NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks third baseman Carter Roth swings at a pitch, resulting in a groundout RBI in the third inning of Thursday night action at Athletic Park against the Regina Red Sox.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Mavericks will ride out June with some home cookin’.
The Mavs opened up a four-game home stand at Athletic Park on Thursday hosting the Regina Red Sox, the first of their final slate before the calendar flips to July and they hit the road for six straight games.
They’ll host Regina tonight before the Saskatoon Berries come to town on Saturday and Sunday. The Mavs entered the weekend home stand off a 7-3 win Wednesday at Weyburn to split a two-game set with the Beavers. They scored all seven runs in the first three innings of the night and held onto the lead for the win.
The pair of road games, including a 4-3 walk-off loss on Tuesday, provides confidence for the club coming into the weekend, according to head coach Jonathon Thornhill.
“The pitching the last two days was great and you feed off of that, you allow six runs in two days, it’s good stuff,” Thornhill said. “So the message is clear and stays the same, 0-0 on the day, you take it day by day and just continue to have fun. That’s the big thing when you face these opponents or big games, like each and every game is, it comes down to who doesn’t put the pressure on themselves and goes out and just plays their game, and that allows you to be successful as a team.”
The weekend set against the Red Sox and Berries sees the top three teams in the East division square off. Entering play Thursday the Berries sit atop the division and the WCBL with a 19-3 record. The Mavs are 3.5 games back, and the Red Sox are 7.5 games back of the Berries. Getting to face those high calibre teams while jockeying for playoff positions is a challenge Thornhill says his team has embraced well.
“I was just talking with Regina’s coach about how we think the three of us are kind of going to just attack each other all year as it progresses, and we’re all pretty evenly matched,” Thornhill said. “That’s not a knock on the other teams, it’s just how you evaluate yourselves in comparison to everybody else.
“Saskatoon is the team that everybody’s looking up to right now, winning 18 of their 21 games. Quite frankly, we have two games there we should probably take if I don’t make a mistake at their place. It’s little things like that, but to see that we’ve been in those games with both these teams and vice versa, it makes for good baseball. It’s respect to each team and it should be good baseball for the weekend.”
The Mavs are riding an undefeated streak at the friendly confines, winning their first 11 games on the grass at Athletic Park. Thornhill says as a group they’ve excelled at getting prepared for games, embracing his philosophy of approaching each night with a whole new record. Getting the weekend home stand at Athletic Park before the lengthy West division road trip gives them an opportunity for success each night and also sets themselves up for success on the road, the bench boss says.
“Just like any team, when you’re at home things are a lot easier,” Thornhill said. “You’re in a routine, you’re used to doing things the same. They can go get their lifts in, they come in for pre-game stuff. It’s nice to be at home, but nonetheless, the guys, all in all, they’re just excited to play baseball every single chance they get. When you get to do it in front of your home crowd, against the team that’s chasing you and a team you’re chasing on the weekend, it makes for good baseball.”
After the weekend series the Mavs have an off day Monday before they hit the road, heading to Sylvan Lake for Canada Day and July 2. They face the Fort McMurray Giants on July 3 and 4 before heading to Spruce Grove on July 6 and 7 to play at the makeshift home of the Energy City Cactus Rats.
The Mavs no longer lead the WBCL in scoring, with three fewer runs scored than the Berries’ 194. The Mavs still have the most hits (250) and RBIs (164).
Mavs infielder Carter Roth has played a big role in both those categories for the red and white, leading the WCBL in hits (45), RBIs (27) and batting average, a stunning .467. The Stratford, Ont. product has enjoyed his first month playing at Athletic Park and he looks forward to using the weekend as a jumping board before they get on the bus next week.
“Being at home is just nice, being around the fans and stuff, that’s what gives us energy,” Roth said. “I feel like we can use that, gather it up and then once we go on the road, we can take it with us.”
Thursday’s game was not complete by press time, visit medicinehatnews.com/sports for a full game story. The Mavs are back in action tonight against Regina, first pitch at 7:05 p.m.
