There will be some familiar rivals on the diamonds this summer, with the Wilkie Brewers returning to play in the North Saskatchewan River Baseball League after a one-year hiatus, and the Unity Cardinals ready with a full roster. Wilkie’s first home game is not until May 30 when the Cards will come to visit.
Rookies Thomas Snell and Davis Chorney will be suiting up for the Cardinals to complete their roster of 18.
Team spokesman Cory Wildeman said “Pitching will be a combination of five to six guys that are capable of beating any team in the league.” He anticipates the Cards “can finish in the top four in the league,” which will put them into a good playoff position.
The Cardinals’ home opener will see Unity host the Mervin Flyers, May 14 at 6:30 p.m.
Robert Cey, speaking on behalf of the Wilkie Brewers, said “It was obvious that many of our players missed competing together last year,” so they put their heads together to come up with a plan that would let them play this year.
With many of their veterans coaching minor ball, Cey said, “We are trying to get creative with our schedule in 2024 as well as bring some younger players into the fold for the nights when our veteran players are busy with work or coaching … all of the other team managers were willing to work with us and that is the primary reason we are back.”
The Brewers will be playing more weekend games this year, including two Friday night double-headers in North Battleford. Some Sunday road trips will also let them “knock two road games off in one day,” said Cey.
Pitching will be a bit of a challenge for the Brewers, with Cey saying “That means we will see a few players take the mound that have not been expected to pitch for the Brewers before. However, we feel that if we can get all of our players out to games, hopefully by the time playoffs start we will be very competitive again.”
Long-time NSRBL teams, the North Battleford Beavers, Mervin Flyers, Standard Hill Lakers and Lloydminster Twins will all be back, along with the Glaslyn Orioles who re-established their team last year after a number of years away. Two new junior teams will also be part of the NSRBL – the Oil City Ducks, a Lloydminster U19 team, and the mostly U22 Lashburn Cardinals.
Regan L’Heureux of Unity and Lorne Nielsen of Wilkie will be sharing duties as co-commissioners of the league.
