The playoffs are here.

The Weyburn Beavers begin their quest for the first WMBL title in franchise history when they take the field for game one of the East Division semi-finals against the Moose Jaw Miller Express tonight.

The Beavers are already entering the best-of-five series as the hands-on favourites. Weyburn finished the regular season with a record of 37-11 and dominated the East Division all season. They were perfect against Moose Jaw during the regular season, and look to maintain the streak in this series.

When it comes to pitching, the Beavers will have the biggest edge. The team has the lowest combined ERA in the league by a country mile, sitting at 3.25. It is the lowest staff ERA posted by the Beavers since they began to play in the WMBL. In comparison, the Miller Express had a staff ERA of 5.44 over the course of the season.

The Beavers combined pitching staff also gave up the fewest hits all season, just 374, compared to Moose Jaw’s 466. The Moose Jaw pitchers are also susceptible to giving up the long ball, as they surrendered 41 home runs on the season, while the Beavers gave up just 21.

The Beavers have been led by a strong corps of starters all season. Ryan Johnson and Reid Wall both demonstrated their knack for throwing strikeouts. Johnson set the team mark for strikeouts in a game with 16 earlier in the season, and Wall later tied it. The two are also the only starters on the roster for the Beavers with a strikeout over nine innings of more than 10.

The bullpen is even deeper for the Beavers, with the relievers having a combined ERA of 2.72. They have been led by Dalton Ross who has allowed just 3 runs in 25 ⅓ innings as the freshman proves to be one of the top relievers in the league. Closer Eric Evans has also been on fire this year, picking up 10 saves, adding to his team record. Ross also leads the team with five wins on the season.

At the plate, the Beavers and Miller Express are again, two different teams. The Beavers enter the playoffs having scored 318 runs over the season. This is the most put up by the team since they began to play in the WMBL. Moose Jaw has scored a total of 255 runs this year. The Beavers also found the long ball this year. As a team, they combined for 43 home runs, the most ever for the franchise in the WMBL. Moose Jaw wasn’t too far behind them, with 35.

Getting runners into scoring position has been key to the success for the Beavers, though. They picked up a total of 96 extra base hits, compared to 64 for Moose Jaw. The 75 total bases on the year for Weyburn was also the highest in the league. Runners for Moose Jaw, though, have a knack for getting into scoring position, as they were second in the league with 81 stolen bases.

Weyburn’s plate presence has also been key, with a team batting average of .299, third highest in the league this season. Moose Haw was well behind, at just .242.

The Beavers have been led at the plate by the power of Corey Harrell and Wade Weinberger, the speed of Corey Wheaton, Felix Correa and Keaton Greenwalt, and the plate presence of Cam Williams, Drake Pilat and Omar Prieto.

Harrell set a new team record for home runs in a season with 12 this year, and not far behind him was Weinberger with eight. The two were responsible for 69 of the Beavers runs all season or nearly 22 percent of all the offence.

Speed is one thing Wheaton brought to the lineup this season. Not only did he lead the league with 30 stolen bases, but he also set a new team record. His batting average of .372 also led the team. Right behind him were Correa and Greenwalt. Correa, who joined the team late, had 16 stolen bases while adding in 13 RBI, two doubles and an average of .336. Greenwalt was perhaps the best mix of power and speed this season for the Beavers, as he had five home runs, was crowned the team’s home run derby champion, had 14 stolen bases and was a respectable .294 at the plate.

Williams, Pilat and Prieto were always steady when batting this season, with all three having above-.300 seasons. Williams, who is playing his last year here in Weyburn, has left an indelible mark as one of the premier third basemen in the league. Pilat, in his first year in Weyburn, was steady at the dish, including five home runs. Prieto had confidence throughout the season, and it showed with a .303 average, and just 11 strikeouts in 29 games.

One other key factor of how successful a team can be in the WMBL is the amount of homegrown talent. For the Beavers, they have a fair amount. With Weyburn’s own Eric Evans and Ryan Gaab on the roster, they have also picked up two other strong Saskatchewan players in Luke Lubiniecki from Regina and Nolan Machibroda from Saskatoon.

Moose Jaw, on the other hand, has just one player from Saskatchewan who played regularly in relief pitcher Logan Hofmann, who is from Muenster.

Coaching is also another key component of any team. The Beavers have Phil Curtis in the dugout for his sixth season. He has continually improved the team each year, turning the Beavers into a force to be reckoned with, winning two division pennants over the span, and making the playoffs all six seasons. Curtis’ record in the regular season is an impressive 160-124, with four consecutive seasons at .500 or above.

Michael Hunt, the head coach of the Miller Express, has been around the league a bit longer than Curtis. Looking just at the past six years, though, his record hasn’t been as strong. He has had just one season above .500, and an overall record of 130-154.

The edge for this series is definitely for the Beavers. When it comes to playoff baseball, though, nothing is a guarantee. It will all come down to the action on the diamonds over the next five days, or three, as many Beavers fans are hoping. It will all begin tonight with the first game of the series at Tom Laing Park, with the first pitch just after 7:00 p.m.