Medicine Hat Mavericks' shortstop Johnny Vulcano celebrates his eighth inning, three-run inside the park home run in the Mavs' 11-3 win Monday at Athletic Park to take Game 1 of their semifinals series against the Regina Red Sox.--NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Johnny Vulcano chose the right game to erupt offensively.
The Medicine Hat Mavericks’ shortstop put up four RBIs and two runs scored on four hits, including an eighth-inning, three-run inside the park home run to lead the Mavs in their 11-3 win Monday at Athletic Park to take Game 1 of their semifinals series against the Regina Red Sox.
Vulcano rocketed a ball to centre field that bounced off the wall at the same time as the centre fielder, allowing the Mavs’ shortstop to register an inside the park home run and drive in three runs. The Vauxhall product, who was recalled back to Ottawa University in Arizona and will miss the rest of the playoffs, was emotional after the win and his final game as a Maverick.
“Obviously I don’t want to leave here, but I have to take care of my business,” Vulcano said. “To go out like that, it’s just something that you can’t really predict as a kid. I feel so blessed and thankful right now.
“It means the world to me, these guys on this team are just unreal. As much as it pains me to leave, I was going to give everything I had for one last game.”
Head coach Kevin Mitchell was happy Vulcano’s tenure in Medicine Hat could end on that high of a note.
“He plays with his heart on his sleeve, actually he plays with it in his hands out in front of them, it’s not even on his sleeve and I absolutely love that about him,” Mitchell said. “For better or worse, Johnny is a passionate, hard nosed baseball player, that’s just who he is. It was so cool to see it end that way for him, his last at bat of the season being an inside the park home run, you can’t make that stuff up.
“Johnny deserves a ton of credit for being the emotional leader of this team all year. He has played all over the field as well and he’s another one of those guys when he shows up in the yard, he’s ready to go, he’s ready to be here. He’s picking his teammates up and is still performing. I love me some Johnny.”
Vulcano was up and down in the Mavs’ lineup throughout the season, playing some shortstop, second base and right field before taking over second base a little over halfway through the season due to injuries. He ran with the position and was set to be the Mavs’ everyday shortstop in the playoffs.
Vulcano says he’ll be watching his teammates from afar as they battle through the playoffs and will hold off on sending them his ring size until they win it all. He says he had the time of his life this summer playing baseball at Athletic Park.
“Getting to know all these guys from Greg Morrison to the head coach Kevin Mitchell, we’ve been treated like nothing but professional athletes here and like grown men,” Vulcano said. “I have the utmost respect for both Greg and Mitch and everyone else on this team and of course the fans too, we have the best fan base in the whole league.”
With Vulcano on his way back to school, the Mavs’ focus shifts back to trying to make their way through the semifinals. They did all of the right things in Game 1, putting up 11 runs and holding the Red Sox to three runs on eight hits.
Edrian Rangel started the game for the Mavs and recorded a quality start for the win, striking out six batters in his six innings of work while allowing two runs (one earned) on four walks and five hits. He says having an offence put up 11 runs and the defence to back him up helped him battle through the start.
“Knowing that I have a good lead going and I don’t have to be in stressful situations where I have to get every guy out, which is what I want to do every time, but just knowing I have a good lead and even better defence, guys behind me willing to lay out for a ball and I trust them, that helps a lot,” Rangel said.
Mitchell was happy with his team’s performance throughout the win but after allowing five walks Monday, says they need to throw more strikes if they want to have further success.
“We fell behind too many pitches, too many batters,” Mitchell said. “Edrian battled around that and that’s going to happen sometimes, it’s very rare a pitcher has all of their pitches working in the same game and they’re in command of each of those pitches most of the time, it’s a struggle. He struggled a little bit but had enough talent, guts and feel to work around that. In the first four innings he walked a guy in each inning, and he was fortunate to have some double-play balls and limit the damage.
“But if we can get ahead more consistently, it’ll save our pitch count which in these playoffs really matters because pitching is at a premium.”
The Mavs scored four runs in the first inning Tuesday and never looked back, routing the Red Sox in Regina to the tune of 9-1 to clinch the series in two games. Having not shown a ton of power throughout the season, the Mavs blasted three home runs on the night, including a pair of three-run shots. Visit medicinehatnews.com/sports for a full game story.
Medicine Hat will advance to face either Moose Jaw or Swift Current in the East division championship series.
