The Saskatoon Berries have painted the league purple.

The rapid ascent of the Berries in the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) saw the Saskatchewan squad capture the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy as champions in just their third season of play.

They secured the title with a two-game sweep over the Sylvan Lake Gulls, which was punctuated with an 11-1 clinching victory at NexGen Patch at Cairns Field in front of a raucous record crowd of 2,579 fans.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said outfielder Ethan Murdoch, who was playing his final game of collegiate baseball.

“Just a tonne of emotions, especially for me. You know, this is it. Just this group of guys, I love playing with them all year and it was so much fun.”

Murdoch, the first person to clutch the championship trophy for the Berries, was elated to share the title win with his teammates.

"This group of guys was extremely close to each other and they just wanted to be together as long as they could. It showed the way they played during the playoffs," observed head coach Joe Carnahan.

After eliminating the defending champion Regina Red Sox in three games in the opening round of the 2026 postseason, and dispatching the Moose Jaw Miller Express - the top seed in the East Division - in just two games, the Berries advanced to their first WCBL Championship Series against the Gulls.

The first game of the league final at Gulls Field - a 4-1 win for the Berries over the Gulls - featured phenomenal performances on the bump from Saskatoon starting pitcher Zachary Landreville, as well as relievers Brooks Jones and Wesley Shackelford. 

Landreville - a 6-foot-3 righthander from Saint-Jerome, Quebec - was unhittable in the first third of the game and his final line showed 5.2 innings of five strikeouts and just one earned run. Sixty of his 86 pitches went for strikes and he allowed only three hits and one walk during the outing. 

Things didn't get any easier for Sylvan Lake sluggers after Landerville's night came to an end.

Brooks Jones, a lefty from Lawrence, Kansas, took over and recorded three strikeouts in 1.1 innings. The 6-foot-3 southpaw registered 19 strikes in his 25 pitches and helped quiet the crowd of 1,967 fans. 

From there, Wesley Shackelford cruised through the final two innings, allowing no hits, no walks and no runs to close out the victory. The Odessa College righthander from Belleville, Texas has put together an outstanding postseason for Saskatoon. In his nine innings, Shackelford has one win, three saves, 14 strikeouts and zero runs against in four appearances this August. 

Offensively, the Berries made the most of their five hits. Outfielder Ethan Murdoch had two of those knocks, including a home run and two runs scored, while catcher Aiden Kilshaw had two runs batted in (RBI). 

For the Gulls, the nerves were on full display. Starting pitcher Reece Hemmerling allowed three earned runs over 4.1 innings and hit five Saskatoon batters. 

The defence behind Hemmerling also struggled, committing three errors during the game. 

Sylvan Lake was unable to muster much at the plate. Third baseman Johnboy Rittenhouse managed two hits and outfielder Dominic Giusti had one hit and one run.

When the action shifted from Alberta to Saskatchewan, the Berries got on the bats early in the second game, scoring one run in the first inning when leadoff hitter Brock Laird came around to score after hitting a single.

Two more runs followed for Saskatoon in the second inning, before the Gulls answered with a run to make the score 3-1 for the Berries in the third.

A pair of scoreless frames followed and Saskatoon struck for five runs in the sixth, including a three-run home run off the bat of Josh Henson.

From there, the Berries cruised to an 11-1 triumph by adding three runs in the late stages of the contest.

The Gulls committed three errors and left nine runners on base, while Saskatoon continued it's dominant run of pitching. Merek Yeager went six innings in the start and allowed seven hits and one earned run, while striking out four Sylvan Lake batters.

Jones struck out five and permitted no runs in his two innings, while local reliever Colin Plain struck out the side in the ninth inning, setting off a dogpile celebration around the mound after Owen Coumont struck out looking.

The Berries went 6-1 in the postseason and scored 44 runs, while giving up just 21 against.

Shackelford was named the WCBL Postseason Most Valuable Player award after logging nine innings out of the bullpen and striking out 14 batters. He allowed just one hit, one walk and no runs while hurling 127 pitches over four games. Shackelford picked up one win and three saves along the way.

“The bond that we had just straight off the bat was incredible,” Shackelford said. “I just knew that when we got things going, it would result in something like this.”

The Berries got other strong pitching performances from starters Landreville (11.2 innings, one win, 15 Ks, 1.20 ERA) and Yeager (11 innings, 1-1 record, eight strikeouts, 3.82 ERA).

Shackelford's setup man, Jones, was also untouchable. In 7.1 innings, he had 12 strikeouts and one win while allowing no runs against.

At the plate, the Berries got solid hitting from Nick Stinson (1.143 OPS, nine hits, six RBI), Brock Laird (13 hits, five RBI), Ethan Murdoch (three homers, nine hits, six RBI), Aiden Kilshaw (nine hits, 10 RBI, seven runs) and Nathan Houston (nine hits, five RBI, five runs, four stolen bases).