Weyburn Beavers

It was a weekend of ups and downs for the Weyburn Beavers.  

It started Friday night as they welcomed the Saskatoon Berries to Tom Laing Park for the first time. The expansion franchise was looking for their first win of the season, and were hoping they would get it against the Beavers.  

After a thrilling win in extra innings Tuesday night, the Weyburn Beavers were looking to bring the momentum into the game Wednesday against the Lethbridge Bulls to make it two victories in a row. The Bulls, however, had different plans.  

This weekend was Opening Weekend for the Western Canadian Baseball League, and the Weyburn Beavers came out with some impressive performances Friday and Saturday at home, even if they didn’t finish on the winning side of the scoreboard.  

Friday night was the home opener, with the defending champion Moose Jaw Miller Express in town. The Beavers would stay with the Miller Express up until the final stages of the game, with Moose Jaw coming away with a 5-3 victory.  

The Weyburn Beavers take to the diamond at Tom Laing Park tonight for the first game of the 2024 Western Canadian Baseball League Season, with the Moose Jaw Miller Express coming to town.  

The Beavers are welcoming several new faces to the roster this year, including Ian Heck. He is a two-way player out of Sacramento, California. For him, coming to Weyburn is his first time out of the United States, and he is excited to experience a lot of new places.  

The Western Canadian Baseball League released the schedule for the 2024 season this week.  

The Weyburn Beavers will open the season at home on May 24th, when they host the Moose Jaw Miller Express at Tom Laing Park. They follow up the home and season opener the next night and close out the opening weekend with a game against the 57s in Swift Current on May 26th.  

In the second game of a doubleheader, in the bottom of the eighth inning in a seven-inning game, Trent Lawson stepped up to the plate for what would be his final at-bat of collegiate ball, summer ball or otherwise. Ryan McCarthy was on second base, representing the go-ahead run in the 3-3 ball game.

Lawson, who led the team in doubles all season, and flirted with the Weyburn Beavers single-season record for doubles, was looking for just the right pitch. Even a single could be enough to bring home the winning run.

The Weyburn Beavers entered Tuesday night’s game against the Sylvan Lake Gulls with their playoff chances on the line. After Monday night’s loss, they would need to win out the final five games of the season and hope for some help from the opponents of the Swift Current 57s in order to clinch a berth in the postseason.  

The Weyburn Beavers entered Monday night’s game against the Sylvan Lake Gulls four games back of the Swift Current 57s for the last playoff spot in the East Division and with six games left to play on the season. With one of the top teams in the West Division in town, the Beavers would keep the game close, but then the Gulls were able to take advantage of the Weyburn bullpen, scoring seven runs in the 7th inning, going on to win 8-3.  

A three-run home run from Brayden Mayencourt, and a two-run blast from Ryan Muizelaar helped power the Weyburn Beavers to a 9-6 win over the Regina Red Sox Thursday night. The win snapped a three-game losing streak but would need some help from the Moose Jaw Miller Express in closing the gap on Swift Current for the final playoff berth in the East Division.

The Weyburn Beavers returned from their road trip to the northernmost teams in the WCBL, and entertained the Lethbridge Bulls for a pair of games, with the first game played Sunday, and the follow-up on Monday. The Beavers would hold the lead in both games but would come up short both nights thanks to late rallies by the visitors.