The Weyburn Beavers entertained the Saskatoon Berries for a doubleheader Monday night. The first game of the day was a make-up game, after a thunderstorm cancelled Sunday’s game at Tom Laing Park. The second game was the Red Wings Appreciation Game, during which the Beavers wore special jerseys that paid homage to the storied SJHL franchise.
The Berries, though, would be the ones coming out on top. The first game was a 9-2 win, and the nightcap saw Saskatoon win 14-2.
While the scoreboard may have favoured the visitors, for Weyburn native and Beavers pitcher Keaton Husband, the night was special.
“Going to Beaver and Red Wing games growing up, it was pretty cool to see them both come together, collaborate on a jersey,” Husband said.
Despite the losses, Beavers head coach Cam Williams praised the collaboration between the town's baseball and hockey teams. "I think it's really cool to see the turnout in the crowd. And the jerseys look awesome," he said, expressing hope that the relationship would continue to grow.
In the afternoon game, the Berries established an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. Home runs by Saskatoon's Ethan Menard and Bailyn Sorensen contributed to their win. A two-run homer from Brayden Mayencourt accounted for Weyburn's only runs.
Saskatoon's offence continued to dominate in the second game, scoring 14 runs on nine hits. Ethan Murdoch had a notable performance for the Berries, driving in four runs. Ryan Muizelaar and Brayden Mayencourt recorded an RBI each for the Beavers in the loss.
While the games were tough for Weyburn on the scoreboard, the second game was also tough on the players, as the Beavers saw three players exit due to injury. Starting first baseman Ian Heck left the game in the second inning after stretching out for a play. His replacement, Chett McDaniel, also had to leave the game during his only at-bat. Later, Luke Malzewski exited after stumbling while rounding first base on a potential double. Their departures pressed affiliated player call-ups Eli Hansen and Dax Brown into action.
Williams acknowledged the difficulty of seeing his players get hurt.