NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat High Hawks first baseman Matt Getz dives into third base on a steal attempt in the third inning of a 16-6 provincial quarter-finals loss to the Chinook Coyotes at Jeffries Field on Tuesday.
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The Medicine Hat High Hawks senior baseball team’s season came a close Tuesday.
The Hawks lost their Tier 1 provincial quarter-final matchup, falling 16-6 to the Chinook Coyotes.
Head coach Cam Rittinger tipped his cap to the Coyote’s starter who had 12 strikeouts.
“Baseball is just a frustrating game, we played six out of seven innings there and had an implosion on us, and when the when the floodgates opened we just couldn’t stop,”Rittinger said. “Tip my cap to their pitcher. He threw lots of strikes, I think 77 of his 100 pitches were strikes, so their pitcher competed out there. We made a couple costly mistakes, that just wasn’t our day.”
A nine-run top of the seventh at Jeffries Field by Chinook put the Hawks in a hole they couldn’t overcome.
Matt Getz had three hits for the Hawks, with three runs scored and an RBI. Parker Hunt started the game and had a strikeout in three innings. Ryler Straarup had four punch-outs in two innings and Cade Moch recorded two strikeouts in two innings. Treyden Fode worked the final inning.
Rittinger says they had some growing pains throughout the season but he is excited for how the experience can pay off next year.
“We had such an old team last year that guys had to come up, step up and take major roles for us,”Rittinger said. “The good things were, they got a lot of innings on the mound, they threw a lot for us. So stepping stones for us is the goal there.”
Colts host Kate Andrews
The McCoy Colts were also in provincials action, hosting the Kate Andrews Pride. That game was not complete by press time. The Colts won 17-0 in a four inning game and will move onto the semifinals on Thursday.
