Moose Jaw Miller Express shortstop Thomas Soto has been flying around the base pads this season; stealing bases 43, 44 and 45 – a new league record – Tuesday night. With an on-base percentage of .471 in 49 games, the Round Rock, Texas infielder has taken every advantage to steal. Averaging nearly a steal per game, Soto has nine games with multiple stolen bases and is on pace to break 50 total this year. Soto broke the previous record, 42, set by Medicine Hat Maverick Braden DeSonia in 2022. The single-season stolen base record is Soto’s second league record. In 2025, he broke the league mark for runs scored in a season (70) – in part due to teammate William Edwards’ league record tying 66 runs batted in that season. In 193 career WCBL games over four seasons with the Miller Express, Soto has 109 stolen bases. He has been caught stealing just 24 times (82 per cent). Soto’s record performance was a part of Moose Jaw’s 8-2 win over the Swift Current 57’s Tuesday. The win puts the Millers two games ahead of second place Saskatoon in a race for the top seed of the WCBL’s East Division. Both teams have already clinched home field advantage in for division semi-final, but Moose Jaw’s magic number to clinch the East is seven with just eight games remaining in the regular season. The number one seed earns home field advantage for the division final as well, should they reach that series. Red Sox sweep double header with Energy City In a tight playoff battle themselves for the final two postseason positions East, the Regina Red Sox did themselves a few favours, sweeping a weekday double header with the Energy City Cactus Rats. The series was moved to Red Deer, Alta. after a downpour of rain in the Edmonton area made the field at Energy City Metro Ballpark in Spruce Grove unplayable. A first inning two-run homerun by Ian Montz put the Sox out front in the first game of the set. Red Sox ace Kaegan Baker took the ball from there, throwing a seven-inning complete game, giving up one run and just six hits, striking out four in the winning decision. In game two, Energy City vaulted ahead, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning. However, that is all Regina’s pitching staff would surrender – as the offence went to work. With the game tied at two through five innings, Regina catcher Carson Cox sent a three-run homerun deep to left field to give the Red Sox their first lead of the game. Regina would add another and sweep the series with a 6-2 win. Tight playoff race Sitting four games below .500, the Red Sox cling to third place in the East Division – 2.5 games ahead of Weyburn in fifth. With four games against the Beavers in their final 10 games of the regular season, Regina’s magic number to clinch a playoff position is nine. A 9-7 Medicine Hat Mavericks win over Saskatoon Tuesday, kept the Beavers on the outside of the playoff picture – one game back of that fourth and final postseason seed. Needing to gain ground, Weyburn’s season series with the Mavericks is complete and nine of their final 11 games of the season are against opponents Moose Jaw, Saskatoon or Regina. Swift Current’s loss to Moose Jaw also means the risk of being eliminated from playoff contention continues to grow. The 57’s are 4.5 games back of Medicine Hat in fourth.
