NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks outfielder Micah Dvorak loads up to swing at a pitch in the ninth inning of the Mavs' 12-8 loss Tuesday to the Regina Red Sox at Athletic Park.
The Regina Red Sox were the bug that wouldn’t go away Tuesday night.
The Medicine Hat Mavericks led 6-2 through five innings, before Regina stormed back to beat the Mavs 12-8 at Athletic Park.
Medicine Hat came into the contest off a 6-4 loss Sunday at Swift Current to the 57’s, a game they also led. Head coach Kevin Mitchell says Tuesday night was a winnable game for his group.
“We came out swinging the bats well, energy was great which is the pan to stick it to them early,” Mitchell said. “We gave up 10 runs in the last four innings, with some poor execution on the mound and defensively. There is no way around it, we gave up 10 runs in four innings.”
The Mavs opened the scoring with a four-pack of runs, knocking across three with two outs.
They strung together four run-scoring hits, with centre fielder Brody Gardner notching an RBI double, left fielder Micah Dvorak with an RBI single, first baseman Landon Mokris hit a double down the left-field line and designated hitter Michael Quick had an RBI single to round out the frame.
Regina rebounded with two runs in the top of the second to cut the Mavs’ lead in half.
The Mavs answered back with a pair of home runs in three innings, for a 6-2 lead.
Shortstop Johnny Vulcano hit a laser of a home run in the third inning, his third home run of the season,
Quick hit just enough of a ball to the left-centre fence in the fifth inning, with the ball bouncing off the top of the wall and over. His second home run of the season put the Mavs ahead 6-2.
Jacob Petersheim started the contest for the Mavs and was lifted after four innings, allowing the two runs on six hits with five punch-outs.
Jack Novak took over on the mound and worked into the eighth inning.
Regina scored a pair of runs in the sixth inning, capitalizing on a dropped third strike for a runner to get on and later score on a ground out. They also scored on an error in the infield.
Medicine Hat answered back in the sixth and seventh, scoring two runs across the frames for a 8-4 lead.
Third baseman Blake Dale scored on a sacrifice fly and Quick knocked in a run with an RBI single for the advantage. Novak’s night finished at five runs (four earned) on four hits, one walk with three strikeouts.
Regina’s comeback got started in the eighth.
They scored two runs off Novak to bring Josh Landry into the game, with a runner on second and nobody out. The Red Sox scored a third run in the inning off a double to make it an 8-7 Mavs lead. Medicine Hat pushed back in the bottom of the eighth with runners on the corners but couldn’t capitalize, carrying the one-run lead into the ninth.
The first three Regina batters got on base to start the ninth inning. A quick strikeout was followed up two runs scoring on a single to left field and an error at the plate on a throw home. The Red Sox added a run on a sacrifice fly to right field and scored two more on a double to centre field for a 12-8 lead over the Mavs.
Landry was charged with the loss, allowing five runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
Medicine Hat pushed in the ninth but the Red Sox had taken the wind out of Athletic Park, beating the Mavs 12-8.
The Mavs (26-18) host the Red Sox for a rematch on Wednesday at Athletic Park.
