NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks outfielder Jordan Phillips and second baseman Marshall Burke celebrate after Phillips' two-run home run in the Mavs' 5-3 win Sunday at Athletic Park over the Swift Current 57's.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Mavericks have long clinched a spot in the 2024 WCBL playoffs but still have sights set on finishing as the top dog.
The Mavs enter play Wednesday sitting second in the East division with a 30-20 record, four and a half games back of the first-place Regina Red Sox (35-16).
The two teams will meet twice more, with the Mavs hosting the Red Sox tonight and on Friday before a next matchup would have to be in the East finals.
Mavs’ outfielder Jordan Phillips says they’re focused on not taking the remaining games lightly, with the division lead still in reach.
“We’re going to keep going, keep getting through it,” Phillips said. “Hopefully we can sneak out first place. We still get to face Regina, if we can take both of those and at least take about six of the next seven, hopefully we can get first place.
“Now let’s see how it plays out.”
The Mavs started the process of fulfilling Phillips’ wish, kicking off their seven-game stretch to end the year with a 5-3 win Tuesday night at Swift Current over the 57’s. The win was the Mavs’ 30th of the season, matching their win total from the 2023 season with the six games remaining, including a Wednesday night rematch at Swift Current.
Head coach Kevin Mitchell looks at the final regular season stretch as an extreme difference than a seven-game stretch at the start of the year. He says they have a good feel for who they are and what each player brings to the diamond and he says that will dictate decisions if they’re in a tight spot. It’s knowledge they wouldn’t have early in the season.
Even with playoff teams set, Mitchell says they aren’t changing their approach until the matchups are finalized.
“These games continue to be extremely important,” Mitchell said. “If we get to the middle of the week and we know where we’re at and what our first round matchup will be, that will change the approach a little bit. Whether we rest guys or make different pitching decisions. But until then, it’s full steam ahead until we know where we’re going to be and who we’re going to be playing against.”
If the WCBL playoffs started today, the Mavs would face the expansion Saskatoon Berries (26-24), who are a game ahead of the Moose Jaw Miller Express (25-25) for third place in the East division. He likes both matchups for his team and says the Mavs have played both the Berries and Millers well.
“Saskatoon is playing really good baseball right now, they may not be the same team we saw two weeks ago but we match up well with both of those groups,” Mitchell said. “Ultimately, whoever’s on the other side, you have to play your game and that’s been kind of our mantra the whole way, if we go out and do what we’re capable of, we’re confident that we can take care of business against anybody.
“So whether it’s Saskatoon or Moose Jaw, I’m not too worried yet about who it is we’re going to be playing knowing that it’s likely either Saskatoon or Moose Jaw. I feel good about those matchups.”
The Mavs have won the season series against the Berries, even with two more games against Saskatoon on Saturday and Sunday at Athletic Park. Medicine Hat is up 5-1 on the Berries, outscoring them 67-39 in those matchups. The Mavs also won the season series against Moose Jaw, with a 7-3 record in 10 games and a run difference of 95-71.
The Mavs are 2-4 in six matchups with Regina entering the two-game set Thursday, with Regina outscoring Medicine Hat 43-36.
The Mavs’ game Wednesday at Swift Current against the 57’s was not complete by press time, visit medicinehatnews.com/sports for a full game story.
