Merek Yeager and the Saskatoon Berries extended their season after beating the Regina Red Sox 2-1 in their best-of-three series.
Merek Yeager and the Saskatoon Berries extended their season after beating the Regina Red Sox 2-1 in their best-of-three series.
A 5-3 victory over the Regina Red Sox in front of a hometown crowd on Sunday propelled the No. 2 Saskatoon Berries to the Canadian Western Baseball League's East Division finals.
The win gave the Berries a 2-1 edge in their best-of-three series.
Brock Laird's RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning snapped a 3-3 tie, and Berries teammate Nick Stinson homered in the eighth to provide a cushion.
Saskatoon's Aiden Kilshaw opened the scoring in the third with a single up the middle, and a couple of batters later, Nick Stinson hit a single of his own up the right side that brought a pair of Berries players home, giving the hosts a 3-0 lead.
Regina tied the score with a single in the fourth and double in the fifth.
The Berries won the opener 7-3, then fell 5-3 to the Red Sox on Saturday night, forcing the third and decisive game.
Saskatoon will now take on the division's top team the Moose Jaw Miller Express, who won their semifinals matchup against the Medicine Hat Mavericks in two games.
The final begins on Tuesday with the Berries hitting the road. They'll return home for Game 2 on Wednesday. A third game, if needed, will be played in Moose Jaw on Thursday.
Hilltops pick up season-opening victory
It was a successful road trip for the Saskatoon Hilltops, as they began their 2026 Prairie Football Conference campaign with a 38-13 victory over the host Winnipeg Rifles on Sunday afternoon.
The Hilltops got on the scoreboard first with a single point just over three minutes into the game as Ryden Gratton's field goal missed the uprights and went through the endzone.
The visitors added to their score with a rushing touchdown from Corbin Ebben to take an 8-0 lead, which was cut to 8-6 by the end of the first quarter.
Gratton was two-for-two on field goals in the second quarter, increasing the Hilltops lead to 14-6 at the intermission.
In the third quarter, Charles Sawi returned Winnipeg's opening kickoff for a touchdown. Later in the quarter, teammate Brody Komarnicki picked up a touchdown and Gratton notched another field goal to make the score 31-6 for the Hilltops.
The final 15 minutes saw Winnipeg add to their score with a missed field goal single and a touchdown that went unconverted, but the Hilltops scored the final points of the game with Ebben once again finding the endzone.
Up next, the Hilltops will host the Edmonton Wildcats in their home opener on Aug. 16.
Saskatchewan defends women's national football title
It was a repeat performance a decade in the making as Saskatchewan defeated Quebec 24-3 in the Senior Women's National Football Championship in Saskatoon on Saturday night.
The last time the event was held, ten years ago in Regina, the two teams also met in the final with host province coming out on top.
In this year's gold-medal game, Saskatchewan had the lone points of the opening quarter as Kaylin O'Neill notched a 13-yard field goal.
That was matched just over five minutes into the second quarter by Quebec's Amelie Beauregard, who hit her own field goal from 24 yards out. Those points turned out to be the only ones scored by the visitors, despite the fact that they were in Saskatchewan's red-zone multiple times.
The hosts, however, were able to add more points to the board, starting with a 61-yard pass from Julia Smith to Shanelle Rioux 6:54 into the quarter, giving Saskatchewan a 10-3 lead after a convert from O'Neill.
Saskatchewan's final two touchdowns were both pick-sixes by linebacker Emmarae Dale, the first a 70-yard return for the major with less than five minutes before halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, Dale then picked off Quebec quarterback Maude Lacasse while she was passing into the end-zone, giving Dale a 114-yard interception return.
Those efforts led to Dale being named the Saskatchewan defensive player of the game, as well as defensive player of the tournament, while teammate Rioux earned the offensive honours for Saskatchewan in the game and overall for the event.
Awards on the Quebec side of the ball included Amelie Brisebois-Bentler being named offensive player of the game, with Ophelia Poisson-Vecchio picking up the defensive award and Beauregard earning the title of special teams player of the tournament.
In the bronze-medal game, Team Atlantic defeated Alberta 42-14.
Saskatoon Mamba eliminated from CEBL playoffs
The Saskatoon Mamba's return to the Canadian Elite Basketball League playoffs for the first time since 2022 — when they were known as the Saskatchewan Rattlers — was short lived as they fell to the host Winnipeg Sea Bears 99-88 on Thursday night in the West Conference semifinals.
Mamba captain Tavian Dunn-Martin ended the game as the high scorer, picking up 28 points, while teammate Jaden Bediako recorded a double-double with 13 points and 17 rebounds.
With their win, the Sea Bears advanced to the conference finals where they upset the top-seeded Vancouver Bandits to move on to the CEBL league finals.