Any time the Moose Jaw Miller Express went through their struggles with the Medicine Hat Mavericks this season, a major fact seemed to be their opponent’s relentless resiliency.
It didn’t matter what kind of a lead Moose Jaw had or who they were throwing out of the bullpen, the Mavericks found a way to put up the runs they needed to win.
That included six-run seventh innings in back-to-back games during a two-game sweep in Medicine Hat during the final weeks of the season.
On Saturday night in Medicine Hat, the MIller Express figured it out, but just barely and in the absolute nick of time.
Trailing their best-of-three Western Canadian Baseball League East Division final one-game-to-none after losing 5-4 to the Mavericks in Game 1 Friday, the Express would hold on for a 7-5 victory to force a third and deciding game at Ross Wells Park on Sunday night.
A major key was the return of Brayan Villar, who came back from a stint playing pro ball out east to give Moose Jaw one of their best starts of the season -- six innings pitched, three hits, a single unearned run and four strikeouts.
By the time he left the game, the Express had put together a 7-1 lead and had things essentially in hand. Or so it appeared. True to form, the Mavericks made things very interesting in the final two innings.
Andrew Barger tossed a scoreless seventh but was unable to get an out before loading the bases in the eighth, leading to Triston Seitz taking over on the mound. He gave up a bases-loaded walk and a two-run double, getting an out before giving way to Kellen Voggesser, who allowed a sacrifice fly before picking up the final two outs of the inning.
That set the stage for Haldon Craig in the ninth, and he’d get a measure of revenge after giving up the winning run the night before, allowing a single walk but striking out a pair and getting a fly to centre to finish things off.
Bobby Pokorney was one of Moose Jaw’s offensive leaders, going 2-for-4 with a third inning home run and a pair of runs batted in, while Austin Gurney was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Nate Mensik had a single hit but knocked in two, Dawson Tweet was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI and Thomas Soto put a pair of walks to good use by scoring a pair of runs.
Now, it’s on to the biggest game of the season for both teams when they take the field in the third and deciding game of the East Division final on Sunday night at Ross Wells Park. Game time is 7:05 p.m., and the team is hoping for plenty of fan support in their push to return to the WCBL Final.
On that note, the winner of Sunday’s game will face the Okotoks Dawgs beginning early next week, after they rolled to a 7-1 win in Sylvan Lake to finish off that series.
