The small community of Muenster had a big hand in the Saskatoon Berries reaching the pinnacle of the Western Canadian Baseball League.
With a population just north of 400, the village is listed as the hometown for three of the team’s busiest pitchers of the 2026 season: Merek Yeager, Adam Korte and Dallen Rude.
Together, they combined to strike out 76 batters in 38 regular season appearances on the hill for the Berries before another five outings and 15 punchouts in the run to the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy.
Korte and Rude pitched in the circuit’s All-Star Game in Saskatoon while Yeager was outstanding in the Berries’ championship-clinching game two against Sylvan Lake.
While they had many memories made during the summer of 2026, one that may stand out the most was the one created on June 27 when, during a matchup with the division rival Weyburn Beavers, they all pitched in the same game … back-to-back-to-back.
“We’ve worked so hard and seeing all our different paths line up and being able to play the game again together is quite amazing,” Yeager told Saskatchewan Dugout Stories. “Who would have expected to see three Muenster boys pitch on the same night?”
It was a special moment with family and friends in attendance that won’t be forgotten any time soon.
GETTING THE BERRIES ALIGNED
Berries head coach Joe Carnahan says there was nothing premeditated about using all three in succession and that it all came down to timing.
Coming back home from a trip to Weyburn to start the home-and-home set, which Saskatoon won 9-0, Yeager was already penciled in to be the Saturday night starter at NexGen Patch at Cairns Field.
But he was also just getting back into the swing of things after his college season at Hutchinson Community College, which opened the door to a few other pitchers being needed.
“I found out the day before in Weyburn that I was going to follow Merek after his start,” Korte said. “We didn’t know for sure if Dallen was going in, but we thought it was pretty likely.”
For his part, Rude had already pitched in a few games and had earned a spot as a guy to help them get out of jams.
“We had discussed it and laughed about it because we had a good feeling that it would most likely happen,” Yeager said.
SATURDAY NIGHT IN SASKATOON
As expected, Yeager got the start and was great in his two innings of work, allowing just three hits while striking out one.
He handed the ball over to Korte, who had settled in as the long relief arm for the Berries, where he allowed two runs on two hits and a walk while striking out two over three innings.
As the Peru State College product was winding down his outing, Carnahan made the all to get Rude to warm up.
“I honestly kind of figured all of us would have the chance to pitch,” said the righthander. “I was putting the pieces together before and during the game.”
They had all played together at various times during their East Central Red Sox days and for Baseball Sask at national events, but this was on another level.
“I realized the significance of it when each of us would go out there and the PA announcer kept saying, ‘From Muenster, Saskatchewan.’”
“I found that quite cool,” said Yeager.
Rude allowed two runs on two hits and no walks while striking out three in 1.2 innings of work.
Tanner Hosick finished the job as the Berries came away with the 10-4 victory.
THE MUENSTER MASH-UP
All the buzz after the game was about the monsters from Muenster.
The community, which also produced former Pittsburgh Pirates draft pick Logan Hofmann, has quietly asserted itself as a pitching factory.
Rude says it was funny hearing the remarks about “what are they feeding the boys there” or questioning what was in the water to make all these great pitchers.
“It’s awesome,” said the Minot State University right-hander. “It’s really cool growing up with those three guys and all of us going our different ways in college then coming home to pitch with the Berries.”
It would have been one thing to mark the occasion on the road, but the moment really hit the trio when they came off the field to see so many friends and family in Saskatoon.
“I didn’t really think about it too much until afterwards when our families came down to the field to see us,” Korte said. “Especially seeing my parents and Grandma Korte, it really put it into perspective of how cool a moment it was.”
As the three head back to their respective colleges for the fall, they will look back on this past summer with fondness, going through the grind to capture the WCBL championship.
They’ll also have the memories – and plenty of pictures – of a night where they made history together, just like old times.
Tales of Baseball 