The Weyburn Beavers battled on the road Tuesday night but couldn't overcome an early surge by the Saskatoon Berries. The first-place Berries would take the game by a final score of 7-3.
The Berries opened up the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, tagging Weyburn starting pitcher Connor Nipp for four runs to take a commanding lead they would never relinquish. Saskatoon added another two runs in the fourth to build a 6−0 advantage.
Weyburn began to chip away in the top of the fourth inning. After a double by Luke Malzewski, shortstop Zach Tanabe drove him in with an RBI single, putting the Beavers on the scoreboard.
The Beavers' biggest rally came in the top of the sixth. Capitalizing on miscues by the Saskatoon defence, Weyburn managed to plate two unearned runs. Ryan Dauphinee and Trevor Dale both crossed the plate in the inning, cutting the deficit to 6−3.
However, that was as close as they would get. The Berries added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, and Weyburn's bats were silenced in the final frames.
Despite the loss, right fielder Ryan Dauphinee had a strong performance at the plate, going 3-for-4 and scoring a run. Reliever Keaton Husband also had a strong outing from the bullpen, pitching four solid innings and allowing just one run on two hits.
Offensively, Weyburn collected eight hits but struggled to cash in runners, leaving eight men on base.
Nipp was tagged with the loss for the Beavers. He went four innings, allowing six runs, four earned, on seven hits while striking out six. Saskatoon starter Calvin Junek (2−0) earned the win, pitching five innings of one-run ball.
The Beavers will look to bounce back Wednesday night as they again play the Berries in their final road game of the season. Weyburn then returns home for a pair of games against the Medicine Hat Mavericks, Friday and Saturday, to finish off the 2025 campaign.