MOOSE JAW — The Moose Jaw Miller Express put their vaunted offence to work on Saturday night against the Saskatoon Berries, scoring runs in all but their final at bat to take a 12-4 victory in Western Canadian Baseball League action.
As a result, Moose Jaw improves to 17-10 on the campaign and have moved within 1 ½ games of first place in the East Division, with Saskatoon continuing to lead the way with a 19-9 mark.
Other Saskatchewan action Saturday saw the Swift Current 57’s return to the win column with a 20-9 victory over the Regina Red Sox and the Medicine Hat Mavericks take a 7-5 win over the Weyburn Beavers.
Moose Jaw 12, Saskatoon 4
The ball was flying out of Ross Wells Park on Saturday, with the Miller Express hitting three round trippers on the way to their comfortable victory.
Thomas Soto got things started with a solo shot in the second inning that made it 3-0 before Garryn Plummer and Gary Swann hit a pair of two-run shots in the third to give Moose Jaw a 7-0 edge.
Every member of the Express line-up had at least a hit, led by Swann going 3-for- 4 with three runs scored and three runs batted in. Plummer also had three RBI, Will Edwards and Eduardo Saenz crossed the plate twice each.
Sean Bavis was the winning pitcher after putting together a quality start, giving up two runs on four hits while striking out five and walking three.
All but one player in Saskatoon’s line-up had at least a hit on the night, with Josh Henson socking a double and picking up a pair of RBI.
Merek Yeager was the losing pitcher after giving up five runs, four earned, on six hits over the first 2 ⅓ innings.
Swift Current 20, Regina 9
The 57’s wasted little time getting things going in Regina, with Hudson Unger leading off the game with a home run and kicking off an eight-run inning that saw 12 batters come to the plate.
Swift Current led 10-6 when they tacked on four more runs in the sixth and then cracked 20 when they knocked in six more in the ninth.
Unger would finish a double away from hitting for the cycle, finished an impressive 5-for-6 with a triple to go along with his round tripper, four runs and five RBI.
Interestingly enough, Swift Current had only one other extra base hit in the game, that off the bat of Keagan Knowler, who finished 2-for-4 with a double. Hunter Fujimoto also had a solid outing, going 5-for-6 with four RBI. Jake Hiromoto had three RBI, Jude Pacheco scored four runs, Lucas Geisler and Jake Roggensack crossed the plate three times each.
Knowler got the start and the win after pitching only the first inning, Gavin Lippa saw the lions’s share of work for the 57’s, tossing the next 3 ⅓ and giving up four runs, two earned on a pair of hits while striking out three and walking three.
Will Togher was 3-for-5 with a run and RBI for Regina, Dan Castellanos was 2-for-4 with a two-bagger and a pair of RBI, Ian Montz also hit a double and scored three runs on the day.
Caleb Orr took the loss after getting let down by his defence in the first innings, as only three of the eight runs he allowed were earned. He ended up giving up three hits and four walks.
Swift Current improves to 9-16 and remain in sixth in the East Division but are closing ground on Regina, who fall to 10-16 and are in fifth. Only a 1 ½ games now separate third and sixth place in the division
Medicine Hat 7, Weyburn 5
A pair of runs in the first and eighth innings proved to be the difference on the night, as the Mavericks built a 5-2 lead heading into the final two frames.
Carter Roth led Medicine Hat with a 3-for-4 outing that included a solo home run, Frankie Giacalone was 2-for-4 with a solo round tripper and two runs, Evan Morrison had a home run as his lone hit on the night. Johnny Vulcano crossed the plate twice, Adam Vulcano picked up a pair of RBI.
Diego Centella was the winning pitcher after allowing two runs on four hits over 5 ⅔ and striking out seven before five pitchers closed out the final three innings.
Robert Gurney led Weyburn’s offence, going 2-for-3 with a home run, double and two RBI. Trevor Dale was 3-for-4 with a run and RBI, Anthony Cortese also had a pair of hits.
Logan Lynch took the loss on the mound after giving up five runs on 10 hits over five innings.
Medicine Hat improves to 13-17 and are third in the East, seven games out of first, Weyburn is a half-game back in fourth place with an 11-16 record.
Up Next
It’s a relatively quiet Sunday for Saskatchewan’s teams, as Moose Jaw is in Regina for a doubleheader at 2:05 and 5 p.m., while Saskatoon is in Swift Current with a 3:57 p.m. start time.
