By Matt Kelly

Wilkie Brewers crowned 2016 NSRBL champions

Aug 18, 2016 | 5:00 PM

The Wilkie Brewers are the 2016 North Saskatchewan River Baseball League (NSRBL) champions.

The Brewers took on the Standard Hill Lakers in the finals and swept the series 2-0. Wilkie took game one 12-2 on their home field and then clinched their first championship since 2008 with a 5-4 win in game two.

Brewers catcher Ryan Cey pointed to the team’s veteran players as a big reason Wilkie took home the championship.

“We had a lot of veteran leadership that took us to the next level. We had Jason Schell, Aaron Sittler who kind of grabbed this team, and David Schell, and went ahead with it, got everyone on board and made everything click and had a very good successful season,” he said.

The Brewers entered the playoffs as the second seed with an 11-5 record. On the way to the championship, the Brewers beat the Border City Blue Jays 2-0 in the quarter finals and then the Meadow Lake Sox 2-1 in the semi-finals.

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“We just battled and we always came up with clutch hits or a big play when we needed to,” Cey said. “Even when we were down, we never felt like we were out of a ball game.”

The NSRBL league championship comes less than a week after the Brewers won the 2016 Senior AA Tier 3 Provincials eight-team championship in Rosetown.

“It’s been a tough go, a lot of baseball’s been played but the guys stuck with it with a little bit of pain and did what they had to do to get to the next level,” Cey said.

The Wilkie squad is celebrating and soaking in this year’s championship but Cey said the Brewers are already looking towards a repeat.

“I know a few guys have hinted about retirement and this and that, but I know a lot of the core guys are ready and excited to see what next year brings and hopefully do the same things next year,” he said.

Matt Kelly is battlefordsNOW’s town municipal affairs and community reporter. He can be reached at mkelly@jpbg.ca or tweet him @mattjkelly2.

by Matt Kelly

Wilkie Brewers crowned 2016 NSRBL champions

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