Medicine Hat Mavericks pitcher claps his glove after his outing on the mound in the Mavs' 14-7 Game 3 victory Sunday to win the East finals at Moose Jaw against the Miller Express.--NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Tim Carlson is ready to make an impact in his second straight WCBL finals appearance.
The Medicine Hat Mavericks pitcher was part of the 2022 Moose Jaw Miller Express team who ended the Mavs season and eventually lost to the Okotoks Dawgs in three games in the WCBL finals.
This season, Carlson has donned the Mavs red and put an end to the Miller Express’ season. He was the pitcher of record in the Mavs’ 14-7 Game 3 win Sunday to capture the East finals and punch their ticket to the WCBL finals.
Carlson took over in the fourth inning of a 6-6 game and recorded the win with three strikeouts in his 3.1 innings pitched while only allowing one run on four hits. It meant a lot to him to get that win on the mound at Ross Well Stadium.
“It means a lot more because I played for them last summer and it kind of made me have more confident just knowing their hitters a lot more than most guys,” Carlson said.
The San Diego, Calif. product has become a swing option out of the Mavs’ bullpen in the playoffs, working 5.1 innings with four strikeouts across two games. He impressed his head coach Kevin Mitchell with his ability to keep Moose Jaw at bay and escape any momentum they tried to build for a comeback.
“Tim came in and did a great job settling it down,” Mitchell said. “He’s got a low heart rate at all times and that’s really important in these games this time of year.”
Carlson says he spoke with Mitchell before taking the mound about remaining calm and cool while pitching.
“I was just making the moment as small as possible, act like nothing matters and just go out there and pitch,” Carlson said.
He will be relied upon at some point in the Mavs’ best-of-three finals series against the Dawgs. Carlson is the only Mavericks player with any WCBL finals experience. He says he can’t wait to get onto that field and play at that next level.
It’s the same game, same excitement, just a bigger stage and I think everybody’s ready for it,” Carlson said.
Game 1 was not complete by press time, visit medicinehatnews.com/sports for a full game story. Game 2 is tonight at Athletic Park and if needed, Game 3 is Thursday back at Okotoks’ Seaman Stadium.
As they get ready for Game 2 and weathering the storm of either leading the series or looking to come back, Mitchell says it’s about not getting too tied up in the results but just playing ball.
“You have to be process oriented this time of year and I’ve talked about that with these guys throughout the season, about the ingredients that that make us a winning ball club,” Mitchell said. “If those ingredients are there, then the result is going to be what we want it to be. It’s especially true this time of year where, if you can detach from that outcome of the game and just worry about taking care of what’s in front of you, that gives you the best chance to win.
“It’s a maturity thing, it’s keeping the moment under control. The team with the slowest heartbeat this time of year is usually the team who comes out on top. It’s appreciating the moment and being focused and locked in. But it’s also being able to take take a deep breath, step back and knowing you can trust yourself and trust your teammates.”
Regardless of result in the series, Mitchell says he’ll be forever happy they could make their season last as long as possible.
“Right before the game (Sunday) during the national anthem, it crossed my mind that this might be the last game of the season and I really did not want that to be the case,” Mitchell said. “Obviously it’s not because we get to see this all the way through and play as many games as possible together. It’s something these guys will remember for the rest of their lives, it’s something I’m going to remember and cherish for the rest of my life. So let’s get two more wins and finish it the right way.”
