Berries WCBL championship win highlights August 2026

The Berries raise the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy as WCBL champs.

The Saskatoon Berries are the boys of spring and summer in “The Bridge City.”

They made Cairns Field the place to be in Saskatoon, and in three years, they created the best day ever locally to be at a baseball park.

On Sunday, August 16, the Berries thumped the Sylvan Lake Gulls 11-1 in Game 2 of the WCBL Championship Series at Cairns Field to sweep the best-of-three set 2-0. The Berries captured their first league championship in just their third year of existence in front of a record crowd of 2,579 spectators.

Before that moment, the Berries faithful, known as the “Jam Fam,” got a trial run about what winning a league title at home might feel like.

Merek Yeager delivers a pitch for the Berries in the WCBL final.

Just four days earlier on Wednesday, August 12, the Berries downed the Moose Jaw Miller Express 7-4 to sweep the best-of-three WCBL East Division Championship Series at Cairns Field. The crowd of 2,467 spectators, which was the Berries record crowd at that time, were roaring at the final pitch and that roar amplified after the final out was caught in right field.

The song “Oh, What a Night” that was released in 1963 by The Four Seasons echoed in the park as the Berries stormed the field in celebration. It felt like that night was the perfect night, but there was no certainty that scene would play out again in the WCBL Championship Series against the Gulls.

AP catcher Aiden Kilshaw was a key player in the Berries post-season run.

In Game 1 of the WCBL final played on Saturday, August 15 at Gulls Stadium in Sylvan Lake, the Berries pulled out a 4-1 victory. In Saskatoon, excitement started to immediately build for a potential league championship win the next night at Cairns Field.

The Berries weren’t going to be denied a series sweep. Game 2 of the WCBL final started with the Berries jumping out to a 3-0 lead after two innings of play, before the Gulls responded with one run in the top of the third to cut Saskatoon’s advantage to 3-1.

The host side exploded for five runs in the bottom of the sixth to surge ahead 8-1 and cruised to victory from that point. The sixth-inning surge allowed the “Fam Jam” to soak in and enjoy the championship victory.

The Berries celebrate scoring two runs in Game 2 of the WCBL final.

A great Saskatchewan story played out on the mound in that WCBL title clinching game. Merek Yeager, who is a 19-year-old from Muenster, Saskatchewan, got the start on the hill for Saskatoon. The right-handed hurler picked up the win striking out four batters and scattering seven hits and a walk over six innings of work.

Brooks Jones, who is a left-handed pitcher from Lawrence, Kansas, struck out five batters in holding the Gulls scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings.

Howetown product Colin Plain, who has been with the Berries for all three seasons of their existence, got the call to close out the night in the ninth inning. The right-handed hurler struck out three out of the four batters he faced, while giving up a double in the mix to start the celebration in earnest.

Ethan Murdoch drives a hit for the Berries in the WCBL final.

At the plate, first baseman Josh Henson nailed a three-run homer to start the surge in the sixth inning. Henson’s round-tripper put the Berries up 6-1 and turned the feeling of what could be a close game into a fairly secure comfort belief that the great night was truly on for the Saskatoon side.

As an extra bonus, catcher Aiden Kilshaw, who was originally from Swift Current and moved to Saskatoon, nailed a solo shot in the seventh inning to give the Berries an 8-1 advantage at that point in time. Kilshaw, who will turn 18-years-old on September 4, was an associate player who joined the Berries on a full-time basis after his final season concluded in late July with the Saskatoon Cubs U18 AAA team.

One year earlier, Kilshaw helped the Cubs win their seventh Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League championship. With the Berries in the 2026 post-season, Kilshaw went 9-for-27 at the plate for a .333 batting average, two home runs and 10 RBI.

Gael Salinas became a fan favourite with the Berries.

Right-handed relief pitcher Wesley Shackelford, who is from Belleville, Texas, was named the MVP of the WCBL playoffs. In four games of work, Shackelford threw nine scoreless innings striking out 14 batters, while giving up one hit and one walk.

He picked up the pitching win in the Berries 7-3 victory over the Regina Red Sox in Game 1 of a WCBL semifinal series on Friday, August 7 at Cairns Field. Shackelford earned the save in the Berries 5-3 win over the Red Sox in a series-deciding Game 3 just two nights later.

Following that 2-1 series victory over the Red Sox, Shackelford came in to get the save in the WCBL East Division Series clinching Game 2 win over the Miller Express. He was on the hill for the Berries picking up the save in their Game 1 victory of the WCBL final over the Gulls in Sylvan Lake.

The Berries begin celebrating their WCBL championship win.

The WCBL championship win closed out the playing career for Berries right-fielder and Swift Current, Sask., product Ethan Murdoch. He was the first member of the Berries to lift the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy after the squad became WCBL champions.

It allowed second baseman, fan favourite and Guanajuato, Mexico, product Gael Salinas cap a memorable first series with the Berries, which saw him represent the club in the WCBL’s All-Star Weekend which Saskatoon hosted on July 18 and 19.

Part of the “Fam Jam” at Cairns Field cheers on the Berries.

The Berries win helped further build the WCBL legend of the team’s head coach in Joe Carnahan. Officially hired by the Berries on July 5, 2023, Carnahan was part of six WCBL championship winners in Swift Current.

He was a player for three title wins in 2001, 2005 and 2006, and he was the team’s head coach for championship victories in 2010, 2016 and 2017. Carnahan stepped down as the head coach and general manager of the Swift Current franchise on September 21, 2020.

With Carnahan as head coach, the Berries got through their growing pains quickly. In their inaugural 2024 campaign, the Berries finished sixth overall in the 12-team circuit with a 31-26 record and fell in a series-deciding Game 3 to the Miller Express in the East Division Championship Series.

The Berries relish lifting the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy.

In 2025, the Berries topped the league’s overall standings with a 46-9 mark, and their win total was a WCBL record for most wins in one regular season. They again fell in a series-deciding Game 3 in the East Division Championship Series this time to the Red Sox, who advanced on to claim the WCBL title.

This past season, the Berries finished fourth overall in the WCBL with a 38-18 mark. They rolled in the post-season posting a 6-1 record that included finishing with a five-game winning streak. They were 4-0 at home and 2-1 on the road.

Steve Hildebrand, left, and Joe Carnahan enjoy their WCBL title win.

Carnahan was named the WCBL coach of the year for a fifth time following the 2025 campaign. On July 11, Carnahan got to see one his Berries grads in Carnduff, Saskatchewan, product Carter Beck, who played centrefield, be selected in the first round and 26^th overall by the Atlanta Braves in the MLB Draft. Beck became the highest ever Saskatchewan born player to be picked in the MLB Draft.

Of course, Berries president Steve Hildebrand played a big role in bringing Carnahan to Saskatoon and creating a culture that allowed Carnahan and the rest of the organization to realize all this remarkable early success. They all helped create a game day atmosphere making Cairns Field a field of dreams with various promotions and concessions that contained various items that contained Saskatoon Berries.

It was fitting that following the WCBL title win on August 16 that a large number of the families and billet families of the Berries players, coaches and staffers got to take part in the championship celebrations on the Cairns Field turf. It started with a big fireworks show and ran long into the night.

The Berries WCBL title win will be a forever memory.

Ultimately, the WCBL championship win was one that everyone with the Berries organization was a part of resulting in a moment that will always be a cherished and joyful memory for the rest of their lives.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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