NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks infielder Tyler Vanneste swings at a pitch in the first inning of a 13-1 loss Saturday night at Athletic Park to the Saskatoon Berries.
Medicine Hat News
Saskatoon berries may be sweet but they left a sour notes in Medicine Hat Saturday night.
The Medicine Hat Mavericks surrendered nine runs in the first inning to the WCBL-leading Berries, falling 13-1. The Mavs came into the contest off a 9-7, comeback win Friday at home over the Regina Red Sox.
Head coach Jonathon Thornhill says they weren’t sharp enough defensively and he’s looking for more from the group in the rematch Sunday.
“When you have a team like that who’s coming off two days rest, and their offense is as potent as as ours is, what I like to compare that as is, they’re going to make you pay and they did that,” Thornhill said. “So kudos to them for making us pay. But at the same time, we have to lock in a little bit better defensively. We talked about it in there, and it’s one of those things where they’ll do some some digging, some soul searching and we get a good chance to see them tomorrow.”
The Mavs (17-9) host the Berries on Sunday for a 2:05 p.m. contest, the final home game before a six-game road trip through the West division.
Saturday’s blowout got out of hand early with Saskatoon jumping all over starter Jensen Cockrell. Back-to-back solo home runs from Carter Beck and Ethan Menard were followed up with hits, a walk and two errors that made it a 3-0 lead.
The Berries grounded out to bring in a run and then the nine-hole hitter, Evan Jenner, hit a three-run home run to make it a 7-0 lead. Menard hit his second home run of the frame, a two run blast, before Garrick Levesque was called into the game for the Mavs, inducing the final out of the frame.
Levesque worked 4.1 innings, allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out three.
The Mavs responded in the bottom of the first with an RBI single from Tyler Vanneste for the 9-1 score. It was a quick response that provided some encouragement for the Mavs’ skipper.
“Whether it’s 1-9 or 1-10, usually we respond the next inning even if its just one run to three runs, so we’ve done a very good job of answering consistently all year offensively, even tonight,” Thornhill said. “If we make a play there in the first inning, they probably only get four or five, and it’s 5-1 and all of a sudden, maybe it’s different here, kind of like last night. So we’ve done a great job answering in tough situations and tough spots this year.”
Janner hit a solo home run in the third inning and the Berries scored in the fourth on an RBI single from Nathan Houston for the 11-3 lead. Ryan Dexter took over on the mound to start the fifth inning, working three frames, holding the Berries to two runs on two hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Thornhill commended the pair of relievers for their work out of the bullpen.
“They threw phenomenal tonight, to come in and give us the length they did and get that confidence back up, which is something they’ve been challenging themselves with, having a tough time with,” Thornhill said. “For them to go out there and just be free and be themselves again, was great to see.”
Three scoreless innings carried the game into the eighth inning where a sacrifice fly and an RBI single made the 13-1 final score for Saskatoon.
Outfielder Adam Vulcano took to the mound in the ninth inning, working a clean frame to save a fourth pitcher having to enter the game for the Mavs. Saskatoon outhit the Mavs 14-8, Medicine Hat committed four errors to the Berries’ one.
