The Moose Jaw Miller Express just fell short of a Western Canadian Baseball League Championship for 2024.
On Saturday, August 17, the Miller Express faced the Okotoks Dawgs in game three of the Championship series. With the series tied at one apiece, the winner of this game would become champions.
The Dawgs would gradually build up a lead through the first four innings with three runs. Moose Jaw would answer at the top of the fifth to tie the game at 3 - 3. However, the Dawgs would steal back the lead at the bottom of the fifth with one run.
Okotoks kept gradually building up their lead with another run in the seventh. Moose Jaw would tie the game for a second time at the top of the eighth inning with two runs. Moose Jaw could not take the lead at the top of the ninth, putting pressure on the Dawgs to score before a potential tenth inning.
Connor Crowson of Okotoks would seal the deal with a home run and win the Dawgs a Championship with a score of 6 - 5.
Despite the loss, the Moose Jaw Miller Express have plenty to be proud of after placing as the fourth seed following the regular season. They swept the Regina Red Sox in round one, beat the Saskatoon Berries for the East Division Title in round two, and came within a single run of a championship.
The message for the Miller Express players after the regular season was "Before the playoffs started, we talked to the boys about how they just have to believe in themselves and each other because everyone here believes in you," said Darryl Pisio, President Governer of the Moose Jaw Miller Express.
"The fans have been amazing year after year, and our billet families have been amazing for us, and then we have a nuclease of volunteers that we lean on, it's very much appreciated," added Pisio.
With the season over, the Miller Express players will be making their way back home, while the rest of the staff takes some time off before preparing for next season.