Mavericks keep Berries within reach

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on June 21, 2025.

newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com

The Medicine Hat Mavericks squashed a Berry long win streak Thursday night.

The Mavs walked off the Saskatoon Berries 8-7 Thursday night at Athletic Park, snapping their opponent’s eight-game win streak and closing the gap with first place in the East division. Medicine Hat came into the contest off a 13-12 nail-biting win at Swift Current over the 57’s on Wednesday.

They scored early and often through the first third of action Thursday, leading Saskatoon 6-0 after three innings.

Centre fielder Jeremy Freeman Jr. got on base with a leadoff walk, moving up to third on a pair of wild pitches before scoring on a fielders choice hit off the bat of infielder Tyler Vanneste. He scored on an RBI double from infielder Carter Roth. The Mavs finished the inning with an RBI triple from outfielder Aaron Vulcano for the 3-0 lead.

The Mavs loaded the bases quickly in the second, with a Saskatoon error, walk and hit by pitch to put three runners on with one out. Vanneste and Roth knocked back-to-back RBI singles for the 5-0 lead.

A ho-hum one-run third inning came from an RBI single from outfielder Micah Dvorak, putting the Mavs up 6-0 through the three frames.

Max Hudlow started the game on the mound for the Mavs, working five frames allowing two runs on one hit and three walks, striking out three batters. Saskatoon started a comeback bid in the fifth, with a two-run home run from Abiam Medina. They added another two runs in the sixth, scoring a pair on an error.

The Mavs made it a 7-4 lead after six innings with a solo home run from Vanneste, his league co-leading fifth home run of the season.

A.J. Doll took over on the mound for the Mavs in the sixth, working three innings with four runs against (two earned) on five hits and one walk, striking out three. Saskatoon scored twice in the eighth to bring them within one of the Mavs heading to the ninth.

Luke Barrientos was on the bump for the final frame, quickly working two outs with a fly out and strikeout to put the Berries on the brink. However, they responded with a single, walk and an RBI single to tie the game 7-7. Barrientos induced the final out to give the Mavs the chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth.

And it didn’t take long for the Mavs to call game. Vanneste put a charge into the first pitch he saw, roping a triple that put him just 90 feet from the plate, setting Roth up to be the hero. The WCBL’s batting average leader lived up to the title, knocking the third pitch he saw to right field as the Mavs’ won 8-7 in walk-off fashion.

Infielder Johnny Vulcano made his return to the lineup for the first time since June 10. The third-year infielder drew a walk in the win.

The win brought the Mavs to within two games of the division and league-leading Berries, who had found wins over Medicine Hat in two home games earlier in the month. Finding a way to get the win Thursday also reversed course on a possible unnerving trend, after the Mavs had similarly blown a lead June 11 in Saskatoon, only to eventually lose in an 11th-inning walk-off.

They out hit the Berries 9-8, Saskatoon committed three errors to the Mavs’ two. The two teams were to square off again Friday night but that game was rained out and postponed. The Mavs (14-6) are supposed to host the Moose Jaw Miller Express for two at Athletic Park this weekend, Saturday at 7:05 p.m., Sunday at 2:05 p.m., but rain is dominating the forecast.

Sunday’s game would be led by the annual Medicine Hat Fire Service and Police Service charity softball game, schedued for noon, with tickets $12 and proceeds going to the Medicine Hat Root Cellar. Those tickets, which also grant access to the following Mavs’ game, can be purchased at MHPS reception or at the Mavs’ office.

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