The Weyburn Beavers will be looking to continue their strong play as of late when they open the WMBL East Division semifinals Tuesday night against the Regina Red Sox. The Beavers hold the edge in the season series, winning five of the eight games, but the Red Sox won the final meeting between the two teams.

Head to head over the course of the season, on the way to winning those five games, the Beavers outscored Regina 49-42 on the season. Weyburn also won all four of the games played in Regina, going undefeated at Currie Field.

Here is a look at the two teams in the series preview.

Batting

The Beavers and the Red Sox are perhaps two of the most evenly matched teams in the WMBL, at least on paper. As a team, Regina was batting.302 this season, while the Beavers were batting .293. Regina did score more runs on the year (357) than Weyburn (283), but Weyburn, in the end, did win more games.

At the plate, Weyburn is lead by Luis Jimenez, Zach Mathis, Ty Scott and Evan Weidner. The four infielders are all batting .315 and above for the season, and while they aren’t necessarily known for the long ball, they are consistent and have combined for 82 RBI. Jimenez does have a knack for hitting leadoff home runs, though, a feat he has pulled off three times in the latter parts of the season.

The outfielders are also strong at the plate. Anthony Wiggins, Carlos Flores, Brett Young, Ulysses Fluellen and Wade Weinburger have demonstrated power, with Wiggins being the only one not to record a home run on the season. At the plate, they have been strong as well, with four of the five batting above .300 on the year.

Zach Frazier, who is anticipated to handle most of the catching duties during the series, has shown a knack for finding gaps, hitting .293 on the year, and for his power, with two home runs on the year, and four doubles, which always seemed to be just off the fence, inches from being out of the park.

As for the Red Sox, they will be looking to their top players to get the job done, as they have all season. Justin Erlandson, Broderick Rodocker, Griffin Keller and Jordan Schulz are all batting at above .315, one of the more potent outfields at the plate in the WMBL. They have also combined for 20 home runs on the year.

The infield is where they do see their drop off. While Aden Campbell is batting .359 with eight home runs, Junior Fermin, Derek Slate, and Phil Langlois are all at .300 or lower. Nolan Ard, who has also seen quite a bit of time at the plate, has the lowest average of all the regulars on the team, at .212.

Antonio Torres and Corey Henderson have split the time behind the plate, for the most part, this season, and that is expected to continue during the postseason. Torres is batting .338 so far this season, while Henderson is hitting .244. Edge: Draw

Pitching

The Weyburn Beavers enter the series with the second fewest runs allowed, which comes from a strong rotation, and a strong bullpen. Thile Weyburn doesn’t have the flashiest pitchers, they get the job done with efficiency and strong pitch economy. The Red Sox had the third fewest runs allowed on the season, but have had control issues so far this season, as they hit 53 batters, and threw 38 wild pitches, near the top in both categories.

The Beavers have five starters who are all capable of going out and winning games. Austin Gurr, Landon Mostellar, Connor DiNaro, Garrett Waters and Ryan Johnson are the five main go-to’s on the roster, but there are a few others who have the talent to get the job done, like Carson Perkins.

All but one starter has an ERA below 4.00 and can get strikeouts. Johnson and Perkins lead the way, averaging more than nine strikeouts per game. The starters can also last, with head coach Phil Curtis giving the pitchers leeway when making the start. On average, the starter will go close to seven innings for the Beavers.

The bullpen is where the Beavers truly shine. Third-year player Brodie Stairs is one of the top set-up men in the league, and when he isn’t available, Connor Starke, Cody Pamperin, and Beau Rabedeaux are able to step in. When it comes to the final inning, Eric Evans shines. Holding the team record for career saves, Evans finds himself on the mound in the ninth inning very frequently, although as of late, there haven’t been too many save opportunities, with the Beavers holding leads of four or more runs.

The Red Sox also rely on five starters to get the job done most nights, although they don’t always get the decision. Jake Waters is the only one who is undefeated on the season, winning six of his nine starts on the year. Dalton England is also the only starter between the two teams who are entering the postseason with a losing record. Endurance could also be a key factor, with the average start for the Red Sox going just six innings, it leaves a lot to the bullpen.

The Starters for the Red Sox also give up a lot of earned runs in the game. Jordan Scott, Austin Alarid, and Will Moore are all above 4.00, with Alarid and Moore above 5.00 for the season. While they can get the strikeouts, they also give up a lot of runs, which puts, even more, pressure on the bullpen, and the bats.

The bullpen for Regina can hold their own. With Kendal Daniels, Ruddy Estrella and Preston Minor getting the lion’s share of the work, they also have a few other arms that can help out. This is key, as just closer Kevin Borst comes out of the bullpen with an ERA below 2.00. Edge: Beavers

Fielding

The Weyburn Beavers have the second best defense in the WMBL. With just 64 errors committed on the season and a fielding percentage of .964, not a lot gets by them. Over the course of 48 games, the outfield committed just seven errors combined.

Regina, on the other hand, is in the middle of the pack. The 75 errors committed may not seem like a lot more, and the fielding percentage of .959, just points behind the Beavers in the rankings, means each of those errors could mean a run, which will be hard to come by in this series. Edge: Beavers

This series has all the potential to be a classic, with the Beavers and Red Sox both built for a long run in the playoffs. It will come down to the bats, and who will find the first gap to exploit in the other team’s defense.

It all begins with game one of the best of five series at Tom Laing Park Tuesday night. The game starts at 7:05 p.m.