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Miller Express rebound with commanding win over Yorkton

Borst hits pair of home runs to continue offensive fireworks in 12-2 victory
It’s been said many different times many different ways: the Western Canadian Baseball League is a long season in a short amount of time, and three games isn’t near enough to get a real gauge on a team.

But man, oh man, do things look promising for the Moose Jaw Miller Express right now.

The Express scored runs in each of the first six innings – including a six-spot in the sixth – on their way to taking a 12-2 win over the Yorkton Cardinals at Ross Wells Park.

The win marked the third straight game the Express have scored eight or more runs in a contest, and the second time the offence has hit double digits. All the more impressive is the run output continued the day after a tough 9-8 loss to the Swift Current 57’s, something that apparently just made the team angry.

“The team was definitely upset that we lost last night and we definitely let that fire burn for a little bit,” said clean-up hitter Michael Borst, who continued his early season power show with a pair of home runs while going 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBI.

“We regrouped and we came after it, we wanted to put on a good show for these fans, they come out on a Saturday night and we want to make it fun for them… We attacked strikes early, they were throwing a big lefty with a lot of movement so we adjusted and hit it the other way and got him out of there as quick as we could.”

Borst – who hails from McHenry, Ill. and played college at Minot State – now has three home runs and 10 RBI on the season, leading the WCBL in both categories.

“I’m kind of still feeling it because I broke my good bat yesterday, but if my second bat does this I can’t complain,” Borst said with a laugh. “I like putting on a show for the fans, it’s fun, and my teammates behind me, we love supporting each other. This is a great group of guys, I’ve only known them six days but I’ve never been closer to a summer team, so I’m just going to keep doing what I can to keep enjoying it.”

Lead-off hitter Eric Marriott also continued his hot start to the season, going 2-for-5 with a pair of runs and an RBI; Geordie McDougall went 2-for-4 and crossed the plate twice while Dougie DelaCruz had the unusual linescore of 0-for-2 with two runs scored, an RBI and two walks. Andres Garza also knocked in a pair of runs.

Casey Zarr got the start on the mound and was plenty effective, giving up a pair of runs on four hits in 3 1/3 innings of work. Alex Orenczuk picked up the win in relief, surrendering only two hits in 3 2/3rds before Borst tossed two hitless innings and struck out a pair to close out things.

Chris Maurin got the start for Yorkton and took the loss, surrendering four runs on five hits in four innings work.

The Express and Cardinals will return to Ross Wells Park Sunday tomorrow afternoon for the rematch, with the game starting at the special Sunday time of 4 p.m.

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