Wilson: Red Sox beat Gulls to set up winner-take-all game in WCBL finals

The Regina Red Sox stormed back for a 10-7 win over the Sylvan Lake Gulls in Game 2 of the Western Canadian Baseball League finals on Friday. The win tied the series 1-1 and forced a deciding game on Saturday. Photo: WCBL

August 15, 2025

By Ian Wilson

Western Canadian Baseball League

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 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.

Red Sox catcher Brady Bye led off the last inning with a double and was pulled for pinch runner Sam Baker. Jory Graves was then hit by a pitch from closer Mickey McClaskey. The hard-throwing McClaskey struck out Red Sox slugger Ian Montz, who had two homers on the night, before a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third. McClaskey, a 19-year-old from Oregon, got another strikeout against Riley Bender and seemed poised to put down the Regina uprising.

With the crowd on their feet, ready to explode into a championship celebration and the Gulls dugout primed to spill out onto the field, the Red Sox were down to their last out and their final strike with third baseman Justin Simard at the plate. But Simard was able to put a ball in play that scored both Baker and Graves to tie the contest 6-6.

Stunned silence followed as a light rain came down.

The Red Sox weren't done there. Outfielder Jordan Tucker walked, sending Simard to second base. Another wild pitch moved both runners up 90 feet. Rafael Jackson followed up with a single that scored both players and gave Regina their first lead of the game. Second baseman Zayd Brannigan - who had five hits in the game - then delivered an opposite field two-run blast that put the Red Sox up 10-6.

A groundout by shortstop Matthew Fox mercifully ended the bleeding, but those in attendance were in disbelief and struggling to comprehend what they had witnessed.

The Gulls made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth inning by loading the bases. Utility player Matty Fung, a fan favourite who has played for the Lake Boys since 2022, got his first at bat of the postseason as a pinch hitter. When he was struck by a pitch, a run scored but that was the only response the Gulls could muster.

McClaskey was tagged with the loss after surrendering three hits, and six runs, four of them earned, during one inning on the bump.

Nicolas Yard was rewarded with the win for his three innings of one-run ball, and Vittorio Iacobucci nabbed the save for the Red Sox.

Shortstop Ty Yukumoto hit a two-run homer in the second inning for the Gulls, and relief pitcher Kai Rempel delivered three scoreless innings for Sylvan Lake after taking over from starting pitcher Josh Doelitsch in the second inning.

Regina outhit Sylvan Lake 16-11 during the 10-7 upset victory, which lasted three hours and 20 minutes. Both teams stranded 11 runners.

The win for the Red Sox tied the best-of-three series at one win apiece.

The opening game at Currie Field in Regina was a much more buttoned down affair, full of exceptional pitching performances from both teams. Sylvan Lake pulled out the 3-2 win in 11 innings courtesy of a double steal of second base and home plate.

The third and deciding game takes place at Gulls Field tonight, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m.