NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks second baseman Brady Bean notches one of his two hits in the Mavericks 4-2 win Sunday afternoon at Athletic Park against the Moose Jaw Miller Express.
The Medicine Hat Mavericks made the most of a Sunday afternoon at Athletic Park.
The Mavericks got on the board early and held on for a 4-2 win over the Moose Jaw Miller Express. Medicne Hat came into the contest off a 12-4 loss Saturday against Moose Jaw at Athletic Park.
Medicine Hat led 2-0 after the first inning, much to the delight of the 1,271 fans in attendance, as starting pitcher Dylan Esquival worked a clean frame and third baseman Nathan Tarver hit a two-run home run. Assistant coach Kevin Mitchell says they’ve talked a lot as a team about bringing energy every game and was happy to see the Mavericks jump out early.
“Especially at home, that’s huge,” Mitchell said “To start the first inning that way, I talked to Dylan Saturday night and said we needed him today, we needed him to be the guy and I thought he was. He came out, he was focused, he attacked the strike zone. Then Tarver with the home run in the bottom of the first, great way to get started.”
Medicine Hat adding to their lead in the fourth inning for a 3-0 lead, as first baseman Max Valdez drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
Esquival worked the first four innings without allowing a run, surrendering his first in the fifth inning. The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. product finished his day on the mound with six innings of one-run baseball, notching seven strikeouts while only allowing five hits. He was happy to get his timing working in the start and not give up a lot of hard contact off Moose Jaw hitters.
“The last time I pitched, it was in Okotoks, I struggled a little bit with the overall timing of when to throw the pitch. But today it was weak contact all around off anybody who got a hit, so it was good to finally know it was going to get the job done. It was a good six innings today.”
The fifth inning could have gotten bigger for Moose Jaw who had runners on first and second base with one out after scoring their first run of the game on Esquival. He struck out the next batter on five pitches and induced a ground ball to get out of the inning and limit the damage.
“That was big, that was really needed,” Esquival said. “Just for my confidence and for the team of course. Everything is building up to a bigger and better streak for us so far.”
Dylan Weaver took the mound for Medicne Hat in the seventh inning and stumbled early, allowing two straight hits for a run, before registering three straight outs to end the frame. He worked a scoreless eighth inning, finishing his afternoon with two strikeouts. Matthew Krall entered the game in the ninth inning and very quickly induced two groundouts before surrendering two walks.
Three pitches later, Krall notched his lone strikeout of the outing and his first save of the year, securing the Mavericks 4-2 win.
“Day-to-day (Krall) is a guy we can trust and I’m happy we have him,” Mitchell said.
Both teams registered seven hits in the contest, with Medicine Hat putting up zero errors compared to Moose Jaw’s three. The Mavericks also limited their walks, only surrendering two free trips on the bases to the Miller Express’ four.
The Mavericks(12-12) continue on their stretch of 10-games in nine days, with a 3-1 record so far. They’re back in action Monday, again facing Moose Jaw. That contest at Athletic Park, which gets underway at 7:05 p.m. is a makeup game for a rainout on June 3.
MH Fire Department wins battle of the badges
The Medicine Hat Fire Department came out on top in the ‘Battle of the Badges’ charity softball game over the Medicine Hat Police Service, winning 12-10.
The Fire Department holds a 4-3 record over the Police Service in the last seven games.
