NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks pitcher Jack Novak unleashes a pitch in the Mavs' 6-4 loss Tuesday at Athletic Park to the Sylvan Lake Gulls.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Mavericks have had a lot to learn from a first half filled with ups and downs.
From blowing out teams to being on the opposite side of big wins, the Mavs have experienced it all as they sit 16-13 through the first 29 games of the WCBL campaign.
Entering play Wednesday, they’re tied for second in the East division with the Moose Jaw Miller Express who share the same record and were in action against the Weyburn Beavers.
The Mavs have had peaks and valleys that have shown them different parts of their team and what they can be. They had an early peak offensively where they hit a quarter of the previous season’s home run total a week into the season and they fell into a valley short after in back-to-back blowout losses to the Fort McMurray Giants.
They’ve come back to win games in extra innings and have surrendered leads, falling multiple times after going ahead early like Tuesday’s 6-4 loss at Athletic Park to the Sylvan Lake Gulls where the Mavs led 3-0 after the first inning.
It’s a first half of the season head coach Kevin Mitchell says has flown by and one he says puts them in a place to want more.
“There’s obviously been highs and lows as there is in any baseball season, I feel like we’ve left some meat on the bone at times,” Mitchell said. “But that’s part of learning who you are as a team. I wouldn’t trade this group for any other one, I love these guys. They care so much and care for each other. With the first half being what it was, everything we want is still in front of us and that’s a great place to be.”
Tuesday’s loss was a rebound of sorts for the Mavs after getting blown out 10-3 by Sylvan Lake on June 23. That contest was in the middle of a season-high three-game losing streak and was the second straight game they had surrendered 10 runs and scored less than five, falling 10-2 the night prior to the Lethbridge Bulls.
Mitchell would have liked the win, especially with the early lead, but he liked the difference he saw from his team Tuesday compared to their play in the first matchup.
“That was a stretch there two weeks ago where things were pretty touch and go for this group and we were not competitive,” Mitchell said. “That’s all I can ask for out of these guys is to compete. We’re talented enough that when we compete the way we did Tuesday, we’re going to win more than we’re going to lose. I believe we’ll be where we need to be at the end of the season. So to see the difference from just a week ago and how we handled those guys to tonight is a good thing.”
Looking at the first half of the season, starting offensively, the Mavs sit in the top half of the WCBL in almost all counting stats, ranked fourth in hits (324) and total bases (462, sixth in home runs (23) and seventh in runs scored (210) and RBIs (172).
Defensively they’ve committed the fifth-most errors in the league with 48 in 29 games, with the Regina Red Sox having committed the fewest with 27 in the same amount of games.
On the mound is a spot where the Mavs are middle of the pack, having surrendered the sixth-most hits (287) and runs (218), giving up the third-most walks (158) while also striking out 256 batters, the second-highest in the WCBL.
It’s a refining off all three that Mitchell is looking for as they strive for continued success in the second half of the season.
“Better situational hitting, continuing to fill up the zone and our pitches trusting themselves and trusting their defence,” Mitchell said. “The compete, we have to compete every night, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. It doesn’t matter what the score is, you have to compete for nine innings and never be satisfied. That’s what I’m looking for the rest of the way.”
The Mavs were off Wednesday, hosting the first day of the all-star camp at Athletic Park, before they hit the road today to open up a five-game road trip that starts with a two game set Thursday and Friday at Saskatoon against the Berries. They head to Regina on Saturday for a two-game set against the East division leaders before they wrap it up with a contest Monday at Weyburn against the Beavers.
Mitchell says they’ve reached the dog days of the summer and looks forward to the week of divisional matches.
“This is a big one, all five in our division,” Mitchell said. “Saskatoon has been playing really good baseball, Regina is obviously playing really good baseball and five days on the road as a lot. I’m excited for it, I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. It’ll be a lot more fun if we continue to play the way we’ve been playing this past week.”
