SASKATOON — There’s once again a tie at the top of the Western Canadian Baseball League East Division standings.
Thanks to the Saskatoon Berries taking 7-0 and 13-7 wins over the Swift Current 57’s and the Moose Jaw Miller Express downing the Lethbridge Bulls 17-2 in action on Saturday night, both Saskatoon and Moose Jaw now have identical 24-11 records and together hold down first place in the East.
Other action for Saskatchewan teams saw the Regina Red Sox take an 11-8 win over the Medicine Hat Mavericks and the Okotoks Dawgs take a 12-6 extra-innings win over the Weyburn Beavers.
As a result, Regina improves to 13-21 and move into fourth place in the East and Weyburn falls to 12-21 to sit a half-game back of the Red Sox in fifth. Medicine Hat is 16-19 and sit 2 ½ games up on Regina for third.
Saskatoon 7, Swift Current 0
The Berries did all their damage in two innings, scoring three in the first and four in the fourth, and that was more than enough offence for their pitching staff to get the job done.
Merek Yeager got the start for Saskatoon and allowed a single hit over four innings while striking out four before Colin Plain finished things off, tossing the final three frames and allowing one hit while also striking out four.
Gavin Panks led the Berries’ offence, going 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, while Gael Salinas went 2-for-4 with a run scored and three runs batted in. Ethan Murdoch also crossed the plate twice, Erik Aguirre picked up a pair of hits.
Hunter Fujimoto and Jude Pacheco had the 57’s only hits.
Tanner Delarosa was the losing pitcher and giving up the three run first inning, Sam Honke saw the majority of work, giving up four unearned runs on six hits over 4 ⅓.
Saskatoon 13, Swift Current 7
Saskatoon scored four runs in the first, second and fifth innings to secure the victory in the nightcap.
Mason Roell hit a three-run home run in the fifth for the Berries and scored a pair of runs, while Salinas was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Murdoch, Panks, Nick Cote and Aiden Kilshaw all scored two runs apiece, Josh Henson picked up a pair of RBI.
Adam Korte started for Saskatoon and allowed three runs on four hits over the first two innings, Tyler Bailey picked up the win after tossing scoreless frames in the fifth and sixth.
Jake Hiromoto and Keagan Knowler each hit their league-leading 12th home runs of the season for Swift Current, with both players also scored a pair of runs each. Rydell Adair hit a double and also had a pair of RBI.
Max Noto gave up the four runs to Saskatoon in the first and took the loss. Koufax Cranmer saw the majority of action on the mound for the 57’s, giving up eight runs, five earned over 4 ⅓ innings.
Moose Jaw 17, Lethbridge 2
The Miller Express built a 5-1 lead through the first two innings before pouring 11 runs across in the middle innings to secure the mercy-rule victory in Lethbridge.
Eduardo Saenz had an impressive night at the plate for Moose Jaw, going 3-for-6 with two doubles, a pair of runs scored and six RBI. Thomas Soto went 4-for-5 and scored four runs, while Will Edwards was 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBI. Chris Franks finished 2-for-3 with three runs and three RBI, Ben Waliczeck also crossed the plate three times.
Moose Jaw ended up pitching by committee, with six pitchers seeing action. Jordan Bauer got the start and the win after giving up a single run over the first two innings, Jacob Quiles also pitched a pair and had three strikeouts.
Dick Cardell hit a solo home run for Lethbridge, Luke Wheatley scored their other run. Xander Meisser had a pair of hits.
Jacob McAdams was the losing pitcher after giving up 10 runs on eight hits over 3 ⅔ innings.
Regina 11, Medicine Hat 8
The back-and-forth contest saw Medicine Hat score four runs in the third for a 5-2 lead before Regina came right back with five in the fourth to go ahead 7-5. The Mavericks tied things up in their half of the fifth, but the Red Sox picked up single runs in the sixth and eighth before adding a pair in the ninth to finish things off.
Both teams were sending the ball out of the park all night, with Regina hitting five home runs and Medicine Hat launching four.
Jalen Meyers, Justin Simard, Ian Montz, Will Togher and Cooper Jones all hit round trippers for the Red Sox. Simard finished 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, Togher was 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI. Jones knocked in three runs, Meyers had a pair of RBI.
Daniel Crabtree started for Regina and saw an untimely error hurt his outing, as he allowed seven runs, three earned, on eight hits over four innings. Garrett Mullins tossed three shutout frames of relief, Vittorio Iacobucci picked up the save.
The Mavericks had home runs from Evan Morrison, Blake Dale, Nick Hill and Carson Chan, with Hill going 2-for-3 with three RBI and Dale knocking in a pair while also scoring two runs.
Julian Pokorny got the start for the Mavericks and allowed seven runs on seven hits over 3 ⅓, Beck Button took the loss after giving up a run in the seventh.
Okotoks 12, Weyburn 6
Weyburn took a 6-3 lead into the final two innings of regulation, but the Dawgs scored a run in the eighth and then got a two-run home run from Aiden Dougherty in the ninth to tie the game. That’s where things remained until the 11th, when Okotoks scored six runs to put the contest away.
Landon Kauffman went 3-for-6 with two runs and three RBI for the Dawgs, while Jordan Kievman was 3-for-5 with three RBI. Emmet Stacher had a two-run home run as his lone hit and scored two runs.
Evan Lehnart had a solid start for the Dawgs, pitching five shutout innings and allowing three hits. Max McCraray picked up the win after holding the Beavers without a hit over the final three innings and striking out seven.
Trevor Dale went 2-for-4 with two runs for Weyburn, Robert Gurney also crossed the plate twice.
Josh Pritchard put together a quality start for the Beavers, allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits over 7 ⅔ innings, striking out seven and walking three. Gunner Ferguson was the losing pitcher after giving up five runs, three earned, in the 11th.
Up Next
Four games involving Saskatchewan teams are on tap for Sunday, with Swift Current at Saskatoon (1 p.m.), Moose Jaw at Brooks (2:05 p.m.), Okotoks at Regina (2:05 p.m.) and Lethbridge at Weyburn (7:05 p.m.)
