NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Gas City Baby ÔSpreysÕ outfielder Aaron Vulcano flaps his ÔwingsÕ while rounding the bases after hitting his sixth home run of the season. Vulcano's solo home run kicked off the Mavs' offence as they scored seven unaswered runs to beat the Lethbridge Bulls 9-5 Tuesday night at Athletic Park. Tuesday was the first of three nights the Medicine Hat Mavericks are going by their alternative identity, the Baby ÔSpreys.
Medicine Hat News
The Gas City Baby ‘Spreys had an eventful first trip out of their Athletic Park nest.
The Medicine Hat Mavericks’ beat the Lethbridge Bulls 9-5 Tuesday night, the first night donning their alternate identity, the ‘Baby ‘Spreys,’ paying homage to the franchise’s history with the Toronto Baby Blue Jays and the Ospreys that live at Athletic Park.
The Baby ‘Spreys were a hit on the home side of the diamond.
“I can’t wait to purchase one of my own,” infielder Carter Roth said. “I hope we bring that back and maybe include some more because I think everybody loved it. The Fans loved it and our whole team just went crazy for it.”
Tuesday’s win keeps the Mavs a perfect 6-0 at home against the West division. Head coach Jonathon Thornhill says Athletic Park has been friendly to them all season, as was a rained out game Monday against the Saskatoon Berries.
“So Mother Nature, as much as it was unfortunate from the baseball side because we wanted to play, it helped us more than it hurt us in that regard,” Thornhill said. “So the guys really paid dividends to that today, they came out on firing on all cylinders right away.”
The Baby ‘Spreys offence kicked off with a solo home run from right fielder Aaron Vulcano, hitting the berm with his sixth home run of the season.
They put up back-to-back three-run innings for a 7-0 lead after three innings. The Baby ‘Spreys scored with an RBI double from first baseman Evan Morrison to make it a 2-0 lead. DH Jaden Babiuk slapped a logo-high pitch to left field to knock in Morrison before centre fielder Jeremy Freeman Jr. smacked a single off the left field wall for the 4-0 lead.
Second baseman Carter Roth led off the third inning with a solo home run, flapping around the bases for his third home run of the summer. Left fielder Adam Vulcano hit a ball over the Lethbridge centre fielder for a triple, driving in older brother Johnny who got on base with a single to right field. Babiuk scored Adam Vulcano with a sacrifice fly to right field for the 7-0 lead.
The Baby ‘Spreys’ hot start offensively was carried on the mound by starter Xander Roberts, who worked seven shutout innings. He scattered four Lethbridge hits across the seven frames, allowing just two walks while striking out five. With the win, Roberts is tied for the league lead in wins with five.
“It was great, the defense bailed me me out a lot today, Johnny made some great plays, Freeman tracked down a few balls and Aaron had some nice place out there too,” Roberts said. “It was nice to see my defense go out there and work for me.”
The Baby ‘Spreys were held to just four hits from the fourth to the top of the eighth inning where the Bulls started a comeback bid.
A.J. Doll took the mound for the Mavs to start the eighth, allowing three straight singles before a wild pitch scored a run. He walked a batter before another run scored on a second wild pitch to make it a 7-2 game. Diego Centella took over with the bases loaded and one out.
The Bulls knocked a single to centre field, scoring one run. They added another run on a bases-loaded walk and made it a 7-5 game with a sacrifice fly to centre field. Centella worked out of the inning with a five-pitch strikeout to preserve the two-run lead.
The Baby ‘Spreys added some comfort to their lead, scoring a pair in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 9-5 game.
Catcher Jamel Chabot led off the inning with a walk, moving up to second on a single from Freeman Jr. Yusei Uzawa, pinch running for Chabot, moved up to third on a wild pitch with Freeman Jr. moving to second. Aaron Vulcano drew a walk and with two outs and Roth worked a bases-loaded walk to scored a run, his second RBI on the night.
Johnny Vulcano knocked a ball to the Lethbridge shortstop and he bobbled it, allowing Freeman Jr. to score before the Bulls nabbed Aaron Vulcano at the plate for the final out of the frame.
Luke Barrientos took the mound for the Baby ‘Spreys in the ninth, allowing a walk before a pop out and a single put runners on first and second with one out. The Bulls loaded the bases with another single but that was as close as they’d get to the comeback, as Barrientos struck out the next two batters to hold on for the 9-5 win.
The Baby ‘Spreys spread their offensive wings in their first game, outhitting the Bulls 13-10. Both teams had an error in the game, the Bulls left 11 runners on base to the Gas City’s eight.
The Mavs (25-14) will don their red and white again, heading on the road for a pair of division games against the Moose Jaw Miller Express on Wednesday and Thursday. They’ll also host Moose Jaw on Friday, the final contest before the WCBL all-star game Saturday at Okotoks’ Seaman Stadium. Roth says they’re looking forward to facing Moose Jaw after a pair of losses against the Millers last week at home.
“It’s going to be fun, it’s going to be a little bit lighter travel and our guys are hungry for a win against this team,” Roth said. “They’ve had us twice and we’re ready to put it on this week, so it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The Baby ‘Spreys will fly back to Athletic Park for Friday’s home game against Moose Jaw and July 25 against the Regina Red Sox before they migrate out of the Gas City for the rest of the season.
