Mohawks off to strong start

By Scott Schmidt on April 18, 2018.

sschmidt@medicinehatnews.com

It was cold and, at times, it was sloppy, but following a win Tuesday at Athletic Park, the Medicine Hat Mohawks are now 2-0 to start the high school baseball season.

It began with a win Friday over Eagle Butte, followed by a 10-7 victory over McCoy last night. Despite a lingering winter and brisk temperatures still returning whenever the sun dips behind a cloud, the team hopes an early trip south of the border has helped them catch fire early.

“We were fortunate enough to get down to South Carolina and get some games in, essentially a spring training for us,” head coach Lyall Foran said. “That’s a huge factor for us; a lot of the first games you play usually involve some rust, and you’ve got to break that off a little bit. So we were fortunate enough to get things done (Tuesday).”

The Mohawks have high hopes for the 2018 campaign, hoping to iron out kinks as fast as possible and get themselves playing at their top level. High school baseball is a whirlwind season, so there isn’t a lot of time to find your game.

Foran says the team is nearly at full health, which helps a lot in a short season.

“We’ve got a few injuries, but guys should be back shortly here. The way that the guys are playing, they’re confident and they’re looking good. Hopefully that means we have a successful season.”

Tuesday’s game started well, with the offence plating three runs in the first two innings, while Ashtyn Street kept the Colts’ bats silent from the bump. Then, up 3-1 in the top of the fourth and facing a base loaded situation, Foran turned the ball over to Jayden Ball, who got the team out of the inning unscathed, then added an RBI in the bottom half to give the team some insurance. They would need more as the game played out, but when it mattered most, Mohawks’ pitchers handled the task at hand.

“I think pitching is one of our strong suits. We’ve got a lot of guys that can throw, so for us, having a deep bullpen is going to help us as we get later in the season and we have to play consecutive dates.”

Ball stayed on the mound for 2 2/3 innings total, pitching a gem into the ninth inning, before going a little wild and leaving with the bases juiced and none out. The good news? The Mohawks had already built up a 10-4 lead to that point.

Travis Small came in to close the game out, a tough spot to enter a game at, especially when you’re cold. An error at first base on a ground ball and a pass ball by the catcher helped Small’s three inherited McCoy runners to score, but the savvy right-hander buckled down and picked up two Ks and weak groundball out to seal the win for Hat High.

“I just tried to stay calm, I know I have a good defence behind me — errors like that don’t happen with us very often.,” Small said. “We’re feeling really good to start the year.”

Foran enjoys having arms he can count on.

“It’s always nice to have someone like Travis Small in your back pocket that you can throw out there and know what you’re going to get,” Foran said. “A guy that will get on the mound, throw strikes and really compete for you.

“All of our pitchers did a good job.”

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