The Weyburn Beavers couldn’t keep the momentum rolling from their season-opening win, falling 5-0 to the Regina Red Sox on a smokey Friday night at Tom Laing Park.
The game also saw the debut of the Beavers' City Connect jerseys. The light blue jerseys have dark blue silhouettes of images from around Weyburn, including the old water tower, the wheat sculptures that line the boardwalk, and a pump jack. The jerseys were design with help from J.J. Fisher, and were sponsored by Weyburn Tourism, and the Weyburn Credit Union.
Regina’s pitching was the story of the night, with starter Blake Johnson and reliever Nicolas Yard combining for a two-hit shutout. Johnson struck out six over five innings, while Yard added four more strikeouts in relief, allowing just two base runners across four innings of work.
“You’ve got to tip your caps sometimes,” said Beavers head coach Cam Williams after the game. “Their starting pitcher threw really well.”
Weyburn starter Ryan Meyer had a strong first outing despite the loss. He struck out seven batters over five innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits. Regina broke the game open in the fifth inning, capitalizing on a few hits and a key miscue to plate three runs. They added insurance with single runs in the eighth and ninth.
“Especially early in the game, he was throwing really, really well,” Williams said of Meyer. “Ultimately, he only made one not-so-good pitch, and a couple flares dropped for them. But yeah, he threw the ball really well. It’s a really good first start of the year for him and something we can build off, absolutely.”
Owen McConnell threw three innings in relief, striking out three and allowing one run, unearned. Logan Kinter finished the game off, striking out two in one inning, while allowing one run.
Offensively, the Beavers struggled to get anything going against Regina’s arms. Weyburn mustered just two hits, one from Noah Brooks and the other from Chett McDaniel. Brooks, in particular, impressed his coach.
“Noah Brooks had a good day, hit a couple balls hard,” said Williams. “And a couple guys were working the count really well, seeing some pitches.”
Regina’s offense was led by Matthew Fox, who went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base. James Wright, Sam Baker, and Jordan Tucker all chipped in with extra-base hits, helping Regina improve to 2-0 on the year.
While the Beavers were carrying the momentum from their big 9-0 win over Saskatoon Thursday, Williams felt there was perhaps a little too much momentum.
“Maybe a little too high after the big win last night… just gotta understand that every day is a new day, regardless of what happened the night before,” he said. “Wins and losses, you just gotta be ready to go. We’ll learn that as we go.”
Weyburn, now 1-1, will look to bounce back quickly with another home game Saturday night against Moose Jaw, a matchup that carries a little extra meaning.
“We got a big game tomorrow against Moose Jaw,” Williams added. “We always like beating them, too."