MOOSE JAW -- The Moose Jaw Miller Express once again showed their resiliency on Friday night, but the Saskatoon Berries proved to be just a little bit better in that category and it led to their first win of the season.
Nursing a one-run lead through five innings, the Berries would score a pair of insurance runs in the sixth to go ahead 7-4 and would eventually take an 8-5 victory in Western Canadian Baseball League action.
The Regina Red Sox had a solid showing of their own and picked up their second win with a 5-0 victory over the Weyburn Beavers in Weyburn.
Saskatoon 8 Moose Jaw 5
The Berries are now 1-1 on the campaign, while Moose Jaw falls to 0-2 with the loss in their home opener at Ross Wells Park.
Saskatoon took advantage of a chaotic first inning that saw three runs score on two hits, an error, two hit batters and a walk. Moose Jaw would come right back with a pair of runs in their half of the inning, though, and would tie the game the next inning.
The Berries would take the lead for good with single runs in the third and fourth before tacking on two more in the sixth for a 7-5 lead. Another Saskatoon run in the eighth would cap scoring on the evening.
Abiam Medina led Saskatoon’s offence with a 2-for-3 game that included a double, two runs scored and three RBI. Cooper Wesslund was 3-for-5 with two RBI, Jalen Freeman scored a pair of runs.
The Berries were an absolute terror on the basepaths, with Freemen recording three stolen bases on the night, Nathan Houston and Ethan Murdoch two apiece as Saskatoon recorded nine swipes in total.
Adam Beaman was the winning pitcher, allowing two runs on three hits in three innings of relief. Turner Zdunich started and allowed two first inning runs on two hits and two walks before giving way to Beamin. Michael Sall allowed an unearned run in 1 ⅔ innings of work before Tanner Hosick and Klevert Martina pitched 3 ⅓ scoreless innings to close out the contest.
All told, Saskatoon pitchers recorded 14 strikeouts, four each going to Beamin and Sall.
Ben Waliczek had a good day at the plate and on the bases for Moose Jaw, going 1-for-2 with a double, two walks, three runs scored and three stolen bases. Fourth-year veteran Austin Gurney was 2-for-4 with a double, run and two RBI.
Kam Sparrowhawk got the start for Moose Jaw and went 3 ⅓ while getting hit by untimely errors, giving up five runs, two earned, on six hits while striking out four. Landen Zehr allowed two runs on two hits and three walks the next two innings before giving way to Jordan Bauer, who allowed a run on two walks and a hit in 1 ⅔ innings. Nathan Pisio finished things off, allowing a single hit in the final two innings and striking out three.
Saskatoon is back in action Saturday when they host Regina at 4 p.m., Moose Jaw hosts Weyburn at 7:05 p.m.
Regina 5, Weyburn 0
One night after allowing a single run in their commanding win over the Swift Current 57’s, the Red Sox received another outstanding showing from their pitchers and weren’t far from perfection in the process.
Blake Johnson got the start and allowed a single hit over five innings of work, allowing a single run while striking out six. Nicolas Yard then took over in relief and was just as effective, pitching the final four innings and also giving up one hit while striking out four.
All told, the Red Sox hurlers would face only five batters over the minimum.
That was more than enough to get the job done, as Regina would score the first three runs of the game in the fifth inning before tacking on single runs in the eighth and ninth.
Jordan Tucker had another solid game at the plate for the Red Sox, going 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI. James Wright, Jaden Collura and Matthew Fox all had two hits each, with Fox and Collura each knocking in a run.
Ryan Meyer had a decent showing of his own on the mound for the Beavers, giving up three runs on six hits over five innings while striking out seven. Owen McConnell allowed a single unearned run on three hits the next three innings, and Logan Kinter gave up one run on two hits in the final inning.
Noah Brooks and Chett McDaniel had the only hits for Weyburn.
Regina is now 2-0 on the season, Weyburn falls to 1-1.
