Medicine Hat Mavericks designated hitter Zach Stark holds his head in his hands after watching the Okotoks Dawgs take over the lead in Game 3 of the Western Canadian Baseball League championship series on Thursday at Seaman Stadium.--NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
mccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
OKOTOKS
The Medicine Hat Mavericks left everything on the field on Thursday night at Seaman Stadium.
After falling into an early 5-0 hole to the Okotoks Dawgs in the winner-take-all Game 3 of the Western Canadian Baseball League’s championship series, the Mavs rallied for five runs in the sixth inning to breathe new life into the game.
But the well earned jubilation was short lived.
The reigning champion Dawgs dug in and struck for six in the home half of the frame to reignite the sold-out crowd and pave the way to their seventh title in franchise history with a 13-5 victory.
The Dawgs took an early lead in the second inning on an RBI groundout from Eric Hartman, then Mavericks starting pitcher Adam Golby allowed a second run on a wild pitch.
Medicine Hat was unable to put anything together in the third and the Dawgs struck for another pair, this time off a Trent Lenihan single and a Caleb Lumbard groundout – ending Golby’s night after four runs on four hits and three walks in 2 and 2/3 innings.
The Mavericks put two men on base in the fourth, but the danger was snuffed out on an inning-ending double play.
Medicine Hat finally got the best of Dawgs starting pitcher Brock Townsend in the top of the sixth inning, batting around and putting up a five-spot to tie the game. After scoring two runs on back-to-back errors, Medicine Hat loaded up the bases and brought in two more on a walk and a bean ball before Tory Nelson knotted the game up with an RBI fielder’s choice.
But the Dawgs quickly responded by blowing the game back open. Logan Grant drove in two on a triple, then Lenihan singled him in before Lumbard slapped in a few more to take all the wind out of Medicine Hat’s sails.
The Dawgs added two more in the eighth on a Lumbard RBI single and a sac fly off the bat of Brendan Luther.
Hartman recorded the final out on a line drive to right from Brody Gardner.
The underdog Mavericks entered the postseason with a 30-26 record – good enough for second in the East Division standings – then swept the Regina Red Sox (23-33) before defeating the Moose Jaw Miller Express (38-18) in three games for the East title and a ticket to the championship series.
Okotoks finished the regular season as the WCBL’s top team with a 40-16 record, then swept the Fort McMurray Giants (30-26) and Sylvan Lake Gulls (38-18) before besting the Mavs in three for the championship.
