NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks starting pitcher Garrett Nicholson fist bumps catcher Dominic Van Doorne after a scoreless inning in the Mavs' 10-7 win Tuesday night at Athletic Park against the Moose Jaw Miller Express.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Mavericks continue to roll in the unofficial second half of the WCBL season.
The Mavs beat the East-leading Moose Jaw Miller Express 10-7 Tuesday night at Athletic Park, marking their second win in a row against the division rival and fourth straight on the schedule. Medicine Hat beat Moose Jaw 4-2 on Monday, their first game back from the two-day all-star break.
Head coach Kevin Mitchell was happy to see his team make adjustments from night to night while beating the lone team they are chasing in the standings. In Monday’s win the Mavs held Moose Jaw to two runs and capitalized on their mistakes and free bases. Tuesday’s win was led by the Mavs continuing to capitalize on Moose Jaw errors and walks while keeping the foot on the pedal, a change of pace for Medicine Hat from the first months of the season.
“I had the exact thought of, I’ve been there where Moose Jaw is and the kind of baseball they were playing, I know what that kind of baseball feels like and it’s tough,” Mitchell said. “Sometimes things don’t go your way for a couple of days or a week or whatever it is and that’s how it looked for those guys. It’s nice to be on the other side.”
Another big factor for the Mavs in their two-game set against Moose Jaw and in their doubleheader sweep against the Weyburn Beavers on July 14 has been pitching. In their last four games, Mavs pitchers have combined for a 2.81 ERA, with a .250 opponent batting average and have only allowed 10 walks in 32 innings (the double-header games were seven innings) while striking out 31.
Garrett Nicholson was the Mavs’ Tuesday night starter and picked up the win, striking out three batters while only allowing three runs on five hits and a walk in five innings pitched. The third-year Maverick says this year’s team is enjoying the moment more and sees a lot of momentum ahead for the group.
“Last year we pressed a lot, especially in those bigger situations because we knew we were in a little bit of a slump,” Nicholson said. “This year, the guys are playing more fun and a little more loose and it’s helped guys get through a good or bad AB, or a good or bad outing as a pitcher – just being able to move on to that next page.”
The Mavs had an off-day Wednesday and are at Brooks tonight to face the Bombers and open up a five-game road stretch that spans six days. They remain in second place of the East Division with a 20-22 record, trailing Moose Jaw in first (26-13) and sitting ahead of the Regina Red Sox (18-23) in third place.
With 14 more games on the docket for the Mavs, Nicholson says he’s excited for the two weeks ahead as they make the stretch run toward the playoffs.
“We’re seeing now with the second half Mavs, you get through the all star break and guys are just really enjoying the situation we’re in right now,” said Nicholson. “It makes it more fun and I’m really excited to see what happens here in the next 14 games.”
For Mitchell, he looks at the upcoming stretch of games as an opportunity for his group to continue building momentum.
“Two out of our next five games are against teams out of our conference. It’s definitely beneficial going into a stretch on the road when we’re feeling really good about ourselves,” Mitchell said. “Had we lost four in a row and then we have to go on the road for five, that’s kind of a daunting task. But right now, I think the guys kind of wished we were playing on Wednesday.”
