The North Battleford Beavers have been firing on all cylinders down the stretch and into the playoffs this year, as they will look to keep the ball rolling versus the Lloyd Twins in the Final. (File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Championship aspirations

N.B. Beavers advance to NSRBL Final in search of first title in over 20 years

Aug 10, 2020 | 2:00 PM

The last time the North Battleford Beavers won the North Sask. River Baseball League (NSRBL) title, Titanic ruled the movie box office, The Spice Girls’ Wannabe topped the billboard hot 100, and Ken Griffey Jr. was Major League Baseball’s MVP.

That was the scene in 1997.

Now 23 years later, the club has a chance to once again stake their claim atop the regions senior baseball ranks, following a weekend to remember.

Entering the post-season as the fifth seed versus the fourth place Battlefords Trappers, the Beavers blanked their cross-town rival with a convincing 4-0 win in the quarter-finals. The team then followed their victory with another in the semis, this time a 13-9 victory over top-seeded, Standard Hill.

With that, in a season that has seen all kinds of twists and turns, here the Beavers sit with a chance to bring a championship back home in a best-of-three series against the Lloyd Twins.

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Kyle Gregoire, who plays and coaches for the Beavers, is among those who will make their finals debut with the team. A veteran in the league, he said the group are looking to make the most of their opportunity ahead, as they know first-hand how difficult it is to get an opportunity like they have this year.

“I know like for our team, I’m 14 years playing in the league and have never made it to the finals, and we have over a handful of guys that have been playing over a decade that haven’t made it to the finals either,” he said. “So we’re extremely excited and hopefully we can play some really good ball against the Lloyd Twins and come out victorious with a league championship.”

Facing a Twins team that lost just a single game this season, the final features amongst the biggest challenges the Beavers have faced yet. However, as Gregoire points out, the team is confident after firing on all cylinders through the opening two rounds, with everything coming together at the right time.

“I think we really had some good timely hits, we had some really good defence and the pitching throughout those two games was really crucial for us,” Gregoire said. “Then we played some small ball when we needed to, to collect two wins there as well. We just need to keep it simple and capitalize on our opportunities.”

The finals series between the Beavers and Twins will begin Thursday with game one in Lloydminster. Game two will be played at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Beaver Lions Stadium in North Battleford; with a third and deciding game back in Lloyd next Tuesday (Aug. 18) if needed.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1