Returning Mavericks ready for another summer at AP

By JAMES TUBB on May 27, 2023.

It was only a couple weeks after the 2022 WCBL season came to a close when Zac Robinson committed to donning the Medicine Hat Mavericks red again.

The Vancouver Island product joined the Mavericks in late June last season and was relied upon for 47.2 innings in 12 games through their playoff run. Robinson says Mavs owner/GM Greg Morrison reached out to him in midSeptember to come back, an ultimate showing of respect he says.

“He texted me saying come back and I responded, ‘Let’s run it back another year.’ It’s a super sweet and good environment, I think the team’s going to be really good this year,” Robinson said.

“Even though we weren’t the top team last year, the camaraderie and the amount of fun that I had, it was the most fun I’ve had playing baseball ever. Like I have fun at school, all my friends are there, but I had fun coming here with essentially strangers. We had a ton of fun and I’m hoping that it just rolls right back. We seem to have a good group of guys, we have a good core of Starkey, Bryce.”

Robinson is one of seven returning Mavericks players from the 2022 roster on this year’s team, the other six are: pitchers Garrett Nicholson, Jack Suhai, Bryce Libke, infielder Tory Nelson and catchers Andrew Savage and Zach Stark.

For Stark, this summer marks the third time he’s played for his hometown Mavericks, carrying a big role behind the plate in last year’s run to the semi finals. He’s excited to be playing in front of local fans again and likes what he sees in the team so far.

“Every guy I’ve met so far has been a good guy,” Stark said. ‘The guys who are returning I’ve known them for a while and they’ve always been good to me. We’re all clicking pretty well right now.

“I’ve seen guys throw hard, guys throwing strikes and hitting the ball hard as well. I think the compete level is going to be a lot higher and just the ability to make plays happen and make simple outs happen is going to be key this year. We can do that.”

Having that returning group is something Morrison says helps the team bond together quicker and makes the firsttime Mavericks transition easier to their new team.

“Zack Stark had an amazing year at college, he was a leader with us last year, and putting together that winning program, the guy’s a winner where he goes and plays, and he led us into the playoffs last year so it’s great to have him back. ,” Morrison said. “Just having those players it’s different from, ‘Hey, where do we go, where’s the gym at, how do we get into the gym, where’s the good restaurants?’ It’s great to have those guys back. Off the field, it’s great just having our staff back from managers to the front office, it has just been amazing.”

The Mavericks opened the 2023 WCBL season Friday in Lethbridge against the Bulls. That game was not complete by time of press, visit medicinehatnews.com/sports for a full game story.

The Mavericks are back in action Saturday when they host the Bulls for the home opener at Athletic Park, that game gets underway at 7:05 p.m. They also host the Swift Current 57’s for a 2:05 p.m. matinee on Sunday.