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Blue Jays: Vancouver Canadians punch ticket to Northwest League Championship Series
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Photo credit: Vancouver Canadians PR
Ryley Delaney
Sep 3, 2026, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 3, 2026, 20:06 EDT
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For the fourth time in the last five seasons, the High-A Vancouver Canadians are heading to the Northwest League Championship Series.
The Toronto Blue Jays’ High-A affiliate needed just one win in their last five games to punch their ticket to the Championship Series heading into Wednesday’s game against the Tri-City Dust Devils. It took just one game, as they emphatically defeated the Los Angeles Angels’ affiliate 12-6 on Wednesday evening.
Although they’ll be playing for the championship, the C’s haven’t outright won the second-half. The only reason they’ve punched their ticket is because the second-placed Eugene Emeralds finished with a league-best record in the first half,  already setting up a showdown with whoever won the second half. Right now, they are a game and a half behind the C’s for the top spot.
However, the C’s have a four-game lead over the third-placed team, the Everett AquaSox. Thanks to winning the second-half tiebreaker, the C’s punched their ticket to the NWL Championship Series again.
As for the game itself, Dasan Hill had a solid start on the mound, throwing four innings of one run ball with four strikeouts. Offensively, Canadian outfielder David Calabrese led the way with two doubles in a 4-5 effort, driving in four of the C’s 12 runs. Ryan Sprock also had three-hits, while Maddox Latta and Jean Joseph each had two hits.
This is the fourth time in the last five seasons that the C’s have made it to the NWL Championship Series. The lone time they won it was in 2023, finishing with a 77-54 record during the regular season and defeating the AquaSox in four games in the best-of-five format.
Their most recent appearance was in 2024, where they fell in four games to Spokane. Despite a full-season record of 75-57 in 2025, the C’s lost the tiebreaker to the AquaSox in the first half as both teams finished with a 37-29 record, winning either eight or nine games over their last 10.
This season’s NWL Championship Series is a rematch of the 2022 NWL Championship Series. They’ll look to enact their revenge over the Emeralds, who swept them in three close games four years ago.
The C’s are the third Blue Jays’ affiliate to play a postseason game in 2026, but will look to be the first team to win their respective championship. Earlier this season, the Florida Complex League Blue Jays fell in the semifinals, while the Dominican Summer League Blue Jays Blue fell in the round robin.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, DFOEdmonton, and DFOCalgary. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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