The “Best of the West” and the “Beast of the East” put on a spirited and quality contest, with Okotoks prevailing in the end – out-lasting the Saskatoon Berries 9-6 in 11 innings Tuesday night at Cairns Field.

The Dawgs were three outs away from winning a third straight game, only to have the Berries rally for two runs to force extra frames. Actually, Saskatoon had a chance to win with runners in scoring position in both the ninth and 10th innings, but failed to push across a seventh run. Then, in the 11th frame, a passed ball gave Okotoks the lead, but they scored twice more as the Berries failed to get a third out from three successive Dawgs’ batters, leading to two more runs and a lead that Saskatoon couldn’t recover from. It was Okotoks, not Saskatoon, that recorded a third consecutive win as the Dawgs improved to 23-9 and the Berries dropped to 21-10. Saskatoon got home runs from shortstop Brock Laird and right fielder Ethan Murdoch, plus Mason Roell made his return to the Berries at third base while Wesley Shackelford made his Saskatoon pitching debut with two effective innings of relief in the ninth and 10th. There will be another newcomer to the Berries Wednesday night for the second game against Okotoks when Zack Landerville starts on the mound at 7 o’clock. Following are Les Lazaruk’s post-game interviews with Roell and head coach Joe Carnahan…..