NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks outfielder Yusei Uzawa watches a strike go by during an at bat in the Mavs' 12-6 loss Sunday at Athletic Park to the Saskatoon Berries.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Mavericks have had success bouncing back from adversity through the first half of the 2025 WCBL season. They have one heck of a weekend to test that ability on.
The Mavs finished up a 2-4 week with a pair of bloated losses at Athletic Park to the WCBL-leading Saskatoon Berries, falling 13-1 on Saturday and 12-6 on Sunday.
Both losses saw the Mavs’ starter chased from the game in the first inning, with the Berries putting up crooked numbers. Saturday’s loss saw Berries’ outfielders Carter Beck and Ethan Menard each knock a pair of home runs.
On Sunday, Menard hit three home runs, two of the solo variety and one three-run blast to propel himself to tied for first in the WCBL with six long balls. The Mavs responded in the bottom of both opening frames, scoring their lone run Saturday and tallying three on a Nate King home run on Sunday.
The weekend’s losses and the 2-4 record on the week is the roughest patch the Mavs have hit this season, still remaining in second place of the WCBL’s East division. Head coach Jonathon Thornhill says it’s a humbling weekend and one they can build off.
“Baseball doesn’t owe us anything, you got a gift from the man above to go out and do your job and have fun with it. What do you do with it,” Thornhill said. “So it gives them a chance to mental reset.
“Enjoy the off day Monday, recoup, refresh, recover and then a good mental reset hit the road and just get back to enjoying it, having a good time. We know we’re not perfect. We know Saskatoon is not perfect, but the same time we have to get back to what we’re good at and build off that.”
The Mavs beat the Regina Red Sox 9-7 on Friday in a game they trailed 7-0 entering the bottom of the fourth. That win and the two losses against Saskatoon, all saw dominate performances out of the bullpen to maintain a status quo.
On Friday, Diego Centella took the mound in the fourth and recorded two outs before working four shutout innings, allowing just one walk with two strikeouts as the Mavs completed their comeback.
Garrick Levesque (4.1 innings) and Ryan Dexter (three innings) performed well out of the bullpen on Saturday, each allowing a pair of runs but both recording three strikeouts.
Luis Diaz took the ball in the first inning and pitched five relief frames with seven strikeouts, allowing two runs. A.J. Doll worked three innings, allowing the three-run bomb to Menard but also striking out a pair.
“When you give a team nine runs in the first inning last night, seven runs in the first inning tonight, it’s a nice little jump start for their offence,” Thornhill said. “We talked about it in (the locker room), the one thing that on top of Luis (Diaz), Luke (Barrientos) and (A.J.) Doll doing what they did from a pitcher standpoint, to give us hope, was guys never quit. They kept chipping away, they kept coming to the dugout and easily could have said, ‘this again, let’s move on,’ but they didn’t.”
The Mavs (17-10) embark on a six-game road trip starting tonight at Sylvan Lake for a Canada Day classic against the Gulls. They’ll face them again Wednesday before two games against the Fort McMurray Giants on Thursday and Friday, wrapping the trip with a pair against the Energy City Cactus Rats on Saturday and Sunday, playing at a borrowed high school field.
Thornhill is looking forward to the Canada Day experience and also getting on the road. He says it gives them a look at the West division and also gives them an opportunity to physically get away from the weekend’s losses at home.
“It’s nice to be home and be in a routine, but it’s also nice to get out and travel a little bit for that camaraderie, get back to that tight knit group they are,” Thornhill said. “When you’re on the road, you don’t have to worry about so much of the field work or the setup for BP and all that stuff. The home is great but there’s pros and cons to each.
“So when you’re on the road, it’s just show up, let’s play baseball, get to take some BP and go play right away. So it’s both positive and negative, but at the same time, anytime you get to play baseball is a good day.”
