NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks' pitcher Jack Suhai and catcher Zach Stark celebrate the final out of an inning in the Mavs' 8-0 win August 5 at Athletic Park over the Regina Red Sox.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The boys in red and white put on quite a show at Athletic Park this summer.
The 2023 Medicine Hat Mavericks provided many memorable moments throughout their 56-game regular season and eight playoff contests.
The first month was an up and down affair – the Mavs would win a game, lose a game, then win two and drop three. There were times where it was joked around that reaching the .500 level would be the hardest goal of the season.
Head coach Mark Goodman leaving the Mavs for a professional job at the end of June could have held back a team searching for consistency if not for assistant coach Kevin Mitchell stepping up to take the reins.
It took the Mavs seven attempts to get their first win at Athletic Park under Mitchell and they stumbled through a 4-14 stretch to head into the all-star weekend with a 16-22 record, sitting them third in the East division behind the Regina Red Sox.
The final game of that stretch summed up the team vibe heading into the all-star game. A 47-minute rain delay prolonged the end of a 9-4 loss against the Brooks Bombers where the Mavs showed resiliency with a three-run ninth inning before ultimately losing.
After a much needed break, and strong all-star representation from pitchers Dylan Esquival, Dylan Weaver, Kyle Calzadiaz, infielders Nathan Tarver, Brady Bean and outfielder Brody Gardner, the (unofficial) second-half Mavs took off and did not look back.
The Mavs’ got hot starting with a five-game winning streak, ultimately putting together their stretch of 14-4 games to finish the season and jump past Regina for second in the East. They shook off early season struggles with walking batters and committing errors, entering the playoffs as the hottest team in the league.
While some around the WCBL questioned whether the Mavs’ could get past Regina in the East semifinals for a second straight year, there was a quiet confidence brewing in Medicine Hat that would only get stronger.
After 11-3 and 9-1 thumpings in Games 1 and 2, the Mavs shushed doubters for only a mere couple of minutes before their East finals opponent was announced – the division leading Moose Jaw Miller Express.
Again, the confidence coming from the Medicine Hat locker room was one that did not exist in early June. The early season team believed they would turn things around, while the playoff Mavs knew what they could do and were ready to show it.
The Mavs entered the East finals with a 6-4 record over Moose Jaw in the regular season and carried that advantage into playoffs. The Miller Express had 12 returning players from their 2022 team that beat the Mavs in the East finals. Medicine Hat had only six returning players.
But for reasons that can’t be measured statistically or even scientifically, the Mavs seemed to have Moose Jaw’s number this year. A ninth inning, 5-4 Mavs’ win in Game 1 was followed up with a Moose Jaw 7-5 victory that only set up a potential repeat of what was a heartbreaking loss for Medicine Hat the year prior.
It seemed only fitting that it took 21 runs, 24 hits and a 3:40 game for the Mavs to overcome their demons to win the series. That Game 3 win was full of storylines that made the game even more impressive.
Offensively, Gardner led off the game with a home run, his first long ball of the summer, Bean launched one over the scoreboard at Ross Wells Park and Andrew Savage secured the win with a three-run home run.
The WCBL finals provided an ultimate test for the Mavs as they faced off against the league’s best and defending champions, Okotoks Dawgs.
An Okotoks 8-0 Game 1 win set up a win-or-die Game 2 for the Mavs who did not disappoint their 2,196 fans in attendance, jumping out to a big lead and ultimately winning 12-9. Game 3 provided all the entertainment needed for the season, with the Mavs’ completing a five-run comeback to tie the game before the Dawgs rattled off six unanswered runs to secure their second straight and league leading seventh championship overall.
While they did not come away win the ultimate glory, the Mavs had a lot to hang their hats on in the 2023 season. Mavs’ fans did their duty showing up to Athletic Park for 28 regular season games, with 35,449 fans walking through the gates giving the Mavs the third highest attendance in the league, averaging 1,266 a night.
The standout memory of my summer at Athletic Park came in the final contest of the regular season. Medicine Hat product Jack Suhai was the contest’s starter, an unusual appearance as he had only appeared out of the bullpen in his college career. There was something different about the energy that night as the 24-year-old worked through six shutout innings with five strikeouts en route to an 8-0 win over Regina.
That game exemplified how on any given night, in any given game, any baseball player can step up and work some magic, showcasing just how special baseball can be and how magical the season would be.
The summer of 2023 slipped by in a hurry, as it usually does. With the memories of Mavs baseball available to reflect on in the not-too-distant past, it makes the 2024 WCBL season seem even further away.
Soon the season will change to autumn and eventually become winter before spring opens up the promise of baseball’s soon return as everything else blossoms. Until then, those summer memories will carry us through the time until, “Get up Med Hat” can be heard throughout Athletic Park again.
James Tubb is the sports reporter with the Medicine Hat News. He can be reached at jtubb@medicinehatnews.com
