NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks third baseman Tyler Vanneste slugs a first inning home run in an 11-5 win at Athletic Park over the Weyburn Beavers on June 8. Vanneste will represent the Mavs in the home run derby at the WCBL all-star game this weekend at Okotoks' Seaman Stadium.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Tyler Vanneste is going to be swinging for the fences this weekend.
The third-year Medicine Hat Mavericks infielder will represent the red and white in the home run derby at the WCBL all-star game this weekend at Okotoks’ Seaman Stadium.
Vanneste is heading to his second WCBL all-star game, he was slated to swing in the home run derby last year but could not participate in the event nor the game due to injury.
He’s looking forward to the opportunity this year.
“It’s a cool event, it’s, a long one, it’s a whole day thing and there’s lots of fun stuff to do,” Vanneste said. “I was able to see what happened last year, didn’t get to fully experience it but I’ll get to actually experience this one and see what it’s all about.”
Vanneste sits second on the Mavs in home runs this season, his fourth in the WCBL after playing for the former Edmonton Prospects in 2022. He watched last year as former Mavs outfielder and fellow Prospect Jordan Phillips slugged two home runs in the derby.
“It’ll be fun, he said it’s the most tiring thing ever,” Vanneste said. “So I’ll have to prepare for it but it’ll be fun just to do it, it’ll be a cool experience.
The Mavericks lost 11-2 Wednesday night at Moose Jaw to the Miller Express. They scored two runs in the first inning with RBIs from Carter Roth and Micah Dvorak.
The Millers scored 11 unanswered runs, putting up five in the third and four more in the fourth inning en route to the bloated win. Medicine Hat used five pitchers in the loss.
The Mavs were back at Moose Jaw on Thursday for a rematch with the Millers, winning 12-1.
They return to Athletic Park tonight for the second alternate identity night, the Mavs will host Moose Jaw while playing as the Baby Spreys.
They debuted the alternate identity jerseys on Tuesday, a tribute to the Toronto Blue Jays history in Medicine Hat and the Ospreys that live on the light stanchions at Athletic Park.
