Medicine Hat Mavericks centre-fielder Freddy Walker slides safely into second for a double while Lethbridge Bulls shortstop Dylan Borman moves to apply the tag during Game 2 of their Western Canadian Baseball League playoff series at Athletic Park on Friday. -- NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
This one’s going the distance.
Facing elimination in just their second game of the Western Canadian Baseball League post-season, the Medicine Hat Mavericks withstood the elements to snatch a 7-1 victory from the grip of the Lethbridge Bulls on Friday at Athletic Park and force a winner-take-all Game 3.
“Rivalries are a great thing in baseball,” said Mavericks left-fielder Austin Sojka, who hit a two-run bomb in the seventh to help force Game 3 Saturday in Lethbridge at 7:05 p.m. “Any time you hit a ball like that it’s nice. It was also nice to see it go over the fence, there was a doubt in my mind that it wasn’t going to go for a second.”
Lethbridge Bulls head coach Jesse Sawyer says he expected a fight in their best-of-three series against the Mavericks, and Friday’s result proved they’ll have their work cut out for them moving forward.
“I expected a battle this series and that’s what we’ve got so far,” said Sawyer. “To be able to go back home and play the deciding game, you can’t ask for more than that. It’s the best baseball – win or go home.”
Sal Rodriguez gave the Mavericks their first lead of the series when he drove an RBI single into right field in the bottom of the first – cashing Collin Klingensmith after he led off the frame with a single of his own.
Mavericks starter Owen Steele kept Lethbridge off the board until the fifth – stranding base runners in each of the first four innings before Kaleb Warden finally knotted the game up. The Bulls designated hitter drove a double into the left-centre-field gap to bring Riley Jepson home just after rain began to fall at Athletic Park. Warden was caught trying to take third on the play.
“We had some chances early in the game and we didn’t capitalize,” said Sawyer. “It was a good ball game until the seventh there.”
Lethbridge nearly took over a lead in the sixth when Brett Mercier sent a single through the infield, but Freddy Walker came up throwing and nabbed Robert Bostedt at the plate to preserve the tie.
“I think that was actually the turning point in this game,” said Mavericks head coach Tom Vessella. “Once you get ahead of these guys we can keep going, but if you let them hang around, they’re just too good of a team to let do that. That was the momentum and we just capitalized on it and kept moving.”
The gentle rain continued to fall into the seventh, when Hat reliever Taylor Wright took over on the mound – forcing Steele to settle for a no-decision after holding Lethbridge to a run on seven hits and three walks over six innings.
“Owen’s done exactly what Owen has been doing all season,” said Vessella. “He goes deep into games, he keeps us close – he didn’t get a win today but Owen’s undefeated on the season and it’s because of how he pitches.”
The Mavericks stole back the lead in the home half of the seventh when Klingensmith slapped an RBI single past the outstretched glove of Bulls second baseman Ashton Roy – allowing Tito Jones to take home from second on the play and ending Ben Erwin’s night on the hill. The Bulls starter was replaced by Kai Poffenroff after allowing two runs on eight hits and a walk over 6 2/3 innings – but Poffenroff quickly found himself in trouble as well.
After PJ Garcia doubled up on the Hat lead with an RBI single to right, Sojka stepped into the box and blasted his two-run shot over the centre-field fence to ignite the announced crowd of 805.
“We’ve been getting our hits, we just haven’t strung them together to get some RBIs,” said Vessella. “Today we did that in a big way.”
Medicine Hat tacked on two more insurance runs in the eighth on an RBI double from Cameron Pope and an RBI single from Walker, then Wright shut the door with a one-hit ninth.
While Friday’s wet weather dampened the evening and created some difficulties in the infield for both teams, it did not result in a delay.
“It was a little bit of a factor but not too much,” Sawyer said of the rain. “It’s the same for both teams. It wasn’t the best summer baseball weather to play in, but it wasn’t bad. It’s a playoff series, you go out there and you battle, it doesn’t matter the conditions.”
Medicine Hat will send Garrett Nicholson (4-3) to the mound for Game 3 on Saturday in Lethbridge at 7:05 p.m. The Bulls will counter with Dylan Emmons (1-2).
