Wilson: WCBL Playoff Preview

The Western Canadian Baseball League’s postseason games will begin on Wednesday. Photo: WCBL

*This article was originally published on the Western Canadian Baseball League website on August 5. You can read it here.

August 6, 2024

By Ian Wilson

Western Canadian Baseball League

Things are about to escalate quickly.

With the 56-game regular season drawing to a close, the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) 2024 postseason is set to begin.

The Sylvan Lake Gulls have claimed the President's Trophy title as the league's best regular-season team and they did so in record-setting fashion. The Gulls won their last 10 games of the season to finish with 44 victories and set a new single-season record for wins. The previous high of 43 wins was established by the Okotoks Dawgs in 2022.

This marks the first time since 2019 that the Okotoks Dawgs have not finished atop the regular-season standings. The Dawgs fell just short of the Gulls, despite surpassing the 40-win mark for a third straight season.

In the East Division, the first-place Regina Red Sox outlasted the Medicine Hat Mavericks, Saskatoon Berries and Moose Jaw Miller Express. The expansion Berries qualified for the playoffs in their inaugural season, while the Swift Current 57's missed the postseason for the first time since 1993.

The eight playoff teams have now been determined and the opening-round matchups for the best-of-three series are set.

Here's a closer look at what we can expect in the first round of the WCBL postseason.

WEST DIVISION

1. SYLVAN LAKE GULLS vs. 4. BROOKS BOMBERS

It was a milestone season for the Gulls, who finished first overall in the WCBL while setting a new franchise high for victories. The Lake Boys combined a potent offence with a pitching staff that allowed the fewest earned runs against.

During the 2023 playoffs, the Gulls defeated the Lethbridge Bulls in the opening round before losing the West Division final series to the Dawgs in two straight games. Sylvan Lake suffered a similar fate in the 2022 postseason when they swept their way past the Fort McMurray Giants and then lost a pair of low-scoring games against Okotoks.

The fourth-seeded Brooks Bombers held off the Giants for the final playoff spot in the West, punching a ticket to their second postseason appearance in club history. The Bombers last qualified for bonus baseball in 2022, when they were defeated by the Dawgs in consecutive games at Seaman Stadium and Elks Field.

Brooks set a new WCBL record for home runs this summer, but the Bombers also allowed more runs against than any other playoff team.

In terms of individual performances, the Gulls were led by infielder Gavin Roy, who led his team in runs scored while leading the WCBL in stolen bases. Outfielder Cooper Ciesielski finished among the league leaders in batting average, homers and runs batted in (RBI). Sylvan Lake's best arms during the regular season included Finbar O'Brien, Kyle Froehlich, Josh Tucker, James Brock, Hunter Jones, Kai Rempel and Zach Bowman.

The Bomb Squad got great play out of homer-happy hitters Antony Gilbert and Jacob Gillis, as well as base-stealing outfielders Payton Matthews and Jouseph Gelpi. Their top pitchers this summer were Jack Leary, Grant Harvill, Tyson Kilbreath, Devin Jennings and Zander Bretza.

In head-to-head matchups, the Gulls won seven of eight contests against the Bombers this season.

2. OKOTOKS DAWGS vs. 3. LETHBRIDGE BULLS

The Dawgs find themselves in unfamiliar territory as a two-seed, but they finished the season strong and are seeking a three-peat as WCBL champions. Their mantra for this summer has been to "repeat the three-peat," as they originally won three consecutive titles between 2007 and 2009.

Okotoks has a veteran-filled batting lineup that can produce runs in a hurry. The Dawgs led the league in RBI and walks in 2024, while their pitchers piled up more strikeouts than any other WCBL team. Defensively, the fielders on the Dawgs recorded the fewest errors in the league.

The back-to-back championships for Okotoks in 2022 and 2023 were achieved convincingly, with the Dawgs going 6-1 in both postseason runs. The Dawgs also went 6-2 in the playoffs during their 2019 championship season.

Standing in the way of the three-peat aspirations are the Lethbridge Bulls, who quietly put together a consistent winning season while the Dawgs and Gulls battled for top spot in the West Division.

Lethbridge batters were effective at generating hits, getting on base and scoring runs. The only other pitching staff with more strikeouts in 2024 than the Bulls was that of the Okotoks Dawgs.

The Bulls won a WCBL title in the pandemic-shortened, all-Alberta season in 2021. Since then, Lethbridge missed the playoffs in 2022 and they lost in the first round of the 2023 postseason to the Sylvan Lake Gulls.

Pacing the offence for the Dawgs is corner infielder Connor Crowson, one of the top contact and power hitters in the league. He's surrounded by experienced sluggers who have helped Okotoks win in previous seasons, including Logan Grant, Tucker Zdunich, Nash Crowell, Ricardo Sanchez, Aidan Rose, Caleb Lumbard, Alejandro Cazorla and back-to-back defending WCBL playoff MVP Brendan Luther. Infielder Jarrett Burney, a newcomer to Okotoks from Reinhardt University, has also injected some life into the lineup.

On the mound, the Dawgs have been led by Brody Forno, Garrett Maloney, Zane Morrison, Graham Brunner, Ryan McFarland, Greg Ross, Cade Herrmann and closer Ashton Luera.

