For the first time since 2011, the Wilkie Brewers will have a chance to play for the North Saskatchewan River Baseball League championship.
In a game that was delayed one day due to rain, the Brewers dominated the Meadow Lake Sox in third and deciding contest of their semifinal series Monday night with an 11-1 rout at Beaver Lions Stadium in North Battleford.
“I don’t think that final score really told the tale of how the game was and the series was,” Brewers right fielder Jason Schell said. “The first game in Wilkie (on Aug. 2) was a lot closer than what the 8-0 score was. When we went up to Meadow Lake a couple of days later (on Aug. 5) it was a tight battle and they had a couple of key hits to get a one-run win.
“Here in North Battleford we were able to get a couple of runs early and kept the pressure up on them by tacking on some more runs. That really got things going for us.”
Schell played a huge part in the offensive explosion for the Brewers. He hit three singles and drove in a run each time, in addition to getting a lead-off double in the sixth inning.
“Baseball is one of those games where you just want to ride off of a hot streak,” Schell said.
“When you get into a streak like I was on tonight everything starts looking good for you at the plate. I just kept swinging the bat and everything went really well.”
Jared Herle brought him two runs on a double in the sixth inning while Cody Wilgenbusch and Aaron Sittler also drove home runs as the Brewers chased Sox starting pitcher Quincy Winkler from the game.
One of the key moments of the contest came in the second inning. With the Brewers clinging to a 2-1 lead, starting pitcher David Schell was able to get out of a bases loaded situation.
“That was a huge moment for us and I think that really changed the momentum of the game,” Jason Schell said. “David is our guy out there on the mound and we know that we always got a chance if we can score a couple of runs for him, which we did after he got us out of trouble.”
The third and deciding game was to have taken place in Wilkie on Sunday, but a heavy deluge of rain prior to the first pitch ended any chances it being played.
With their home ground still soaked, the decision was made to move the contest up to North Battleford.
“It was a little different but we’ve played here before against the Beavers so it wasn’t like it was completely new to us,” Schell said.
“Obviously it’s nice to play at home but we had a lot of people come up from Wilkie for the game so it really felt like a home game.”
The Brewers now have a chance to win their first league title since 2008 when they take on the Standard Hill Lakers in the final.
The series will begin Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. in Wilkie. Both teams will do battle in Silver Lake a night later while a third game, if needed, will be held on Aug. 23 in Wilkie.
“We only played them once this year and that was way back at the start of June so we can’t take a heck of a lot from that one,” Schell said. “We were able to win in an extra inning but they have come a long way since then.”
Prior to playing in the NSRBL final, the Brewers will travel to Rosetown for the Senior Tier 3 Provincial Championship this weekend.
“We start Friday morning against Unity and then we have Oxbow and Bruno to play on Saturday to try and make it out of the group,” Schell said.
“We want to play like we have been in the league but we can’t take anything for granted at the provincials. We all know that it’s going to be a battle.”
