NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks outfielder Aaron Vulcano swings at a pitch in the first inning of a 19-5 loss Thursday at Athletic Park to the Moose Jaw Miller Express.
Medicine Hat News
The Medicine Hat Mavericks were rolling through four innings Thursday night.
A pair of two-run innings had them ahead of the Moose Jaw Miller Express 4-3 before the Millers piled on 16 runs and the Mavs rolled on to a 19-5 loss.
Twelve of the Millers’ 23 hits on the night came with two strikes, they also capitalized on four Mavs’ errors and six walks. It’s the most runs the Mavs’ have conceded all season. It was a flat night with self inflicted wounds head coach Jonathon Thornhill says.
“Kudos to Moose Jaw,  jokingly, but realistically, it felt like a bottle weak contact generated by the staff tonight, Gary goes out, has a rough start, but then kind of dials into what he’s  been doing all football summer for us and there’s not a lot to be upset from a pitching standpoint. There was a couple of 0-2 situations where we left pitches in the zone too much and they threw their hands and barrels somehow found a way to get down.
“So a lot of things went their way tonight, a lot of things didn’t go our way tonight, self inflicted as well, we’re not trying to make excuses. They know they have to be better and bounce back tomorrow.”
Moose Jaw opened the scoring with a pair in the top of the first on a single to centre field and then a single to second base. They grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second, scoring on an error.
The Mavs responded in the bottom of the second, scoring a pair on a two-run home run off the bat of Adam Vulcano, his third home run of the season.
Medicine Hat grabbed the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run double to right field off the bat of second baseman Blake Dale for the 4-3 lead. Dale dropped a pop fly behind second base in the first for the Millers’ second run.
Moose Jaw tied the game up in the fifth with a solo home run from Austin Gurney, his third home run of the season. That was starter Gary Dornan’s final frame, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits, two walks with two strikeouts.
Andrew Kim took the mound to start the sixth where the Millers scored twice, once on a wild pith and another on a fielders choice hit to second base.
Moose Jaw batted through the lineup in the seventh, totalling eight runs on seven hits and two errors. Kim was lifted after recording one out in the frame, with Ryan Dexter taking over for the final two outs.
Dylan Heinen made his Mavs’ debut, starting the eighth inning on the bump. He ran into some trouble as Moose Jaw recorded three straight hits, scoring on a single before a groundout scored a second run. Adam Vulcano traded in his first baseman glove and took over on the mound for Heinen who was on a pitch limit. He pitched the last 1.2 innings with two strikeouts, allowing three runs on four hits.
After going scoreless across three innings, the Mavs plated a run in the eighth on an RBI double to right field off the bat of shortstop Johnny Vulcano.
Moose Jaw’s offence kept flowing, taking advantage of a position player on the mound, scoring three runs in the ninth inning for the 19-5 final.
The Millers outhit the Mavs 23-8, they left 12 runners on base to Medicine Hat’s five stranded.
The Mavs (23-13) host the Swift Current 57’s on Friday at Athletic Park before the Millers return on Saturday for a rematch. Thornhill says they can’t and won’t overlook Swift Current, who sits in the bottom of the East division.
“(Swift Current) is going to come in, ready to play baseball and look to beat us at our yard and we have to make sure we don’t let that happen,” Thornhill said. “so our guys will show up, locked in, ready to go, and most importantly, having fun to get back on track tomorrow.”
