The North Saskatchewan River Baseball League brought a close to their regular season this week as several teams jockeyed for playoff position heading into the final week.
Action resumed around the league this week as teams looked to nail down the eight playoff positions available going into next week's playoff games that begin July 16.
Monday the North Battleford Beavers punched their ticket into the playoffs by going on the road and bombing the Midwest Expos 9-2.
That win moved the Beavers to 8-5 on the season and dropped the Expos to 3-9, a record that knocked the Expos right out of playoff contention with two games remaining.
The other action Monday saw Meadow Lake knock off the Lloydminster Juniors 2-1 to move into a tie for first with Lloydminster Twins at 11-2.
Four games Tuesday night included the Beavers final home game of the season, as they took on Kindersley Raiders to wrap up the schedule.
Based on the weather, it was hard to believe baseball season was about to wrap up. It was a hot evening of 30 degree temperatures on the diamond. The bats ended up being even hotter, as the Beavers prevailed in a 14 to 4 slugfest.
That gave the Beavers a 9-5 record to finish the season, in fourth place and 2.5 games behind the leaders with three days left in the league's schedule.
The loss dropped Kindersley to eighth in the 7 and 7, but the Raiders had already known they had clinched a spot in the playoffs.
Other action Tuesday saw St. Walburg lose to Border City 8-3, Standard Hill over Mervin 13-8, and Wilkie beat Unity 6-3.
Wednesday night action saw Lloydminster Twins beat St. Walburg 13-4, Lloydminster Juniors over Midwest Expos 9-6 and Meadow Lake Sox beating Wilkie 8-0.
The results gave the Twins and the Sox 12-2 records atop the league to finish the regular season, with Lloyd Juniors clinching third with a 10-3 record.
The regular season was to wrap up with Border City taking on Lloydminster Juniors on Thursday, while the Midwest Expos were set to end their season at Border City on Friday to close out the campaign.
