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In the days leading up to All-Star Weekend for the Western Canadian Baseball League, Saskatoon Berries infielder Gael Salinas didn’t do much in the way of bunting.
Despite limited practice down the line, Salinas was among those crowned champions on a sweltering Saturday afternoon at Cairns Field for All-Star skills events.
“They did this media skit and they gave us two (bunts),” Salinas said. “I was way off, so I’m pretty shocked myself I won.”
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Salinas took home the inaugural WCBL Bunt Competition title, as he defeated Dan Kawanashi of the Energy City Cactus Rats by a 9-7 score.
The Berries infielder earned a raucous introduction, before he ended the opening round of the competition with 13 points to advance to the finals against Kawanashi.
Even though he started slow in the finals, Salinas was able to do just enough with his final three bunts to move past Kawanashi and secure the league’s bunt title on his home diamond.
“That was actually pretty great,” Salinas said. “I was nervous at first, but then I just took a deep breath and remembered this is all for fun. Just go out there and have fun.”
As his final bunt drifted towards the scoring mat on the third base line, the Cairns Field crowd showed their support for Salinas as the first player in league history to be crowned bunting champion.
“It’s pretty great,” Salinas said. “They showed their support and just had to win it for them.”
Later in the day, it was the sluggers taking centre stage with Energy City outfielder David Simmons finally getting the job done to win the 2026 WCBL Home Run Derby.
Energy City Cactus Rats slugger David Simmons (pictured) hitting one of his six home runs in the final round of the WCBL Home Run Derby on July 18, 2026 (Steve Hiscock / Saskatoon Berries)
Simmons homered five times in the opening round of the competition to punch his ticket to the finals, before he came out of the gates with six home runs in the championship round to take the win.
“I’ve been in about three and I’ve come in second place every time,” Simmons said. “To finally come out and get the (win), it means a lot to me. It means I still got it, right?”
Simmons was placed in the difficult position of leading off the event in both rounds, however he was able to settle into a groove and hold off the rest of the field.
“I was a little scared at first,” Simmons said. “I was trying to come out, set the tone early. I was able to do that and I think it gave a lot of confidence to the other guys to come out and do the same thing.”
It was a packed final round with Simmons, Fort McMurray Giants utility threat Brett Petillo, Sylvan Lake Gulls catcher Rece Schuerman and Berries veteran Ethan Murdoch all tied with five home runs each.
According to Murdoch, it was the type of atmosphere he was hoping for.
“It was a ton of fun,” Murdoch said. “It was a good environment, both teams were pretty competitive, but playful about it. Everybody had a good attitude and approach for it.”
Murdoch was unable to best his 2023 Home Run Derby silver medal performance, as he tied for second with Petillo and Schuerman with five home runs in the final round.
Saskatoon Berries outfielder Ethan Murdoch (pictured) finished tied for second in the WCBL Home Run Derby at Cairns Field on July 18, 2026 (Steve Hiscock / Saskatoon Berries)
He said it was a more tiring experience than he expected, given the 30 degree heat and wait until the finals.
“I sat there and waited for a while to see if I’d move on,” Murdoch said.
“I should have maybe been a little more confident that I’d move on, got up and hit some more. It was a lot of swings, the heat was definitely a factor.”
As for Simmons who grew up in the southern United States, the Saskatoon heat wasn’t too much of a hurdle in his Home Run Derby title.
“I’m from Atlanta, we got the humidity and everything,” Simmons said. “The heat wasn’t really anything, it was normal for me. I sweat a lot, but I love it. Man, it makes me feel like I’m working.”
In the WCBL’s Junior Home Run Derby earlier in the day, Lucas Holowachuk of the Saskatoon Sturgeons was crowned the champion with eight home runs to beat Casey Kerpan of the Saskatoon River Pirates and Nolan Laliberte of the Saskatoon Bulls.
All-Star Weekend will wrap up with the All-Star Game itself, which Murdoch said the players on the field got a taste of Saturday.
“It’s kind of nice for guys to come in and get their feet wet,” Murdoch said.
“Get a feel of what the place is like and little bit of the crowd, and then tomorrow I’m sure it will be a packed house and a ton of energy.”
Team East will face off against Team West at Cairns Field for the 2026 WCBL All-Star Game on Sunday, with opening pitch slated for 1 p.m.
WCBL commissioner Kevin Kvame also announced Sylvan Lake as the host site for the league’s 2027 All-Star Weekend.
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