This year's NSRBL final will feature the Wilkie Brewers who won provincials in 2021 and the Standard Hill Lakers who won in 2022, battling it out for a league championship. (File photos/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Stage is Set

Wilkie, Standard Hill kick off NSRBL final

Aug 11, 2022 | 3:00 PM

The battle for senior baseball supremacy begins Thursday night in Wilkie with Game 1 of the North Sask River Baseball League (NSRBL) final.

The Wilkie Brewers will host the Standard Hill Lakers for the opening game of the teams’ best-of-three championship series, a rematch of the 2016 finals.

This will mark the Brewers’ first finals action since 2016, when they topped the Lakers in two straight to clinch the league title.

It’s a series Lakers veteran, Brett Harrison, who was League MVP that year, said the team will be looking to make amends for. Standard Hill will push for their second championship in the last four years, and fourth in franchise history since joining the NSRBL in 1992.

“They beat us when we played them in the league final a couple of years ago, so we owe them one,” Harrison said with a wry smile. “Wilkie is a very good team; they’re good defensively, they hit the ball well and they play the game the right way and have for years, so we know what to expect.”

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Harrison said for the team to find success in the series, they must stick to what’s made them successful all season.

“Our pitching and our defence have been our strongpoint for the whole year and if we can get the bats rolling and get some timely hits I think it’ll be a really good series,” he said.

On the other side, Wilkie, will be vying for their eighth title in franchise history, second to just the Lloyd Twins’ 11 for most in the league.

Player/coach with the Brewers, Mike Sittler, said while the team is excited to take to their home field for the opening game, their key will be keeping an even keel.

“Just making sure we’re ready to go; relying on each other and making sure that if things aren’t going our way we don’t get too down, and if things are going our way we don’t get too high on ourselves,” Sittler said.

The Brewers and Lakers played each other just once this year during the regular season; a 9-4 victory for the Brewers back on June 8. However, the clubs did meet again just last weekend for senior provincials where the Lakers answered with a 6-4 win over the Brewers on their way to a provincial title.

To date this season through the regular season and playoffs, the Brewers have scored a league-best 124 runs to the Lakers’ 87, though Standard Hill have allowed just 70 runs against to Wilkie’s 82.

Both teams also have no shortage of star power.

Standard Hill are led by a dynamic lineup at the plate, featuring Team MVP, Masen Anderson (league-leading five home runs this year), as well as two-time League MVP, Brett Harrison (1999, 2016), 2020 East Division MVP, Cooper Olson, and 2021 Top Batter Award winner, Brock Harrison.

Wilkie counters with Team MVP and Top Batter nominee, Rob Cey (league-best 24 RBI), Top Pitcher nominee, Corey Wildeman (league-best five wins, third best 1.44 WHIP), and 2020 West Division MVP, Braden Polreis.

Game 1 of the best-of-three series will be played at Wilkie Regional Park. Initially scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., the start time has been changed to 6:30 p.m. tonight.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1