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Gavin Nolin and his North Battleford Beavers teammates will take to the field tonight for Game 1 of the playoffs against Unity. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)
Batters Up

Beavers host Unity for opening game of NSRBL playoffs

Jul 12, 2022 | 3:03 PM

The playoffs begin tonight (Tuesday) for the North Battleford Beavers, as the team will venture out on their first steps of what they hope to be a lengthy playoff run.

The second seed overall in the North Sask River Baseball League (NSRBL) standings heading into the postseason, the Beavers (10-3) will play the ninth-place Unity Junior Cardinals (4-10), who topped Lloydminster 6-3 in their wildcard game to earn the #7 seed heading into the postseason.

The Beavers enter the playoffs red-hot, having lost just three games all season. The lone team to finish with at least five wins both at home and on the road during the 13-game regular season, the Beavers’ .769 win percentage was tied with first place Macklin for best in the league.

It also marked the club’s most successful season in over a decade, dating back to pre-2010.

Veteran outfielder with the Beavers, Kyle Gregoire said while it was nice to see some success during the regular season, the team is really looking forward to the challenge ahead in the playoffs.

“We’re pretty excited, I think we have everybody in the right frame of mind and ready to flip the page from regular season to playoffs,” Gregoire said. “The guys are ready to go here and we’ve got some pretty good competition from the Unity Junior team, so it should make for a good one tonight.”

The Beavers took their season series with the Junior Cardinals 2-0, though both games were decided by just a single run. The first matchup was a 9-8 Beavers win on June 2 in Unity, with the second coming near the end of the season, June 28 in a 4-3 victory in North Battleford.

At the plate

Both teams have their share of star power, as the Beavers are led on the bats by team MVP, Bob Hudec, who paced the club in hits (17), runs (11), and plate appearances (45), while Blair Geering’s nine RBI and Andrew Hudec’s eight stolen bases were also a team-high.

Ethan Scherr was the Cardinals’ team MVP this season, leading Unity with a .500 batting average and .567 on-base percentage, while Garin Scherr’s 17 hits, Carter Johnson’s 14 runs, and Andruw Feser’s three homers were also a Cards’-best.

On the mound

The Beavers were one of just three teams to have four different pitchers put in 13-plus innings of work this season. Jared Schmidt led North Battleford with 16.1 innings pitched, while Aaron Cadrin posted a team-best 1.17 WHIP and 2.63 ERA, among those to pitch at least double-digit innings with the team.

Unity was more reliant on a single pair at the mound, with just two players pitching double-digit innings, as Easton McLean (29 innings) and Garin Scherr (18.1) were the only two to throw for more than eight. McLean’s 1.69 WHIP and 4.34 ERA were also bests on the Cardinals.

Tuesday night’s game will be played at Diamond #4 in North Battleford,

In other action around the NSRBL, the #1 Macklin Lakers and #8 Mervin Flyers will play Game 1 in Macklin. The playoffs opened Monday night in Meadow Lake, with an 8-1 Standard Hill Lakers win over the Meadow Lake Sox.

The full NSRBL playoff schedule can be found here.

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1

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