NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks outfielder Christian Rush finishes his swing during an at bat in the Mavericks 6-3 loss to the Moose Jaw Miller Express at Athletic Park on Wednesday.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Christian Rush and Ranciel Ventura joined the Medicine Hat Mavericks at the high time.
The WCBL club has 13 games remaining after hosting the Weyburn Beavers Friday night at Athletic Park. That game was not complete by press time, visit medicinehatnews.com/sports for a full game story.
The Mavericks sat in the fourth and final playoff spot in the East Division entering Friday’s game with a record of 15-27.
The duo joined the Mavericks from Lackawanna College on July 12, where Mavericks head coach Tyler Jeske is a hitting coach. Ventura said he was just working out at home when he received the call and was excited to play a little bit more baseball. Rush said he just wants to help the club any way he can in the second half of the year.
“Just give the ball team a spark, and helping anyway I can in the second half,” Rush said. “You don’t want to disrupt anything, you just want to be a helping hand.”
Neither player would offer up any funny stories or quirks Jeske has, but Rush said he likes seeing him in the head coaching role.
“He’s even keeled just like he is at school, takes an observant approach to the game,” Rush said. “He steps in when he needs to, very similar. But he’s the manager here so he takes on a few different things that he didn’t have back at school and I think he’s done a great job.”
“Back at school we always had hitting talks, we would just talk about hitting all the time and he’s definitely helped me with it, so it’s great having him as a coach,” Ventura said.
Jeske spoke highly of the two newest Mavericks and how they’ve embraced the summer collegiate league after only having one season of college ball under their belts.
“Rush hasn’t played a ton of baseball, Ranciel Ventura hasn’t played a ton of baseball and both those guys, they’re not juniors and seniors with a couple 100 college at bats on their resume,” Jeske said. “So they’re being challenged to learn and adapt and make huge strides very quickly.”
Both players arrived July 12 and were thrown into a stretch of six games in eight days while experiencing Canada for the first time and meeting new teammates. They each agreed that the Mavericks group has made the transition easier.
“They’ve been awesome, very nice, welcoming with open arms and just excited to have you here, as excited as I am to be here,” Rush said.
“These guys are some of the best group of guys, I’ve been loving it,” Ventura said.
Rush hit his first WCBL home run in the Mavericks 6-3 loss Wednesday night to the Moose Jaw Miller Express at Athletic Park. He said it was a great moment and that he wanted to provide for the team since he arrived.
“I’d like to prove to my teammates, my new teammates, that I’m there to battle with them,” Rush said. “I’ll come up big in those situations or at least do the best that I can. It was awesome to kind of do something that big in that kind of moment.”
He’s hoping to use the short stint with the Mavericks to get better and closer with his coach, who gets to see how he can perform in different roles.
“That kind of builds relationships with my coach, as well as helps me find my game at a very high level,” Rush said.
Mavericks are off for the all-star game until Monday when they start a three game set in Regina against the Red Sox.
