NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks pitcher Nathan Stark strides towards home plate with a pitch in the fourth inning of the Mavericks 10-2 loss to the Moose Jaw Miller Express Saturday evening at Athletic Park.
The Medicine Hat Mavericks finished off their regular season Saturday night looking towards the playoffs.
The Mavericks fell 10-2 to the Moose Jaw Miller Express at Athletic Park to cement their regular season record at 18-38. Both Medicine Hat and Moose Jaw entered the contest with their playoff spots clinched as both teams looked to finish the campaign with a healthy lineup.
Mavericks head coach Tyler Jeske said the game offered him a chance to try some things throughout his lineup before the playoffs get underway.
“The key thing was keep everyone healthy,” Jeske said. “Nate Stark gave us a strong start on the mound and it was good to see him bounce back after his last start of Weyburn. This was an opportunity to just see guys get the reps in game before Monday… Just see some things that we might have to look to do in the playoffs to win ball games.”
Stark pitched four innings in his start, picking up three strikeouts in the outing. Bryce Libke took over on the mound in the fifth inning and worked 2.1 innings with three strikeouts of his own.
Stark said it was nice to get the start at home in the final game of the year.
“I’m obviously kind of familiar with the place and coach said just go out there and just give us your best. We’ll ride you as long as we can, but we have to keep your pitch count down to get ready for the playoffs,” Stark said. “B ut just go out there and do your thing and I thought I went out there and did a good job.”
The Mavericks got on the board first with a RBI single from right fielder Hunter Boylan as they led 1-0 early. After three scoreless innings, Moose Jaw jumped out offensively scoring all 10 of their runs in the last four innings of the game.
Boylan got on the mound in the seventh inning and pitched 1.2 innings with a strikeout before Nate Ewing worked the ninth inning, producing a strikeout of his own.
Medicine Hat’s second run came in the eighth inning when Ewing scored on a wild pitch but that was their last offence of the game as Moose Jaw held on for the 10-2 win.
The Mavericks next action will be in the playoffs when they head to Regina, who finished in first place of the East division, to take on the Red Sox for Game 1 on Monday their first round, best-of-three series. Game 2 of the series is Tuesday back in Medicine Hat at Athletic Park and if necessary, Game 3 will return to Regina on Wednesday. All games start at 7:05 p.m.
Jeske said he is looking forward to the playoffs and the matchup against the Red Sox.
“Regina has an extremely talented team and their pitching is extremely talented as well. I think it’s a really good matchup for us,” Jeske said. “Especially with that being the first round, where it’s a three game series and you can’t look too far ahead. We’ve played close games with them all year, they’ve been competitive games and I think our pitching is in a good position to go out and keep us in a ballgame and give us a chance to win.”
