monday’s Game 1, Bryce Fraser tossed the complete-game five-hitter to lead the Bulls to a 4-2 win in Sylvan Lake. The second game of the series was postponed Tuesday because of rain, and was able to go ahead on Wednesday night in Lethbridge. Ty Penner drove in Josh Kabayama with a single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth to lead the Bulls to a 3-2 walk-off victory.

That sets the stage for the 2021 WCBL Final, with the schedule as follows:

Game 1 – Friday August 20th – 7:05 p.m. in Lethbridge

Game 2 – Saturday August 21st – 7:05 p.m. in Sherwood Park

Game 3 (if necessary) – Sunday August 22nd – 7:05 p.m. in Lethbridge

Preview: If you’re looking for some recent history between these two teams, the rivalry might take some time to renew. Nine of their first 10 games played against each other happened before July 19th. If those games are any indication, offence will be a key. They combined to score 176 runs in those 10 meetings, with the Bulls outscoring the Prospects 109-67 en route to posting seven wins.

Historically, the Prospects are hoping to capture their first WCBL title, although they went to the final in both 2016 and 2017, losing both years to Swift Current. The Bulls haven’t been to the final since they won the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy in 2015.