By Brady Lang

Beavers look to clinch second spot in NSRBL tonight

Jul 6, 2018 | 2:00 PM

The North Battleford Beavers control their own destiny tonight at home against the Wilkie Brewers.

The Beavers have had an extremely strong season so far, going 9-4 heading into their final game of the season. Their 9-4 record has them at second in the league, right behind the Lloydminster Twins, who have a 12-4 record and clinched top spot in the NSRBL.

Behind the Beavers, however, are four teams that could match them if they do lose to Wilkie tonight. Meadow Lake, Unity, Border City and Wilkie all have a shot at tying the Beavers heading into the final three games in the regular season.

If the Beavers controlled their playoff positioning, and with a win will clinch second in the league, means they will play one of Wilkie, Standard Hill or St. Walburg. The eight playoff teams have been decided in the league, with Macklin, Mervin, Edam and Battlefords all eliminated from playoff contention.

Kyle Palmer, manager and player for the Brewers told battlefordsNOW the defence has played a large part in the team’s success throughout the 2018 season.

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“We’ve had a really good season this year compared to others,” he said. “We started off strong and maintained that through the year. We’ve had solid pitching and the defence has been a big part of this year.”

The Beavers come into the game after a tough 11-10 loss in Macklin last night. Palmer said he believes it’s important for them to finish the season without a two game slide.

“It’s important to us, the biggest thing is we want to finish the year on a strong note,” Palmer said. “We don’t want to go into playoffs on a losing streak. At the same time we want to get everyone some playing time tonight. It’s going to be fun tonight. Whenever Wilkie’s in town we usually get a really good crowd. We’re going to do everything we can to win this game tonight.”

Heading into the playoffs, the Beavers have played strong throughout the season. They started strong, going 6-1 in the first 7 games. Moving into the playoffs, when the games really count, the Beavers are heading in with high expectations.

“I’m really confident,” Palmer said. “We have a really solid group this year; we hit the ball really well and pitch really well. The biggest adjustment this year has been our defence and the defence has kept us in games and we’ve been able to win late. Anything can happen in the playoffs, whoever’s pitching gets hot and defense is strong, that will carry them a good portion into the playoffs. We’re hoping that’s us.”

Brennan Lampitt will take the mound for the Beavers tonight against the Wilkie Brewers. So far this year, the two teams have met once with the Beavers dropping the Brewers by a score of 4-2.Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Beaver Lions Stadium.

brady.lang@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @BradyLangCJNB