By IAN WILSON
That was a real doozy of a Western Canadian Baseball League championship.
We’re still catching our breath from the twists and turns, as well as the euphoria and the anguish, that both the Sylvan Lake Gulls and the Regina Red Sox put us through during the best-of-three series that started at Currie Field and ended at Gulls Field with the Red Sox lifting the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy.
It was a title matchup full of firsts: the Gulls first trip to the final series, the Red Sox first championship since 2012 and the first Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy win for a Saskatchewan-based team since 2017, to name a few.
Here’s a look back at our coverage of the epic 2025 WCBL Final Series:
CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
The Western Canadian Baseball League will crown a new champion.
For the first time since 2021, when the Lethbridge Bulls hoisted the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy, a team other than the Okotoks Dawgs will claim the WCBL championship.
The Sylvan Lake Gulls will represent the West Division after limiting the title reign of the Dawgs to a three-peat, while the Regina Red Sox battled their way through the East Division after toppling the league’s winningest team, the Saskatoon Berries.
Here’s a closer examination of the two teams who are competing in the best-of-three final … read more
ROAD TO THE FINAL
SYLVAN LAKE GULLS
To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.
Entering the 2025 WCBL postseason, it was clear that the Okotoks Dawgs were the best team in the West Division. They were the No. 1 seed and they entered the playoffs as defending three-time champs.
The Gulls had seen this movie before. They knew that closing out the series would be difficult, but they just kept pecking away … read more
REGINA RED SOX
If there was a participant ribbon for qualifying for the WCBL postseason, the Regina Red Sox would have a drawer full of them.
Like Cal Ripken stationed on the left side of the infield with the Baltimore Orioles in the 1980s and 1990s, the Red Sox are just always there. They’re the Iron Horse of the East Division bracket.
There were no obvious signs that 2025 would yield different results than previous seasons in recent memory.
Regina finished the regular season with a 29-27 record, which was good for third place in the East Division … read more
GAME ONE RECAP
A pitching duel, base-running fuel and extra innings provided a postseason classic for Western Canadian Baseball League fans in the opening game of the championship series.
The heavyweight tilt between the Sylvan Lake Gulls and Regina Red Sox at Currie Field featured fantastic pitching performances from both teams during a 3-2 triumph for the Gulls … read more
GAME TWO RECAP
Regina Red Sox manager Rye Pothakos has been preaching about “clean baseball” to his players this postseason.
It’s the type of baseball that requires minimal mistakes and no self-inflicted damage. Basically, don’t shoot yourself in the foot – no fielding errors, few walks or hit batters, and limited wild pitches.
The 1,925 fans at Gulls Field were treated to that for eight innings on Friday, Aug. 15th during Game 2 of the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) championship series and then chaos ball erupted.
Sylvan Lake built a 5-1 lead early and took a 6-4 advantage into the ninth inning before bedlam ensued … read more
GAME THREE RECAP
The resilient, road warrior Regina Red Sox are Western Canadian Baseball League champions.
The Red Sox, who entered every WCBL postseason round as underdogs, have won their third title in franchise history by defeating the Sylvan Lake Gulls in a tight back-and-forth final series.
The Red Sox sealed the series with a 5-4 win at Gulls Field in Game 3 and Regina catcher Brady Bye was named the WCBL Playoff MVP … read more
