SASKATOON -- The Regina Red Sox are off to the Western Canadian Baseball League Championship Series.
The Red Sox turned in a stellar defensive effort to take a 6-2 victory over the Saskatoon Berries in the third and deciding game of the East Division Final on Tuesday night in Saskatoon and will now face the Sylvan Lake Gulls for the WCBL title
Regina last won the WCBL Championship in 2012 and last reached the Final in 2019 when they lost in two games to Okotoks.
Game 3 of the East Final ended up as close as one would expect, with Regina taking a 3-2 lead out of the third inning, and that’s where the score would remain until the Red Sox opened things up with three runs in the seventh.
Matthew Fox had the big hit in the inning, with his double to left field scoring Zayd Brannigan and Jordan Tucker with a pair of insurance runs. Brady Bye hit a double of his own one batter later to bring home Fox, and things were in solid shape for Regina.
That especially rang true with Ayden Page on the mound for the Red Sox. The standout reliever came on in relief of Chris Spry and faced a bases-loaded jam with one out in the sixth inning, but was able to get Cory Wouters to hit into a fielder’s choice and Bailyn Sorensen to strike out to escape without any damage.
Saskatoon would only get two hits off Page the rest of the way and would be unable to get a runner in scoring position.
It was the second game of the series that Page had put together a lengthy relief run to secure a Red Sox win, having gone four shutout innings to earn the win in Game 1.
The teams exchanged runs in the first inning, with Bye knocking home Rafael Jackson in the top of the frame and Carter Beck scoring on a wild pitch in Saskatoon’s half to tie things up.
Jackson crossed the plate again in the third inning and Jalen Meyers would knock home Fox with what would stand as the game-winning run in the same frame.
Beck scored on a sacrifice fly by Abiam Medina in the bottom of the third, but that would be the last offence for Saskatoon on the night.
Bye finished 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead Regina’s offence, Beck was 3-for-4 with two runs for Saskatoon.
Spry allowed two runs on five hits over 5 ⅓, Page allowed only two hits in his 3 ⅔ innings of relief.
Merek Yeager took the loss for Saskatoon, allowing three runs on five hits in four innings.
Regina will have home field advantage in the best-of-three WCBL Final, with Game 1 in Regina on Thursday, Game 2 in Sylvan Lake on Friday and the third and deciding game in Regina on Saturday if necessary.
