Medicine Hat Mavericks outfielder Micah Dvorak looks to the sky while celebrating his solo home run in the second inning of the Mavs' 6-4 Game 1 semifinals loss Wednesday night at Athletic Park to the Saskatoon Berries.--NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Mavericks prided themselves on a bounce-back ability throughout the regular season. Now, they’ll put it to the ultimate test.
The Mavs dropped Game 1 of their first-round, semifinal series against the Saskatoon Berries, falling 6-4 Wednesday night at Athletic Park. Saskatoon picked up its first playoff win in franchise history with the victory and have the chance to win their first series with Game 2 back at Cairns Field on Thursday.
Stop them from doing that, and the Mavs are back at Athletic Park on Friday for a decisive Game 3. Head coach Kevin Mitchell says the focus is doing whatever they can do to make that a reality.
“I feel really good about our pitching depths, I feel good about our ability to move on quickly and go take one at their place,” Mitchell said. “The message is, just get it back home. Do whatever you got to do to get back home. We can go win a game, bring it back here for Game 3, that’s all we can control from this point.
“So that’s what we’re looking to do.”
Saskatoon scored in three straight innings Wednesday, with a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch in the second, an error at third base in the third and added two runs in the fourth on a home run from Carter Beck. The Berries had a second home run in the game, with a towering blast from Bailyn Sorenson in the seventh, proving to be the winning run.
The Mavs had a long ball of their own, with left fielder Micah Dvorak going yard in the second inning. Dvorak says the loss Wednesday is just part of the game and he sees an opportunity for the Mavs to showcase their resilience.
“At the end of the day it’s a big game (to lose) but it’s just another day of baseball for us, coming in and out, like we have been all summer,” Dvorak said.
The Mavs have been able to shake off defeat all season, having recorded a win 10 times follwing a single loss. On the other seam of the ball, they’ve also lost two games in a row on six occasions. They took the season series with Saskatoon 6-2, winning three of the four games they played on the road.
If the series is to reach a third game, Mitchell looks for a simpler approach around the diamond.
“It looked to me like some guys were somewhat slightly undisciplined based on how I normally see them. It’s really taking what is given to you and not trying to do too much,” Mitchell said. “Doing five per cent less in the playoffs is a lot more effective than doing five per cent more. Just pulling back a little bit and having a better perspective of what’s going on in the game and what the situation calls for.
“We can execute a little bit better in that way.”
Wednesday’s contest was the first WCBL playoff game for Dvorak, who is in his first season with the Mavs. The Garden City, Kan. product noticed the difference from the regular season atmosphere to the playoffs.
“The intensity was definitely there, the atmosphere was definitely better,” Dvorak said. “But at the end of the day, it’s just a game within a game, so we just have to keep playing our game and keep going and keep marching on.”
Saskatoon outhit Medicine Hat 12-6 in Game 1. Second baseman Marshall Burke had two RBIs on two hits in the loss, and right fielder Jordan Phillips tallied a hit with an RBI.
