U18 AA provincial brackets set as Royals, Padres head south

The Royals ended the year in fifth in the SPBL U18 AA standings with a 16-11-1 (W-L-T) record, finishing three-and-a-half games back of the fourth-place Sask Five Giants (20-8-0) and half-a-game ahead of the sixth-place North Battleford Beavers (16-12-0).

Only four-and-a-half games separated fifth and eleventh place after the season ended, something that Semenchuk said he was impressed to see.

“There’s so much parity in the league this year. It was actually really exciting, and anyone could beat anyone. You really had to follow the scores every night, unlike last year. It’s really hard to predict the games in the provincials this year; it’s almost like the seeding doesn’t really matter.”

The final standings of the 2026 SPBL U18 AA season. (Image Credit: GameChanger/Screenshot)

The Royals are slated to play in the tournament’s opening game at noon on Friday against the #1-seeded Regina Blue Jays.

P.A. opened the season against the Blue Jays in Regina in May, where they dropped both games 15-3 and 3-1. Semenchuk believes that the pressure is on Regina in the provincial opening contest, and that the team is used to playing as the underdog.

“I think that they’ll be thinking that this one’s going to be a bit of a walk for them. We’re hoping to come in and surprise them like we did coming in last year to provincials in Estevan and upsetting the number one seed in game one. The guys have been there, done that.”

Following Friday, the Royals will face the Sask Five Giants at 9 a.m. Saturday before closing out the round robin against the Regina Wolfpack at 3 p.m. later that afternoon. The gold medal game is set for 2 p.m. Sunday. The Tier 1 tournament also includes the Regina Athletics, Estevan Brewers, and Saskatoon Phillies.

How the Tier 1 provincial championships line up in Regina. (Image Credit: BaseballSask/screenshot)

As that’s happening, the Padres will be in Moose Jaw after finishing tenth in the league at 12-15-1. That record places P.A. as the #2-seeded team in the tournament behind the Lumsden Cubs (13-15-0), but ahead of the East Central Red Sox (12-16-0).

Just two weeks ago, the Padres were poised to get into the Tier 1 tournament with an 11-7-1 record. However, the team lost eight of their final nine games of the season to fall out of the top eight in the standings and miss the tournament. This season was the first in existence for the Padres, as they placed among the top ten in the province with a team made up of mostly first-year players.

paNOW reached out to the team for comment ahead of their provincial run in Moose Jaw, but did not hear back before publication.

Like the Royals, the Padres will play the hosts in their first game of the tournament in the Moose Jaw Canucks at 5 p.m. on Friday. Then, P.A. will face the Regina White Sox in their first game on Saturday at 11:30 a.m., before closing out pool play against the White Butte Broncos at 5:30 p.m.

The gold medal game is set for 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The Tier 2 tournament also includes the Weyburn Beavers and the Unity Cardinals.

How the Tier 2 provincial championships lineup in Moose Jaw. (Image Credit: BaseballSask/screenshot)

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

by Logan Lehmann

U18 AA provincial brackets set as Royals, Padres head south

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