NEWS PHOTO James Tubb
Medicine Hat Mavericks pitcher Tyler Spruiell unleashes a pitch in the first inning of a 12-6 loss Monday at Athletic Park to the Swift Current 57's.
Medicine Hat News
The Medicine Hat Mavericks’ wins Monday came away from Athletic Park.
The Mavs clinched a spot in the 2025 WCBL playoffs with Weyburn’s 9-2 loss in the afternoon to the Saskatoon Berries. Regina lost 11-10 to the Moose Jaw Miller Express on Monday night, those Red Sox trail Medicine Hat by just three games.
It was a pair of wins that book-ended a Mavs’ 12-6 loss at home to the WCBL’s last-placed Swift Current 57’s. They surrendered seven runs in the top of the fourth, dropping the first game back from the all-star break.
“It just comes down to execution,” head coach Jonathon Thornhill said. “Walks and no matter where your opponent is in the standings, it’s baseball, a hitter can find a way to hit. That’s what they did in that they put up a crooked number of seven. So they took advantage of our mistakes and kudos to them for doing so.”
The Mavs opened the scoring, the first run coming in the first inning with Jeremy Freeman Jr. scoring from third. Micah Dvorak stole second base and on the throw, the Mavs’ centre fielder broke from third, putting the Mavs ahead 1-0.
They made it a 2-0 lead with a sac fly off the bat of Yusei Uzawa in the second.
Swift Current got themselves on the board in the third with a single to centre field, scoring a runner who moved up to third base on an errant pickoff move. The 57’s blew the game open in the top of the fourth inning, scoring four runs on just one hit, capitalizing on the Mavs’ misfortunes and mistakes.
Two walks and an error loaded the bases for Swift Current. A hit by pitch and a walk scored two runs with the bases loaded, ending starter Tyler Spruiell’s day on the mound. Jensen Cockrell took over, walking the first batter he faced for the 4-2 Swift Current lead.
Jensen induced a ground ball for the second out of the inning before the 57’s put the game out of reach with a grand slam off the bat of Jose Ayala, putting Swift Current ahead 8-2.
The Mavs scored in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice groundout off the bat of Nate King. They scored twice more in the sixth inning to make it an 8-5 Swift Current lead. King, on base with a walk, scored on an error by the Swift Current shortstop that also moved Uzawa to third. Uzawa scored on an RBI single from Dvorak.
Spruiell’s line finished at five runs (three earned) on four hits and four walks, striking out five. Cockrell allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits and two walks, striking out two. Garrick Levesque took over to start the seventh inning, allowing three runs (tow earned) on tow hits and two walks, striking out a pair as Swift Current led 11-5.
David Heinen took the ball to start the eighth, allowing a run in the ninth on two hits and a walk, striking out two batters.
The Mavs, trailing 12-5, scored in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI single up the middle from Freeman Jr. to make it the 12-6 final.
Both teams finished with 10 hits, the Mavs left 14 runners on board.
The Mavs (26-17) host the Regina Red Sox on Tuesday at Athletic Park.
