Based on the match-up of starting pitchers between the Moose Jaw Miller Express and Sylvan Lake Gulls on Saturday night, it looked as if the bullpens could very well have most of the evening off.
And most nights when Moose Jaw’s Kellan Voggesser and Sylvan Lake’s Tyler Boudreau take the mound, that’s going to be the case.
Instead, Voggesser was gone after the first inning, and Boudreau ended up surrendering six runs over five innings as the Gulls went on to 10-7 victory in Western Canadian Baseball League action.
The Express got off to a good start, scoring a pair of runs off a Wyatt Tweet double in the top of the first, but the Gulls would send 11 men to the plate in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of three hits and five walks to build a 5-2 lead.
Kaleb Waller took over on the mound in the second and allowed three runs over the next two innings but settled down from there. He’d end up going five, shutting down the Gulls the rest of the way and leaving after the sixth having allowed three runs on six hits over five innings.
That gave the Miller Express a chance to battle back, and that they did.
A three-run third inning made it 8-5 Sylvan Lake, and after Moose Jaw scored single runs in the fifth and seventh, it was suddenly a one-run game.
The Gulls picked up an insurance run in their half of the seventh, though, and added another marker in the eighth to wrap up scoring.
Ethan Merk pitched the seventh for Moose Jaw and allowed run on two hits, Gabe Soto tossed the eighth and allowed a run on three hits.
James Brock was stellar in relief for the Gulls, allowing a run on three hits over the final four innings.
Chaz Poppy led the Moose Jaw offence with a 3-for-4 night that included three runs scored and a pair of doubles, while Wyatt Tweet was 3-for-5 with four runs batted in. Dawson Tweet was 2-for-5 with a pair of runs, Parker Dorrance had a pair of hits.
Moose Jaw is now 10-6 and hold a 2 ½ game lead over the Medicine Hat Mavericks and Regina Red Sox for first place in the East Division
The Miller Express are back on the field on Sunday night when they make the trip north to Fort McMurray to face the Giants.
