Giants explode in one-sided victory

By SEAN ROONEY on June 12, 2019.

NEWS PHOTO SEAN ROONEY
Catcher Reed Odland of the Medicine Hat Mavericks reaches to make a tag on a Fort McMurray Giants player during the second inning of a game at Athletic Park Tuesday, June 11, 2019.

srooney@medicinehatnews.com@MHNRooney

Junior Pimentel hadn’t given up a run in his first two outings of the season for the Medicine Hat Mavericks, so it was a bad sign of things to come when the Fort McMurray Giants got one in the first inning Tuesday at Athletic Park.

Pimentel settled down to hold the visitors to a 3-0 lead through the first seven innings, but a nine-run eighth – only the first three were credited to the starting pitcher – broke things open in a 12-0 decision.

Keith Manby kept Mavs bats on ice, limiting them to just three hits over seven frames on a night they promoted the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge by wearing special hockey-inspired jerseys. Manby struck out six and improved to 2-0, while his team is now 4-6, just behind the 6-5 Mavericks.

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Fort McMurray had three straight hits to open the game and threatened in the second inning as well until shortstop Colin Klingensmith threw home to disrupt an attempted double steal.

Manby didn’t give up a hit until John Velasco’s fourth-inning double, then got help from his defence as third baseman Eric Meyer dove to his left for a ground ball in the fifth inning to strand a pair of runners.

Kevin Santana relived Pimentel with a couple runners on and one already scored in the eighth, and the left-hander couldn’t get out of the ugly inning.

Brady Wood went 4-for-4, Meyer was 4-for-6 and both had 2 RBI. No Mavericks batter had more than a hit in front of a crowd of 941.

The Mavs will send Brandon Ponticelli to the mound tonight, 7:05 p.m. against Brooks before heading to Weyburn for three games Thursday through Saturday.