Any time a baseball team scores 41 runs over the span of three games, odds are things are going to be going pretty well for that crew.
Such is the case for the Moose Jaw Miller Express in recent Western Canadian Baseball League action, as a late-game surge led to Moose Jaw taking a 15-8 victory over the Brooks Bombers in Brooks on Wednesday night.
It marked the third-straight game the Express have hit double digits in runs scored, and it’s no coincidence they’ve also won each of those contests. They now have a 13-7 record, tied for the most wins in the WCBL, and are three games up on the Regina Red Sox for first place in the East Division.
Wednesday’s contest was an interesting one in that for all the runs they put up, the Express didn’t have a single extra-base hit -- all their damage came from putting the ball in play in timely fashion with runners on base.
Bobby Pokorney did the best job of that, going 2-for-4 and knocking in three runs, thanks to a single in the fifth, sacrifice fly in the eighth and bases-loaded hit-by-pitch in the ninth. Dougie DelaCruz scored each of those three runs.
That Pokorney’s three RBI were tops on the team was a product of their overall production. Each of Moose Jaw’s starters on the night had at least a hit and the top of the order combined for 10 of their 18 hits on the night.
Austin Gurney continued to swing a hot bat and was 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI, while clean-up hitter Chaz Poppy was 3-for-5 and scored a pair of runs. Dawson Tweet was 2-for-7 with a pair of RBI, and Andrew Rantz had his best game of the season at the plate out of the nine-spot, going 3-for-6 with a run and RBI.
As well as things turned out for the Express, it was a close game up until the ninth inning.
The teams exchanged four-run frames in the first and second, and Moose Jaw led 6-5 through six. The lead sat at 10-7 when the Express finished with a five-run ninth.
All that offence was more than enough for Moose Jaw’s pitching staff.
Cameron Dunn got the start and allowed five runs on six hits over five innings before giving way to Zach Sigmon, who allowed a single run over the next two frames. Haldon Craig and Triston Seitz pitched the eighth and ninth respectively and allowed one run each.
The Miller Express have the night off before returning to Ross Wells Park on Friday night when they host the Medicine Hat Mavericks. Game time is 7:05 p.m.
