NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks first baseman Nick Thibodeau races from first to third base in the Mavs' 14-7 win Thursday night at Athletic Park over the Regina Red Sox.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Mavericks look to ramp up as the WCBL regular season winds down.
The Mavs head into the final weekend of the regular season with a five-game winning streak, the longest they’ve strung together this season. They’re coming off a 14-7 win Thursday at Athletic Park over the Regina Red Sox.
It’s a win that keeps the Mavs within reach of the East-division lead, held by the Red Sox. The Mavs (32-20) trail the Red Sox (35-18) by 2.5 games entering play Friday, when the two teams faced off at AP.
Medicine Hat has three games left after that, hosting the Saskatoon Berries on Saturday and Sunday before they head to Swift Current on Monday to wrap the regular season against the 57’s. After Friday’s game, Regina has a home-and-home with the Weyburn Beavers on Sunday and Monday to finish their campaign.
Mavs’ head coach Kevin Mitchell says they aren’t paying any attention to the division race but rather are focused on playing sound baseball for Game 1 of the playoffs.
“We would be doing ourselves a disservice by worrying about it, by paying any attention to it really,” Mitchell said. “We have to play well Friday, then we’ve got to do the same thing the next day and the next day. We are not in control of our own destiny in that regard. So it’s not something I want the guys to think about.
“We’ve got to stay, now more than ever, we have to stay focused on us. We have to take it one pitch at a time, one inning at a time. If we do that over the next four days, and things go the way of us being in first place, that’s awesome. But my goal for this group right now is just to keep playing good baseball and keep winning baseball games.”
If they do not jump up to first place in the East, the Mavs would face the third-place Berries (28-24) who have won two-straight games entering Friday. Regina would face the fourth-place Moose Jaw Miller Express (25-27) who have lost four straight games and trail Saskatoon by three games.
The Mavs’ win Thursday brought them to the 32-victory mark, giving them two more regular season wins than the 2023 team that Mitchell took over at the helm of at the mid-way point of the season. Surpassing last season’s win total is something Mitchell enjoys but says it’s hard to compare the two different teams.
“Truthfully with this group, we’ve left some meat on the bone, we’ve left some games on the table that we should have won,” Mitchell said. “I don’t regret those games just because I think everything throughout the season matters. It makes you who you are at the end and highlights possible weaknesses and things you need to be on guard for come playoff time.
“So in no way do I wish it was different, but I think we’re in a good spot. Having won more games than last year is cool. But beyond that, I don’t pay too much mind to it.”
The Mavs scored in all but one inning Thursday, led off by a five-run first. That offence-loaded frame was capped off by a two-run blast from first baseman Nick Thibodeau, his 11th of the season. Thibodeau’ is only the third Mavs’ hitter since 2010 to hit double digit bombs, joining Alex Alders whit 11 in 2016 and Joel Lutz who smashed 10 in 2011.
Thibodeau also tallied five RBIs Thursday, tying him with outfielder Jordan Phillips with 60 on the season. Both are nearing the WCBL’s RBI record of 66, set by Kaleb Warden with the 2019 Lethbridge Bulls.
Friday’s game was not complete by press time, visit medicinehatnews.com/sports for a full game story.
