MOOSE JAW — Make it 10 straight wins and a share of first place overall in the Western Canadian Baseball League for the Moose Jaw Miller Express.
The Express rolled to a 10-2 victory over the Energy City Cactus Rats in Moose Jaw on Thursday night, improving their record to 28-11 and moving into a tie with the Okotoks Dawgs for top spot in the WCBL.
The Saskatoon Berries did their part to keep pace, taking a 7-5 win over the Medicine Hat Mavericks to move to 27-12 and sit a game back of the Express for the East Division lead.
Other Saskatchewan action saw the Weyburn Beavers defeat the Brooks Bombers 3-2, the Fort McMurray Giants roll past the Swift Current 57’s 15-4 and the Regina Red Sox down the Lethbridge Bulls 8-7 in an extra inning.
Regina improves to 14-23 and is now tied with Weyburn for the fourth and final playoff spot in the east, Swift Current falls to 13-23 and are a half-game back of fourth.
Moose Jaw 10, Energy City 2
With starter Sean Bavis absolutely dealing on the mound, the Express made sure to give their starter plenty of run support, scoring three runs in the third inning and adding another four in the eighth to snuff any idea of a comeback.
Bavis then did his part, turning in one of the best starts of the season for Moose Jaw as he allowed only two runs on seven hits while striking out 10 in the complete game victory. All told, Bavis needed 103 pitches to finish things off, throwing 76 of them for strikes.
Jacob Mraz led the Express offence with a 2-for-4 night that included a three-run home run in the third inning. Chris Franks went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks, two runs and two RBI, Eduardo Saenz crossed the plate three times.
All told, Moose Jaw showed plenty of plate discipline, drawing 13 walks in the game.
David Simmons went 3-for-4 for Energy City, Carson Burnett and Steven Fermin each hit solo home runs.
Saul Mata took the loss, giving up five runs on four hits while walking nine and needing 111 pitches to get through 4 ⅔ innings.
Saskatoon 7, Medicine Hat 5
The Berries trailed 4-3 after scoring three runs in the sixth but picked up three runs in the top of the ninth to secure the victory.
Nick Stinson had the big hit for Saskatoon in the ninth, belting a three-run home run to score Aidan Marien and Nash Nichols with the game-winning and go-ahead runs. Ethan Murdoch also had a key round-tripper, hitting a three-run shot in the third to briefly give Saskatoon the lead. He finished 2-for-5 with two runs and three RBI. Marien also had a pair of hits to go with his ninth-inning run.
Owen Stempel started for the Berries and allowed four runs over 5 ⅔, Clay Mixon picked up the win after allowing a run on two hits in the eighth and ninth. Brooks Jones got the final two outs for the save.
Adam Vulcano was 3-for-4 with a run and RBI, Nick Hill 1-for-3 with a home run and two runs. Johnny Vulcano also had a pair of hits.
Derek Archer did what he could on the mound for the Mavericks, allowing four runs on seven hits over eight innings and striking out nine, J.J. Harnett took the loss after giving up the home run in the ninth.
Regina 8, Lethbridge 7
The back-and-forth contest initially came down to the final two innings, first with Lethbridge getting a three-run double from Joshua Milton as part of a four-run eighth that gave the Bulls a 6-4 lead.
Regina was then down to their final out in the ninth when Jalen Meyer hit a two-run home run to bring home Lance Anderson and tie the game 6-6.
That sent things to extras, where Lethbridge scored one in the top of the 10th, but Dan Castellanos knocked home Will Togher with the tying run in the bottom of the inning. Raine Kreklewetz then finished things off by singling to left field to score Brady Bye and take the walk-off win.
Meyers ended up 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, including a solo home run in the second inning. Togher scored a pair of runs, Kreklewetz knocked in two.
Kris Hahn started for Regina and gave up two runs, one earned, on five hits and struck out six over six innings. Vittorio Iacobucci picked up the win after pitching the 10th.
Joshua Milton went 2-for-5 with two doubles, a run and three RBI, Xander Meisser 2-for-3 with twos and a RBI. Jack Wheatley crossed the plate twice.
Aaron Gutierrez was the most effective pitcher for Lethbridge, taking over in the third inning and holding Regina scoreless until he left in the sixth. Shane Lanier gave up the winning run in the 10th and took the loss.
Weyburn 3, Brooks 2
The Beavers scored a pair of runs in the fifth, added another in the eighth and then held off a final inning rally to secure the win over the Bombers.
That all made for tense times for Weyburn starter Logan Lynch, but he’d get the job done in style, giving up on two runs on four hits while picking up the complete-game win. He’d strike out 11 while walking only one, throwing 83 of his 121 pitches for strikes.
Ryan Dauphinee hit a two-run double that scored Hugh Montgomery and Joe Madill in the fifth, Robert Gurney hit a sacrifice fly to score Brayden Mayencourt with the winning run in the eighth.
Erick Ballenilla hit a solo home run in the first for Brooks, Jose Vargas scored their only other run in the ninth.
Paulo Martell started for the Bombers and allowed two runs on two hits over 4 ⅔ in taking the loss.
Fort McMurray 15, Swift Current 4
The Giants led 4-1 when they hit double digits with a five-run fifth before adding another four runs in the eighth and invoking the mercy rule.
Fort McMurray had seven extra-base hits in the game, including home runs from Braeden Dyck, Marcos Arocho and Nick Sauve. Dyck finished 3-for-3 with four runs and two RBI while Arocho was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. Josh Fisher and Joey Hecker each knocked in a pair.
Riley Burns made the most of the all the run support on the mound, allowed two runs on four hits and striking out eight in seven innings to earn the win.
Hudson Unger went 2-for-3 with a double, run scored and RBI for the 57’s, Anthony Hector finished 2-for-4 with a run and RBI.
Sam Honke got the start for Swift Current and allowed five runs on six hits over the first 2 ⅓ to take the loss.
Up Next
Another five games involving Saskatchewan teams are on tap for Friday night, with Saskatoon at Medicine Hat (6:45 p.m.), Fort McMurray at Swift Current (6:57 p.m.), Energy City at Moose Jaw (7 p.m.), Lethbridge at Regina (7:05 p.m.) and Brooks at Weyburn (7:05 p.m.).
