North Battleford Beavers clinch NSRBL Championship

“We’ve had some really good teams and I know I’ve been playing for 16 years in this league and finally was able to seal the deal, and a lot of guys who have been in for close to a decade too so [I’m] really excited for the guys, the community, our wives, girlfriends, parents and [other] family, it was really exciting to see and we had a good fanbase that came to Unity too for the game.

“It was a special moment for sure to finally seal the deal.”

A 2-0 Beavers lead at the end of the first inning, and 5-2 game at the midway mark of the clinching game, North Battleford really pulled away in the final two innings, extending their lead and adding some insurance runs on their way to the 9-3 final.

Over the course of their playoff run, the Beavers posted a 6-1 record with series wins over Glaslyn, Meadow Lake, and Unity, outscoring their opposition by a combined 63-21 margin on their way to the title.

“This is probably our lowest runs against in most of our playoffs we’ve ever had, so props to our pitchers,” Gregoire said reflecting on the run. “We had some really good pitching staff this year, and our defence was really sharp too.”

Another of the team’s most senior members, Kelly Baillargeon pitched for the opening four and one-third innings in the final game, allowing just two runs, before Mike Ross came in to close things out for the final two and two-thirds innings allowing just a single run as well.

Baillargeon, who has been with the team for four years now, and in the league for close to two decades, said after a number of lengthy runs, including a trip to the finals with the Beavers back in 2019, it meant a lot to close it out this year and win it all with this group.

“We’ve been close a few times the last couple of years, so until that last out was made we didn’t take anything for granted,” Baillargeon said.

“We teamed up with the Trappers a couple years ago with the younger guys, and it’s nice to have some fresh blood in the mix. I think us older guys really appreciate it because it’s the first [championship] for any of us, and I think I played my first game in the league over 20 years ago, so it’s nice to finally get there.”

Part of the team’s youth contingent is 21-year-old third baseman, Connor Neave.

Wrapping his fifth year of NSRBL play, all spent with the Beavers, Neave said as he looks back on the ’23 championship run, what stands out most is the camaraderie amongst the group, in their journey to achieving their shared goal of winning a championship.

“It’s just a great group of guys who made it fun going to the ballpark every day,” Neave said. “We had good team chemistry and good guys, and we were so deep this year too which was nice. It was a really fun year.”

The Beavers will now look ahead to senior AA tier two provincials, coming up in Yorkton Aug. 11-13, with a chance to add to their season for the ages, as champions.

—

Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1

by Martin Martinson

North Battleford Beavers clinch NSRBL Championship

What's Trending