SASKATOON -- The Saskatoon Berries took an early lead against the Regina Red Sox and never looked backed on Saturday night, going on to a 9-3 victory in Western Canadian Baseball League action in Saskatoon.
And while it appeared it was going to be a similar case in the game between the Weyburn Beavers and Moose Jaw Miller Express in Moose Jaw, a lopsided blowout would turn into a tense finish before the Beavers secured a 19-16 victory.
Saskatoon 9 Regina 3
The Berries got things started early at Cairns Field, scoring three in the first inning and tacking on another in the fourth for a 4-0 lead. Regina got two back in the fifth but would get no closer, with Saskatoon taking a 6-3 lead into the eighth before scoring three more runs.
Corey Wouters had a 3-for-5 night for Saskatoon that included a run scored and run batted in, while Jalen Freeman was 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI and Bailyn Sorensen crossed the plate three times.
Matthew Fox and Riley Bender each went 2-for-4 for Regina, Rafael Jackson, Brady Bye and Sam Baker scored their runs.
Matt Whitney got his first start of the season on the Berries mound and turned in a quality start, allowing three unearned runs on six hits while striking out four over 6 ⅔ innings. Clay Mixson finished off the seventh and tossed a scoreless eighth while striking out four, Zach Laird pitched a shutout ninth.
Colton Anderson started for the Red Sox and allowed four runs, three earned, on five hits over four innings. Zander Oudie-Senger gave up two runs on three hits in 1 ⅓ innings and Ayden Page closed things out, allowing three runs on two hits.
Both teams are now 2-1 and tied for second in the East Division.
Both teams now have Sunday off, with the Berries hosting Swift Current on Monday at 7 p.m. and Regina hosting Medicine Hat on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Weyburn 19, Moose Jaw 16
The Beavers put up runs in six straight innings -- including five in the third, five in the fifth and four in the seventh -- to build a 19-8 lead heading into the eighth inning, but as has become a theme in the early going, Moose Jaw wouldn’t go quietly.
The Miller Express battled back with five runs in the eighth and then tacked on three more in the ninth before the Beavers were able to close things out.
As one might expect thanks to the score, the two offences put up some gaudy numbers.
Trevor Dale led the way for Weyburn with a 3-for-5 night that saw him finish a triple away from the cycle -- a double, two home runs, four runs scored and five RBI.
Alex Alva was just as impressive, going 3-for-4 with three doubles, four runs and four RBI, while Zach Tanabe also crossed the plate four times. Ian Heck also hit a round tripper.
Jackson Yeager had a game for the ages for the Miller Express, going 5-for-5 with two doubles, two home runs, four runs scored and seven RBI.
Tanner DeGrazia went 3-for-6 with a double, four runs and three RBI, Austin Gurney 2-for-4 with three runs scored, Thomas Soto 3-for-6 with a run and RBI.
Dylan Parton picked up the win on the mound, allowing five runs, three earned, on eight hits over five innings. Keaton Husband gave up eight runs on six hits and four walks over the next 2 ⅓ and Ethan Webster closed things out, giving up three runs in the final 1 ⅔.
Kaden Noble started for Moose Jaw and gave up five runs on four hits in two innings before three pitchers -- Hideyoshi Kawahara, Nathan Yunick and Joe Gutierrez -- allowed 14 runs over the next four innings. Yunick had an especially tough line as none of the five runs he allowed were earned thanks to an untimely error.
Owen Csada and Jakob Israel would toss three scoreless innings to finish things off.
Weyburn improved to 2-1 and are tied for second in the East Division, Moose Jaw falls to 0-3.
The two teams are right back at it on Sunday afternoon in Weyburn, with first pitch at 2:05 p.m.
