NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks head coach Tyler Jeske walks back to the dugout ahead of the Mavericks 6-5 loss to the Regina Red Sox on July 5 at Athletic Park.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Mavericks didn’t get the results they wanted this weekend.
But during their four-game road trip through Sylvan Lake and Fort McMurray, the WCBL club was able to learn how to show resiliency and who can step up into new roles.
Head coach Tyler Jeske said for having spent more time on the bus than on the field he was happy with the relentless effort and competitiveness of his group.
“Are we getting the results we want, that the Medicine Hat fanbase deserves? No we’re not, we’re not there, we haven’t we haven’t conquered that mountain yet,” Jeske said. “But you can see us inching closer and closer, and to me one of the biggest positive takeaways is we’re getting closer and closer, especially with just some of the guys stepping up with more opportunities for playing time.
“Josh Stark, Tory Nelson -Zach Stark to a degree – those are two position players who at the beginning of the season were not playing. Now they’re getting a lot more consistent at bats, we have continued growth, and we continue to get better on a day-to-day basis.”
The Mavericks’ road trip finished up Monday with a 7-4 loss to the Sylvan Lake Gulls, their fourth loss in a row, marking the end of a stretch of seven games in seven days. They were off Tuesday before starting up a streak of nine games in eight days, kicking off Wednesday in Swift Current against the 57’s.
Jeske says they will need guys like the Stark’s and Nelson to keep stepping up if they want to find success during the busiest part of the summer.
“We’re in the dog days of summer, where the toughest part is mental … and guys are beat up and sore and you’re feeling the length of the season,” he said. “Throw in the travel – it’s a grind. But at the end of the day, that’s part of what being a championship team is, finding ways to overcome that. I look at it, it’s not the same song and dance it felt like it was earlier in the year … At the end of the day the only thing that matters is getting into the playoffs.”
The Mavericks sit in fourth place of the East division, good for the final playoff spot. Their upcoming stretch of games are all within the division, meaning the Mavericks hold their playoff fate in hand when they square up for their toughest stretch.
Jeske said they’ve been preparing for the streak of contests over the last week to ensure the team is close to fresh enough for the challenge.
“There’s been a little bit more fluctuation in terms of who’s in the lineup, some guys who’ve been in the lineup every day getting days off, a couple guys getting two straight days off. All that was geared towards saying, ‘We have to prioritize being healthy and being fresh that entire road trip,'” Jeske said. “No. 1, we knew it was gonna be a grind with just the sheer number of hours on the bus.
“Next it was, Kellen Williamson, he wasn’t in the starting lineup for two of the four games. It came down to, how do we get him an off day? So he didn’t start in the starting lineup yesterday and with today’s off day, he’s actually getting two days off now.
“Just small tweaks like that where you’re looking at how do we make sure that we are giving ourselves an opportunity and we’re in a position where we can be competitive and win some ballgames. But at the same time, how do we not run out of ammo halfway through the fight?”
A result of giving certain players days off and giving rest to a busy bullpen, the Mavericks had to get creative with the lineups. Starting pitcher Gerrit Erickson was the starting first basemen in their Sunday contest against Fort McMurray, a 7-6 loss, and Monday against Sylvan lake. He collected an RBI double in Sunday’s game, his first WCBL hit.
Jeske said Erickson in the lineup stemmed from Hunter Boylan being used in the bullpen, and Hunter Cooper on the mound Monday. He said he was happy to see the potential flexibility Erickson offers them and the compete level from their opening day pitcher.
“It’s the same way that Josh Stark starting his first game of the season and having a couple hits, the morale boost and how into that got guys. Like, we’re going to start, arguably our No. 1 pitcher, our opening day starter, he’s going to go play first base and he hits a double, the guys are just going crazy,” Jeske said. “To me, that served as a morale injection of energy combined with saying, is this a legitimate option and something that at least we can go to with some confidence moving forward?”
Jeske said part of his focus going forward will also be continuing to find the right lineup structure and identity that will benefit the Mavericks.
“Offence isn’t cookie cutter. There’s more than one way to score. It’s just how you start. It’s getting to me that it’s really on me. And it’s my responsibility to say OK, how do we structure the lineup to create to create more offence?”
