Mavericks on the board

By Sean Rooney on June 6, 2018.

Medicine Hat News

Win number one is in the books for the Medicine Hat Mavericks.

The Western Major Baseball League team put together an impressive night of pitching, fielding and batting to earn a 6-1 win over the Okotoks Dawgs Tuesday at Athletic Park, fully in control the whole night in front of an appreciative crowd of 785.

Starter Jaymon Cervantes struck out Dawgs’ leadoff man Eddie Sanchez on the 10th pitch of the night’s first at-bat — earning fans discounted alcohol for 10 minutes as part of the beer batter promotion. It was a good omen and the home side didn’t disappoint, reliever Tyler Shumpert sitting down Brandon Sparks for the final out in one of the quicker contests the team has seen in the past year.

In between, three-run fourth and seventh innings were more than enough to give Cervantes the win. He gave up three hits in 5 1/3 innings, while Shumpert and fellow reliever Johnathon Smithey gave up one each and the defence behind them made only one error.

Four straight singles from Louie Canjura, Nolan Rattai, Colton Wright and Sal Rodriguez led to the three-run fourth off starter Carter Robinson, who took the loss. Reed Odland greeted reliever Corey Jackson with a double to kick off the seventh.

Okotoks’ only run came when Sparks singled and scored in the sixth.

Next up is the Lethbridge Bulls tonight, 7:05 p.m. at Athletic Park. The team will hold its first special promotional night of the year Friday, a fundraiser for the SPCA called Bark in the Park. Dogs are invited to join their owners in the stands, with dog tickets going for $5 each.

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