NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks pitcher Garrett Nicholson admires his pitch Sunday afternoon against the Edmonton Prospects at Athletic Park.
The Medicine Hat Mavericks need a day off.
The Mavericks lost 12-5 to the Edmonton Prospects Sunday afternoon at Athletic Park to cap off a stretch of five games in five days.
Medicine Hat went 1-4 on the stretch as their record falls to 5-7 on the young Western Canadian Baseball League season. Mavericks head coach Tyler Jeske said he never feels good after a loss but felt okay Sunday knowing the Mavs didn’t cost themselves, they just got beat.
“It was the most, we just got beat kind of feeling we’ve had, we didn’t beat ourselves,” Jeske said. “There wasn’t something to look back on where you’re kicking yourself at the end of the night going that probably cost us the ballgame.”
After allowing two runs in the top of the first the Mavericks answered back. Centre fielder Braden DeSonia hit a solo home run to right centre field on the first pitch he saw and two batters latter, designated hitter Nathan Ewing, hit the second pitch over the left field wall to tie the game up at 2-2.
The Mavericks took the lead in the bottom of the second on a sac fly from David Dell before Edmonton tied it up in the top of the third frame.
Edmonton opened up the game with a four run fifth inning that spelled the end of starter Garrett Nicholson’s day on the mound.
Nicholson struck out five in his four innings of work while allowing five runs, Matthew Krall took over on the bump. The Prospects scored three runs on Krall who lasted an inning and a third with a strikeout.
Jacob Proshe took over the mound in the sixth inning and struck out three of the four batters he faced without allowing a hit.
Second basemen Kellan Williamson and left fielder Austin Capps were the lone Mavericks to record multiple hits, with three and two knocks respectively.
Bryce Libke started the eighth inning for the Mavericks and managed one out. Noah LeBleu took the ball and struck out two batters to end the top of the eighth frame.
The Mavericks struck back in the bottom of the inning, first basemen Hunter Boylan hit a long single that bounced off the right field wall for an RBI single. Dell drove in another run in the frame as the Mavericks offence showed life late.
Isaiah Bartels worked the ninth inning on the mound and despite a two out single, worked a clean inning that included two fielding plays of his own to record outs. Medicine Hat failed to scored in the ninth as the Prospects took the win 12-5.
The Mavericks are off Monday before they hit the road to Moose Jaw for a two game set against the Miller Express on Tuesday and Wednesday. They’re back Thursday at Athletic Park to face the Lethbridge Bulls for the second time this season. That game gets underway at 7:05 p.m.
Jeske thanked the 1,082 fans in attendance Sunday and said the Mavericks have optional workouts and pitchers will go through their routines for recovery Monday as they gear up for another extended stretch of games, six contests in six days.
