Bulls looking forword to rural baseball opportunity

By Lethbridge Herald on June 6, 2025.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

The Lethbridge Bulls and Sylvan Lake Gulls are set to take baseball back to its roots in the form of the inaugural Rural Roots Baseball Classic game  in Oyen on Sunday afternoon.

The Western Canadian Baseball League is wanting to recognize and pay  its homage to the league’s   history  in this regular-season game.

“It’s really exciting to outreach to all these smaller communities and get those communities engaged (in)what we’re doing in the WCBL, because obviously  what we’re doing is really exciting right  now” said Josh Burgmann, Bulls assistant coach.

“If we can get those people connected with our groups and our teams, I think that only can help expand our brand and  expand the WCBL  further.”

The Oyen trip will be a little extra special for Bulls pitcher Max Benton, who played with Oyen-based high school Badlands Baseball Academy Badgers  from 2017-2019.

“It’s going to be a real full circle moment for me,” said Benton.

“That’s where I started and ended up coming here for about three summers, and  now It’s nice to go back with another team and get a new perspective of playing  (in) Oyen.”

Benton is looking forward to seeing what happening now in Oyen and reconnecting with old friends and teachers.

This weekend is highlighted by the  celebration of the 30th anniversary of the  then Saskatchewan Major Baseball League’s Oyen Pronghorns championship run.

The Pronghorns were the first team from Alberta to win a title in the SMBL and they opened the door for the Lethbridge Bulls to join the league in 1999. That league eventually changed to the Western Major Baseball League in 2002 until it was rebranded into the current WCBL in 2018.

“We are very excited for the Rural Roots Baseball Classic, this is our version of Major League Baseball’s Field of Dreams game that they hold in Iowa,” WCBL president Kevin Kvame said in a release back in March when the game was first announced.

“We’re going to try to move it around each year to a historical baseball location in our footprint and put on a regular-season WCBL game with two of our franchises. We’re excited to start in Oyen with a big community festival that will salute the Pronghorns.”

If fans can’t make it to Oyen to watch the game, it will be streamed on the WCBL’s streaming service, FLO Sports.

First pitch from Oyen’s Doug Lehman Field between the Bulls and Gulls goes at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.

As of Friday afternoon there was 300 pre-bought tickets and tickets are still available through the Bulls website.

The kids camp begins at noon for ball players ages seven to 13 and Bulls players will be teaching in it and spots are still available.

“That’s  one thing that we’re looking forward to with our guys, is to make sure that we’re engaging with the young kids in the community,” said Burgmann.

Jack Kalisky loves the kids camp.

“You get to meet some unique kids, and some fun kids and some really good kids too,” said Kalisky.

“It’s always fun meeting people and going out there doing stuff to give back to the community.”

-With Files from Medicine Hat News.