Meanwhile, the standout hitters on the Bulls include middle infielder Kalem Haney, speedster Scott Hansen, and outfielders Jack Kalisky, Kyle Yip, Carlin Dick and Josh Kabayama. Kalisky - a two-way star for Lethbridge - has also pitched well for the Bulls as a closer. Starting pitchers Javier De Alejandro and Drew Lenehan have logged some big innings with Lethbridge.

The two teams were fairly evenly matched during the regular season, with the Dawgs winning six games and the Bulls claiming victory in four.

EAST DIVISION

1. REGINA RED SOX vs. 4. MOOSE JAW MILLER EXPRESS

The Trans-Canada Clash enters playoff mode.

Each summer the Red Sox and Miller Express do battle in their own Highway 1 competition, with the winner of the regular-season series earning a trophy and bragging rights.

Regina came out on top in 2024 by winning six of their eight meetings against Moose Jaw.

Can the Red Sox defeat the Millers with even more at stake?

As the top team in the East, Regina had the best run-scoring club in the division and the highest on-base percentage. The Red Sox also led the WCBL in stolen bases. Regina's pitchers allowed the fewest earned runs in the division and proved to be effective at closing out games.

Although they haven't won the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy since 2012, the Red Sox did appear in the WCBL championship finals in 2018 and 2019. More recently, Regina was swept in the opening round of the postseason the last two summers.

Moose Jaw's hitters have collectively been middle-of-the-pack in most of the league's offensive categories in 2024, with the exception of home runs. The Miller Express have the most long balls in the East Division. However, the pitching staff in Moose Jaw has struggled to keep balls in the yard and they have the lowest strikeout total in the East.

The Miller Express have had some recent postseason success. The team went to the WCBL championship final in 2022 and they lost in the second round to the Medicine Hat Mavericks last summer.

When it comes to standout performers, the Red Sox have a number of batters worth keep an eye on. Jackson Syring and Jackson Romero are top 10 in WCBL batting average, while Justin Carinci leads the circuit in runs scored. First baseman Kody Hanna is among the leaders in batting average and RBI.

Regina ace Colton Anderson has been on the WCBL leaderboards for wins, strikeouts and earned run average (ERA) all summer. Daniel Crabtree and closer Tyler Fortin have also been excellent for the Red Sox.

The Moose Jaw lineup has plenty of pop, with Nate Mensik, Austin Gurney and Joe Osborn all reaching double digits in home runs this season. Infielders Nathan Houston and Thomas Soto will be counted on to set the table for those power hitters.

Workhorse veteran pitchers Ethan Merk, Matt Vasquez and Cameron Dunn will look to keep Red Sox batters off the bases.

2. MEDICINE HAT MAVERICKS vs. 3. SASKATOON BERRIES

The Mavericks fell one win short of a WCBL title in 2023, losing the final game of the postseason to the Okotoks Dawgs at Seaman Stadium.

The 2018 champions will look for a return to the finals in mid-August after settling into second place in the East behind Regina.

Medicine Hat has one of the top hitting teams in the WCBL and their pitching staff leads the East Division in strikeouts.

Leading the charge at the plate for the Mavs are the best two hit collectors in the league, second baseman Marshall Burke and outfielder Jordan Phillips, who is also a top RBI producer in the WCBL. Tyler Vanneste, Brody Gardner and Nick Thibodeau have also haunted opposing pitchers this season.

Pitchers who have been leaned on for Medicine Hat include Jacob Petersheim, Braedon Davis, Jack Novak, Dylan Runge, Aidan Lenzen and Joshua Landry.

The Saskatoon Berries have enjoyed a coming out party in 2024, proving to be a big draw at NexGen Patch at Cairns Field, a marketing sensation and a winner on the field.

Having secured a playoff spot in their inaugural season, the Berries will try to keep the party going for the Jam Fam in Saskatoon.

The Berries have received adequate production from their batters, but their arms have been good this summer. Saskatoon has the lowest earned-run total in the East, and their pitching staff has done the best job of suppressing homers in the division.

Purple-clad players to watch include pitchers Nick Nolan, Wyatt Wiatrek, Michael Singleton, Matthias Trondson and closer Tyler Davis. Saskatoon's batters of note are Carter Beck, Ethan Menard, Nolan Sparks, McGwire Turner and Aaron Martinez Jr.

In their head-to-head meetings this summer, the Mavericks won six of eight contests.

PLAYOFF FORMAT

Postseason play gets underway on Wednesday, Aug. 7. All playoff series are best-of-three affairs.

The opening round - which is scheduled for Aug. 7-9 - sees divisional clashes between the No. 1 seed and the No. 4 seed, along with matchups between the second-place team and the third-place squad. The tops seeds have home-field advantage and will host games one and three (if necessary).

The teams that advance then fight it out for top spot in the East Division and the best in the West Division. That second round is set for Aug. 11-13.

The WCBL's final series pits the elite team in the East Division versus the finest club in the West Division in a showdown for the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the league's championship winner. That series is set to take place from Aug. 15-17.

During the trophy presentation, a postseason Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is also given out to the best player in the playoffs.