NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks first baseman Nick Thibodeau scoops a throw out of the dirt in the Mavs' 10-3 loss Sunday at Athletic Park to the Sylvan Lake Gulls.
The Medicine Hat Mavericks get two much needed days off after Sunday.
The Mavs lost 10-3 at Athletic Park to the Sylvan Lake Gulls. It’s the second game in a row they’ve surrendered 10 runs, falling 10-2 Saturday at Lethbridge to the Bulls.
Head coach Kevin Mitchell pointed at the free passes the Mavs allowed seven walks and four hit by pitches.
“We were giving away bases and then trying to fight back with pitches in the middle of the plate and that’s not the way to get it done,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got to be better in that regard. I thought we swung it pretty well throughout the game, they played excellent defence.”
Sylvan Lake opened the scoring with four runs in the third inning.
The Gulls scored three runs in the frame on four hits, a hit by pitch and a walk surrendered by starter John Walsh. He was relieved by Dylan Runge with the bases loaded and the Gulls scored the fourth run on a sacrifice fly.
Walsh worked 2.1 innings with a strikeout, he gave up four hits with two walks and was charged with all four runs in the frame.
The Gulls added another run in the top of the 4th on sacrifice hit in the infield for the 5-0 lead.
They added another pair of runs in the sixth on an error by Runge on a pickoff attempt and an RBI single for a 7-0 lead.
Brett Getz took over on the mound and recorded the final out of the inning. Runge allowed three runs on five hits with a walk.
Medicine Hat got on the board in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single from left fielder Micah Dvorak to make it a 7-1 game.
The Gulls finished their scoring with three runs in the top of the seventh with a three-run home run. Wyatt Thompson took over on the mound for Getz who recorded two outs and finished the inning with a walk and fly out.
Getz worked an inning, allowing the three run home run, giving up three walks and striking out two batters.
Medicine scored in the seventh with a two-run home run from centre fielder Brody Gardner. His third home run of the season is the 21st on the year for the Mavs, surpassing last year’s 56-game tally of 20.
Thompson worked a clean eighth and ninth inning. The Mavs couldn’t mount any more offence in the last two innings, ultimately falling 10-3.
Sylvan Lake outhit the Mavs 10-8 and Medicine Hat commuted three errors to the Gulls lone blip.
The Mavs (13-10) are off until Wednesday when they head to Swift Current to face the 57’s.
