McFarland: Saskatoon Cubs capture Saskachewan Premier Baseball League title
The Saskatoon Cubs have won the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League championship. Photo: Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League/Instagram
*This article originally appeared on Saskatchewan Dugout Stories on August 5, 2025. You can read it here.
August 8, 2025
By Joe McFarland
Saskatchewan Dugout Stories
As Reese Brons crossed home plate to score the winning run to claim the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League title, there was an audible sigh of relief from the Saskatoon Cubs dugout.
And then … pandemonium as the celebration began.
After being knocked out in the semi-finals of the past two seasons, the Cubs were able to take the monkey off their backs in a big way with a 12-2 win over the Regina White Sox.
“Our players, coaches and families put so much time and effort into the season and getting to see the reaction of our players running onto the field to celebrate is always something super-special,” co-head coach Jordan Frey told Saskatchewan Dugout Stories. “We got hot at the right time and our depth showed this weekend.”
It put the cap on what was a rollercoaster ride of a season for the Cubs, who now have their sights set on Fort McMurray for the Baseball Canada 18U National Championships later this month.
UP-AND-DOWN SUMMER
Heading into the season, Frey was hopeful about the roster they were able to assemble.
With a solid mix of newcomers and third-year veterans, it looked good on paper but he knew it doesn’t always translate to the on-field product.
The Cubs opened the season with a three-game winning streak before trading a few victories and losses.
They went on another eight-game heater through mid-June before hitting the skids, particularly to start July.
“We lost seven of eight games and had to ask the boys, especially our five third-year kids, to buckle down for the rest of the season,” Frey said. “We knew we had the team we wanted but could just never get everything to click all together.”
The team responded by ending the regular season by winning five in a row.
“To me, that was the turning point,” said shortstop/pitcher Tyson Dale. “That showed that our team didn’t show any quit and we fought through it.”
He says that’s when the team started to believe they had a chance to claim a championship.
FEELING THE MOMENTUM
Entering the SPBL playoffs tied as the third seed with a 19-13 record, they quickly went to work to show they were a team not to be taken lightly.
They knocked off another 19-13 squad, the Moose Jaw Canucks, 10-6 then won by that same score over the 25-7 Saskatoon Diamondbacks before edging the 16-16 Swift Current 57s 5-4.
They then suffered their first setback of the tournament with a 12-2 loss to the Saskatoon Giants.
“The main message was to stay grounded and don’t let the moment get too big,” said co-head coach Devon Farrell. “Just go up to the plate and do your job, help your pitchers in the field, and if we play like we can, we will do well.”
Despite the loss, Farrell says the Cubs entered the Sunday with a lot of confidence knowing they had their top arms ready to go.
The team turned to Dale on the mound in the semi-final against the Regina Athletics, who turned in a four-hit gem while going 2-for-4 at the plate with six runs batted in for a 10-0 five-inning victory.
That set up a battle with the Regina White Sox for the SPBL title.
“Our message at these tournaments is always that it’s just another game so go out and enjoy it,” said Frey.
“Ride the wave of emotions, but don’t get too high or too low, go play the game the right way, and everything will take care of itself.”
The Saskatoon Cubs celebrate after winning the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League championship. Photo: Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League/Instagram
ENDING THE ‘CURSE’
Another one of the Cubs’ two-way stars was set to take to the mound in the championship game.
Reese Brons had been swinging a hot stick with hits in nearly every game of the provincial playdowns while getting called upon to pitch two innings of relief to close out the win over Swift Current earlier in the tournament.
He did himself a favour early on by driving in the game’s first run in the first inning on a ground out.
The teams exchanged runs over the next couple of innings before the Cubs broke it open in the bottom of the fourth, where Dale walked and scored when Brons doubled as part of a five-run inning.
Dale scored again in the following inning when Brons hit a bases-loaded double to plate three in another five-run stanza to end the game on a mercy.
“After losing in the semis in back-to-back years, it kind of broke our curse,” Brons said. “It was a huge sigh of relief for me and my teammates.”
It was a sentiment felt across the dugout: a level of excitement made even sweeter after the trials and tribulations of the last three years.
“Each player played a role and there was never a complaint,” Frey said. “When their number was called upon, they performed and that’s all you can ask for as a coaching staff.”
HUNGRY FOR MORE
The win also extended the Cubs’ season, as they now get ready to head to the nationals.
Frey says they are excited to head to Fort McMurray, where they have first-class facilities and treat every team well.
Unfortunately, he says they are losing three players who will be heading to the Canada Summer Games, which is set for the same week in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.
One of those players will be Brons, who says it means a lot to be selected for Baseball Sask’s roster.
“Being from Saskatchewan means you are constantly being regarded as the underdog against bigger provinces,” he says. “I really like that because it puts more pressure on them and puts us in a scenario where we have nothing to lose.”
Frey says he’s excited with the players they were able to pick up and believes they will fit right in, adding it will take all 17 players and four coaches to be successful.
“Our big thing is always winning through development and not development through winning, and it really showed last weekend,” he said. “We had guys move in and out of the lineup and a couple of players step into spots they aren’t necessarily super-comfortable in – it was something really special to watch.”
Farrell, who helped Saskatchewan win back-to-back Canada Cup championships in 2016-2017, adds he wants the team to really enjoy the experience, as they may not get to do it again.
“Take it all in,” he says.
“We want them to just do what they have done all year, as we have a good enough team to compete, so we just need to play like we can and see where it takes us.”
For players like Dale, the national tournament spells the end of his minor baseball days as a third-year player, and he would like nothing more than to add one more dogpile to his summer.
“Being able to represent Saskatchewan at nationals with the Cubs is an honour,” he said. “This team is special and we will work to bring a national championship back home.”
The Saskatchewan contingent will open up play at the Baseball Canada 18U National Championship against B.C. on August 14 before taking on Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador to wrap-up the round-robin. The medal games are set for August 17.