June 17th, 2025

Mavs sweep weekend at Athletic Park

By JAMES TUBB on June 10, 2025.

NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB Medicine Hat Mavericks outfielder Yusei Uzawa celebrates after his bases-clearing triple as part of a six-run, sixth inning in the Mavs' 8-1 win Friday at Athletic Park over the Brooks Bombers.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

After a couple losses on the road, the Medicine Hat Mavericks regained the title as the WCBL’s hottest team.

The Mavs returned from a 1-2 road trip through Saskatchewan to host the Brooks Bombers and Weyburn Beavers at Athletic Park. They neutralized the Bombers 8-1 on Friday, before beating the Beavers 6-5 in a 10th-inning walk-off on Saturday and an 11-6, comeback win Sunday that saw them score six runs in the eighth to break a tie.

They enter the week, all 12 teams getting Monday off, atop the WCBL with a 9-2 record. Their early success comes from the execution of the game plan, head coach Jonathon Thornhill says. The coaches draw it up but he passes all credit to those in the lineup and on the mound.

“It’s all up to these guys, the nine who get on the field and the guys in the dugout with the energy feeding off of it,” Thornhill said. “Guys like Diego (Centella) and Luis (Diaz), who are firing the guys up every time, it’s good stuff. Johnny (Vulcano) the last two days, comes in with a pinch-hit role and gets a bases-clearing double late.

“So the message is 0-0 on the day, so the goal is 1-0 at the end of the day and having fun – 0-0, they keep that mentality and it’s gonna be a fun ride as long as everybody stays healthy and getting those off days they all will need. It’s been a good stuff.”

The Mavs found different success in each of the three weekend wins. Friday’s blowout was propelled by a seven-run sixth inning. Saturday’s walkoff saw the Mavs and Beavers trade blows before Tyler Vanneste was hit by a pitch in the 10th with the bases loaded to score the winning run.

Sunday saw a similar pattern from Friday, a six-run eighth inning to push the Mavs past a 5-5 tie, an even score they clawed back to after trailing 4-1 early. The Mavs have scored double-digit runs seven times, scoring six-to-nine runs their other four games.

The big inning is something they’ve benefited from and relied upon, a trend Thornhill has noticed from other teams to start the season. For them to have the ability to put up five-plus runs in an inning is a benefit for them, but also a warning for opponents.

“It puts that pressure on the opponent pitching staff, they know sooner or later, they have to be careful,” Thornhill said. “On the flip side of that for us, for our pitchers, to go out there and say, ‘I’ve got a five-run lead, now I don’t have to make sure I’m perfect,’ even though they shouldn’t have that mindset. But it happens.”

They had success off the bat of outfielder/shortstop Yusei Uzawa, who collected six hits and seven RBIs over the weekend. He drove in the winning run Sunday, enjoying his chances in the clutch.

“JT (Thornhill) told me, just have fun,” Uzawa said. “Today, my third AB (at-bat) and first AB, there was same situation, so I just keep my swing.”

The Mavs lead the WCBL in runs scored (118), 32 trips across home plate ahead of second place, Okotoks Dawgs (86). The Mavs also have more hits than the Dawgs (143 to 116), they’ve blasted the same number of home runs as the Lethbridge Bulls (12).

They’ve found offence in multiple ways this season, with the long-ball working wonders, looking to fill the South Saskatchewan River with rubber stones. They’ve also found success and a willingness to drop a bunt and play small ball, putting runners in scoring position.

Thornhill hasn’t shied away from asking any and all players to drop a bunt, from the top of the order to the bottom, noting that it builds confidence for later in the season.

“You look at a guy like Evan Morrison, you’re not expecting him to square around for a bunt, but he’s got wheels,” Thornhill said. “Micah Dvorak puts a bunt down (Sunday), makes them have to play baseball and they throw it into centre field. So little things like that, if you’re able to do that and put pressure on the defence, if you can do that early on, it builds confidence down the road.”

The Mavs are back on the road tonight, opening up a three-game road trip that starts with a pair of games in Saskatoon against the Berries. It’ll be the first time the Mavs have faced Saskatoon since the Berries eliminated them in the second round of the playoffs last year, a Game 3 upset loss at Athletic Park.

The Berries sit second in the WCBL with a 7-2 record, one game back of the Mavs. It’ll be another return to home for infielder Tyler Vanneste, reining from Warman, Sask., just 15 minutes out of Saskatoon. The third-year infielder is tied for the WCBL lead in RBI (15) and home runs (four).

Vanneste says he’s looking forward to the trip and everything it brings for himself and the team.

“We want to beat the Berries, we didn’t have what we wanted in the playoffs last year, so to go and get some revenge on them, it’s going to be a good series,” Vanneste said. “But going there, if we keep playing our ball, we’ve got a good chance.”

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