By IAN WILSON
It’s time for the Beavers to start climbing out of their dam hole.
Weyburn has finished in last place in the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) the last two summers after going 14-42 in consecutive seasons.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 WCBL season and abbreviated the 2021 campaign to an all-Alberta edition, the Beavers were able to field a winning team. Weyburn went 33-22 in 2019 and the Beavers led the East Division standings in 2018 with a record of 37 wins and just 11 losses. In those days, you had to look back to 2014 to find Weyburn’s last sub-.500 season.
The franchise was a regular part of the WCBL postseason back then. Their fans are hungry for a return to the playoffs and meaningful August matchups.
Can the Beavers turn things around and start piling up wins again? Is this the year when we see Weyburn in the postseason?
IN THE DUGOUT
Cam Williams enters his second season as the head coach of the Weyburn Beavers after playing for four seasons with the team. Williams is also the head coach of the University of Calgary Dinos baseball team, a squad that won the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC) title in 2023.
Luke Senft is an assistant coach and Brittany Sparwood is the host family coordinator for the Beavers.
ON THE MOUND
Ian Heck provides an exciting two-way option for the Beavers. The righty from Roseville, California heads north from York University in Nebraska, where he spent a lot of time on the mound and at the plate for the Panthers. As a starting pitcher, Heck logged 67 innings and went 4-3 with three complete games, a 5.64 earned run average (ERA) and 65 strikeouts. As a hitter, the senior swatted six long balls, 12 doubles and 37 runs batted in (RBI) while producing a .362 batting average and a .436 on-base percentage.
A number of returning righthanders will help bolster the pitching staff. Among them are Joe Hart, Owen McConnell, Ryan Meyer and Ethan Webster.
McConnell is back with the team after taking the mound in a dozen WCBL contests in 2023, with 11 of those being starts. He had a 3-6 record, 44 Ks and a 6.82 ERA in his 56.2 innings.
Meyer put up solid numbers in his four games and 16.1 innings for Weyburn last year. The Phoenix, Arizona starting pitcher went 1-3 with a 3.85 ERA and 19 strikeouts.
Webster pitches for Williams at the University of Calgary. Last year with the Beavers, he put in 53 innings, primarily as a starter, and went 1-5 with a 6.11 ERA and 33 Ks.
Hart is an Omaha, Nebraska product who worked out of the bullpen last summer, appearing in 13-plus innings over nine games and collecting nine strikeouts in his time on the bump.
Other right-handed pitchers on the team include Jordan Bauer, Tanner Coddington, Devin Costa, Angel Fragozo, Tyler Pechetti, Mathieu Rocheleau and Logan Wortman.
Bauer is from Torrington, Alberta (home of the World Famous Gopher Hole Museum … no, really, look it up), and he made seven starts at Minnesota West Community College, where he went 3-4 with four complete games and 37 strikeouts in 41 innings.
Pechetti worked as both a starter and out of the bullpen in 2023-24 at Skyline College. The Californian went 2-0 with a save, and recorded 23 strikeouts in 27-plus innings.
Coddington (Whitman College), Costa (Skyline College), Rochelau (Skyline College) and Wortman (Diablo Valley College) all have experience as relievers at their schools.
Aiden Maas is the lone lefty on the pitching staff. The 6-foot-3 student at Sussex County Community College appeared in 11 games this season and made three starts. A native of Charlottetown in Prince Edward Island, Maas went 2-1 with a save while posting a 3.15 ERA and 35 strikeouts over 40 innings pitched.
BEHIND THE PLATE
Robert Gurney returns as a veteran battery mate for the Weyburn pitchers. In 2023, the product of Campbell River, British Columbia played 38 games for the Beavers and collected 18 RBI and 29 hits in his 121 WCBL at bats. Prior to joining Weyburn, Gurney played for the Moose Jaw Miller Express in 2022.
Halen Otte and Carter Schellsmidt are the other backstop options on the roster.
Otte is a sophomore at Whitman College, an NCAA Division 3 program. He’s played 58 games over the last two years with the Blues, where he’s put together a .289 batting average, .418 on-base percentage, 11 homers, 37 RBI and 40 runs in his 194 at bats.
Over at Marshalltown Community College, Schellsmidt batted .368 with 45 runs and 36 RBI in his 52-game freshman season this year.
AROUND THE HORN
Shortstop Ryan Dauphinee will provide some veteran leadership to the infield baseball pickers on the Beavers. Since 2022, Dauphinee has suited up in 94 games and piled up 347 at bats for the ball club. In that time, the Surrey, B.C. product has a .285 batting average, 55 runs and 40 RBI. Dauphinee – who was one of the WCBL Home Run Derby contestants at the 2023 All-Star Game festivities – has also provided some spot relief out of the bullpen for the Beavers, striking out seven batters in six-plus innings over four games.
Ryan Muizelaar is another familiar face on the roster. The righty batter appeared in 53 games for the Beavers last year and batted .290 with 21 stolen bases and 31 runs.
Another B.C. player slotted in as an infielder is Brayden Mayencourt, who is coming off his third season at Columbia Basin College. In 81 games there, Mayencourt has a .399 on-base percentage, 45 runs, 34 RBI and 10 stolen bases.
Easton Mould, of Nanaimo, B.C., had a solid 2024 campaign at Cloud County Community College in Kansas. The middle infielder batted .405 with a .554 on-base percentage over 31 games with the Thunderbirds.
Utility player Niko Kekatos returns to the WCBL after suiting up for the Fort McMurray Giants in 2022. The Toronto native picked up 16 hits, 14 walks and 12 runs in his 19 games that summer.
A pair of Smiths have been signed onto the team as infielders. At the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Quentin Smith appeared in 31 games and registered a .259 batting average this season. River Smith is listed on the roster as a first baseman and he’s also spent time in the outfield. In two years at Wenatchee Valley, he has 60 RBI, 53 runs, 20 stolen bases and a .303 batting average.
California infielder Nick Teng has put in two seasons at Whitman College, where he has 26 hits, 22 RBI and 14 runs in 51 games.
IN THE OUTFIELD
The pride of Alameda, Saskatchewan is back for a third campaign with the Beavers. Tyren Dorrance has appeared in 39 games for Weyburn dating back to 2022. The York University sophomore collected 30 hits and 19 runs in his 123 at bats for the team.
Joining Dorrance in the outfield are Ryan Webster and Jacob Carlson.
Webster hails from Las Vegas, Nevada and plays for Waldorf University. The freshman is also capable of handling first base duties.
Carlson is a Minnesota product who plays at the University of Calgary. In 28 games for the Dinos this season, he picked up 16 hits and scored 11 runs.
Home Ballpark: Tom Laing Park
Home Opener: 7:05 pm, Friday, May 24th vs. Moose Jaw Miller Express
2023 Regular Season Results: Last place in East Division with 14 wins & 42 losses
2023 Playoff Results: Did not qualify
Tales of Baseball 
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