BY TRUMAN BARTMAN ON AUGUST 7TH, 2024. THEMAVERICKS.CA
After a long, grueling season in which 12 worthy teams duked it out for a chance to compete for a championship.
The playoffs have finally arrived, where the stakes are higher than ever, and for the Mavericks, their postseason journey begins tonight as they play host to the Saskatoon Berries.
Athletic Park will be packed as the gas city rallies around their boys, hoping they fulfill their championship aspirations.
Finishing the job
The Mavericks had what some consider a Cinderella run to the finals last season. It was their first finals appearance since winning it in 2018.
They came up just short of losing to the Okotoks Dawgs in a series that went the distance. Many of the Mavericks players returned this season, hoping to finish the job and bring the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy home.
This will be the first time the Mavericks have seen the Berries in a playoff-style format. The Mavs did take the season series 6-2 and just came off of a series at home against the Berries, where the two split their two games.
On paper, this Mavericks team has been historic all season long, with plenty of players etching their names into the team’s record books. The only thing missing now is a championship which would immortalize them for the rest of time.
Writing the First Chapter
The Berries have had a courageous first season in the WCBL and have fought from being last in the East standings to being in contention for a title.
Saskatoon has not seen the playoffs since 2008 when they were the Yellow Jackets. From 2009 to 2014, when they folded, they missed the playoffs every year.
The Berries are a separate franchise and are on a quest to write their own story with an energized core of local ball players.
As mentioned above, they have not fared well against the Mavericks this year, and with questions surrounding who their game 1 starter will be, the Berries find themselves in uncharted waters. But it is the playoffs, and the Berries will be in the same spot as every other team as a “new season” of sorts begins.
Potential Game Breaker: Medicine Hat
Each team has a cast of all-stars on both sides of the ball. There is a chance that we will see a pair of aces take the mound at some point as both the Berries Wyatt Wiatrek and the Mavericks Jacob Petersheim have both been in the conversation for the WCBL’s Pitcher of the Year award.
Players like Jordan Phillips, Marshall Burke, and Carter Beck have all stood out as well this year, but often the biggest X-factor is a player who comes out of nowhere and helps a team go on a deep run.
For the Mavericks, that player could very well be Adam Vulcano, the unofficial rookie who will be on the playoff roster in back-to-back years. He came in to replace his brother Johnny last season after he went back to school during the 2023 Mavs playoff run.
This time around, Adam will be in from the start and is carrying a hot stretch of play into the postseason with him. Vulcano has only appeared at the plate 14 times, but he has six hits, including a home run, in his short stint with the group.
If Adam Vulcano finds himself in the lineup at any point during this series, watch out because he could be the Maverick’s secret weapon.
Potential Game Breaker: Saskatoon
The Berries have used a lot of pitchers in 2024 and have found a couple of combinations that work and a few that don’t.
One player who has shown his worth is long-time primary reliever and local product Carter Kopp. As a kid, he had a dream of playing summer ball for the Yellow Jackets before their exit from the WMBL. When the Berries joined the league, he reached out to head coach Joe Carnahan, and he was given a spot on the roster.
Kopp has a 2.19 ERA over 28.2 innings pitched, even though he hasn’t started a game this year. When needing someone to carry the load through the middle of games or secure wins late, Kopp has been the first man the Carnahan has called upon.
If the Berries can scrape up some early leads through this series and potentially beyond, Kopp will be a valuable asset that many teams will not be able to match.
A View from the Field
Several Mavericks players are pumped up for the postseason with a chance to prove themselves as a unit and as individuals.
Tyler Vanneste was a part of last year’s East Division winning team, and he is excited to get the ball rolling again this evening.
“It’s going to be fun; there is going to be a lot more energy. Whatever energy you have left after a long season, We are going to have to use all of it. You wait all year for the playoffs, and now is when it gets really fun for our group.”
Vanneste found his bat in the playoffs last year and feels like sticking to his routine was an important part of his success.
He hopes to have the same amount of success this season with a new group.
“I think ever since that game three last year, it was kind of like there was that feeling in my stomach, like, Yeah, we were so close, like I want to win like I want to win this, and it’s kind of like it’s right back there again.”
Mavericks infielder Blake Dale finds himself in a different situation than Vanneste. It is his first time being with the Mavs during the playoffs.
“I haven’t been involved in a scenario like this, especially with the fans being so involved in it.” I have been in, like, high-stakes playoff ball before but this will be different. I’m interested to see, like, what the atmosphere is like and what that brings to the game. so I’m super excited to experience all of it!”
Head Coach Kevin Mitchell feels his crew is ready for the opportunity to go far once again, but he’s still focused on what’s right ahead.
“I think. Going into this first series, I’m looking for our guys to continue to play hard, trust each other, and execute.”
“We’ve handled them well throughout the season. But this is the playoffs; they’re different. It’s a different atmosphere. There is a different temperature for the whole thing. And the thing we’ve been talking about a lot as a group is that it’s still the same game.”
“I feel pretty good about where we’re at, and I feel good about our chances in this first-round matchup.”
Let the games begin!
Postseason baseball is one of those things where, when it gets into your soul, you just can’t let it go. It brings together people from all over with the common goal of supporting their team as they make a push towards greatness.