NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks third baseman Tyler Vanneste follows through on a hit during an at bat in the Mavs' 10-1 win Thursday at Athletic Park over the Swift Current 57's.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Mavericks have answered back after a rough start to the week.
The Mavs followed up two blowout losses to the Fort McMurray Giants, 16-5 and 10-0 on Sunday and Monday at Athletic Park, with a pair of wins that point to a return of the team seen through the first five games of the season.
A 6-4 win Wednesday at Lethbridge over the Bulls had two Mavs’ home runs from Brody Gardner and Michael Quick and a steady five-inning start from reliable senior John Walsh.
They carried the momentum into a 10-1 win Thursday at AP over the Swift Current Broncos, no home runs needed but a display of tacking on runs backed by six innings and seven strikeouts from starter Braeden Davis.
It’s the response head coach Kevin Mitchell wanted and he says is a sign of what the expection from the group each night.
“Going back to the Fort McMurray games, it was a useful experience for this team,” Mitchell said. “We have so much talent in this group and it’s a reminder that on any given night, anybody can take it to anybody. We want to be on the winning side of that as often as we can be. So coming out, winning our last two feels really good and it prevented any kind of panic from setting in the group. We just want to keep things going in the right direction.”
The Mavs find themselves tied for first place in the East division entering play Friday, with both them and the Regina Red Sox holding a 6-3 record. Regina is at Fort McMurray and the Mavs are at Brooks taking on the Bombers.
The return from the blunders against Fort McMurray to a team self-described as rowdy that’s picking up wins came from a speech Mitchell gave after Monday’s loss according to Davis.
“Coach told us after the Fort Mac games that that’s not us, it wasn’t and we all knew it,” Davis said. “We know the next games really was us and I think we came together and crushed it. When we have good energy and everyone has each other’s backs, we’re on fire and I don’t think a team can beat us.”
The Mavs host the Weyburn Beavers for a two-game set Saturday and Sunday before two days off ahead of their longest road trip of the young season. They’ll head to Saskatoon to face the Berries on Wednesday and Thursday before facing the Regina Red Sox on Friday.
