NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks starting pitcher Jacob Petersheim strides towards the plate with a pitch in the Mavs' 7-2 loss Friday at Athletic Park to the Regina Red Sox.
The Medicine Hat Mavericks lost Friday night, falling out of the race for the East division lead.
The Mavs lost 7-2 at Athletic Park to the Regina Red Sox, who clinched first place in the division with the win. Medicine Hat came into the contest off a 14-7 win Thursday over the same Red Sox. The loss also snaps a five-game winning streak for the Mavs.
Medicine Hat opened the scoring Friday.
They got on the board in the third inning on an RBI single down the right field line from Marshall Burke.
The Red Sox answered back with a pair of runs in the fifth to lead 2-1. They scored on a bloop single over second base and a single to right field. The Mavs got out of that frame on a throw from Jordan Phillips in the outfield to nab a runner at third.
Medicine Hat tied the game up in the bottom of the frame, with a two-out, RBI double from Phillips for his 61st RBI on the year.
Regina grabbed the lead again, with a two-run home run in the sixth off the bat of first baseman Kody Hanna. Trailing 4-2 with runners on the corners and nobody out, starter Jqcob Petersheim was lifted for Jack Novak.
Novak worked the Mavs out of the jam, with a strikeout, fly out and ground ball out to keep it a 4-2 game. Petersheim’s start finishes at five innings pitch, allowing four runs on seven hits, with two walks and two punch-outs.
Regina scored a run in the seventh on a ground out play for the 5-2 advantage. They stretched it to the 7-2 final with a pair of runs in the ninth. An RBI single from Hanna and an error from behind the plate on a steal attempt allowing a runner to score gave Regina the final.
Cesar Rodriguez took over for Novak in the ninth, recording the final two outs of the inning.
Hanna’s third RBI of the night tied him with Phillips for a league-leading 61. Both are chasing the WCBL record of 66 RBIs in one season. Mavs’ first baseman Nick Thibodeau is also in the running with 60 RBIs.
The Mavs were held hitless for the last four innings of the game and only had one base runner after the fifth inning.
The Mavs are back in action Saturday when they host the Saskatoon Berries at Athletic Park for the first of a two-game set.
With the loss Friday, the Mavs (32-21) will finish second in the East division, giving them home field advantage in the first round. If playoffs started today, the Mavs would face the Berries in the best-of-three series.
Tickets for Game 1 of the Mavs’ playoffs, scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 7 are available at the Mavs’ website.
