MOOSE JAW -- The Saskatoon Berries just keep on winning games, and thanks to a pair of victories over the Medicine Hat Mavericks on the road this past weekend, they’re now beginning to pull away at the top of the Western Canadian Baseball League’s East Division standings.
The Berries took a 12-6 win over Medicine Hat on Sunday after downing the Mavericks 13-1 on Saturday, improving to 21-3 and moving 5 ½ games clear of Medicine Hat in first place.
Other results Saturday saw the Moose Jaw Miller Express defeat the Energy City Cactus Rats 4-1, the Sylvan Lake Gulls down the Swift Current 57’s 8-0 and the Okotoks Dawgs defeat the Weyburn Beavers 12-2.
Other Sunday action saw Sylvan Lake again defeat Swift Current 8-0 and the Brooks Bombers take a 10-5 win over Weyburn.
Moose Jaw 4, Energy City 1
The Miller Express got back on the winning track thanks to a three-run fifth inning that snapped a 1-1 tie, setting up a crew of seven pitchers to secure the victory.
Jacob Glazener made his first start on the mound for Moose Jaw and allowed a single hit in two innings before Kam Sparrowhawk gave up the Cactus Rats’ only run in the third. Jordan Bauer, Nathan Yunick and Landen Zehr each tossed a scoreless inning, setting up Kaden Noble to earn the win thanks to two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth. Cristian Garcia tossed a scoreless ninth to earn the save.
Steele Witcheck gave up four runs on eight hits in five innings to take the loss for Energy City.
Will Edwards led Moose Jaw’s offence, going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a run scored, while Austin Gurney also hit a double while racking up three hits and knocking in three.
Parker Husu was 2-for-4 with a run scored for the Cactus Rats.
Moose Jaw improves to 12-14 and sit fourth in the East Division, Energy City fell to 11-14 and are fourth in the West.
Saskatoon 13, Medicine Hat 1
The Berries wasted no time getting things going on Saturday night, scoring nine runs in the first inning and riding a stellar showing from their pitching staff the rest of the way to the win.
Merek Yeager got the start for Saskatoon and gave up a single run over five innings, striking out six. Four relievers took over from there and held Medicine Hat to only three hits the rest of the way.
Jensen Cockrell was the losing pitcher, but had errors in the field behind him to thank for it, as he gave up nine runs, only two earned, on seven hits while getting only two outs in the first. Garrick Levesque had a serviceable showing in relief, allowing two runs on five hit over the next 4 ⅓.
Ethan Menard and Evan Janner had outstanding games at the plate for Saskatoon, each hitting two home runs, scoring three runs and knocking in four. Carter Beck also hit a round tripper and scored three times.
Jeremy Freeman Jr. was 2-for-4 with a run scored for the Mavericks.
Sylvan Lake 8, Swift Current 0
The 57’s couldn’t get anything going against the Sylvan Lake pitchers, managing only four hits in the game while striking out 14 times.
Hunter Jones earned the win for the Gulls, putting together an impressive quality start that saw him allow two hits over six innings while striking out eight. Cameron Diaz gave up a single hit over the next two innings, and Tyler Boudreau struck out the side in the ninth to finish things off.
Ryker Ratcliff took the loss, allowing six runs on five hits, walking five and striking out three in 4 ⅓ innings.
Silas Hilton went 2-for-4 for Swift Current and was their only player with multiple hits.
Simon Baker went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI for Sylvan Lake, Ayden Makarus knocked in three runs.
Okotoks 12, Weyburn 2
The Dawgs built a 4-0 lead through the first two innings and extended their edge to 6-0 through six before further pulling away with four more runs in the seventh.
Zane Skansi was a major part of all of that, as he went 5-for-6 with three runs and four RBI. Aden Munoz also had an impressive game, going 4-for-4 with four runs scored, while Brandon Paez knocked in four runs on two hits.
Robert Gurney and Luke Malzewski scored Weyburn’s runs, Brayden Mayencourt had two hits.
Seth Gurr was the winning pitcher, holding the Beavers scoreless on five hits over six innings.
Ryan Meyer started for Weyburn and absorbed the loss, allowing four runs on six hits in 2 ⅔ innings.
Saskatoon 12, Medicine Hat 6
Saskatoon took a 7-3 lead out of the first inning and led 9-6 through five before pulling away with another three runs in the sixth.
After hitting two home runs the previous game against the Mavericks, Ethan Menard did himself one better and ended up with a game for the ages: three round trippers while going 5-for-6 at the plate, scoring four runs and knocking in six. Menard is now tied for the league lead in home runs with six and is also hitting .449 on the campaign.
Mason Roell also had a solid game, going 4-for-5 with a run and RBI.
Jeremy Freeman Jr. and Nate King each scored two runs for the Mavericks.
Matt Whitney was the winning pitcher, allowing six runs, three earned, on five hits while striking out four over five innings.
Xander Roberts took the loss, giving up seven runs on six hits and four walks without getting an out in the first innings. Luis Diaz did a solid job in emergency relief, going five innings and allowing a pair of runs.
Sylvan Lake 8, Swift Current 0
The Gulls built a 5-0 lead with two runs each in the second and third innings before padding their lead with three more in the eighth.
Five Sylvan Lake pitchers held the 57’s to only two hits, with Dylan Myttenar getting the start and allowing a single hit over three innings. Tyler Hrin picked up the win after pitching a scoreless fourth.
Shunta Furuya allowed four runs on five hits over three innings and took the loss.
Jaden Flores went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI to lead the Gulls offence, while Rowin O’Connor scored a pair of runs.
David Jinks and Donovan Borg had Swift Current’s hits.
Swift Current is now 5-21 on the season and sixth in the East, Sylvan Lake improves to 16-11 and are third in the West.
Brooks 10, Weyburn 5
Weyburn took a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh, but the Bombers would pour seven runs across the plate to secure the victory
J.R. Bedford had the big hit in the seventh for Sylvan Lake, cracking a grand slam home run and finishing with four RBI on the day. The Gulls weren’t done there, as Christian Altamirano followed up four batters later with a three-run double. Ben Fishel also had a good game, finishing with three runs scored.
Alex Alva went 2-for-4 with a home run for Weyburn, Ryan Dauphinee had three hits.
Julian Pokorny went six innings for Brooks and allowed four runs, two earned on seven hits, but Derek Hughes would earn the win after taking over in the seventh.
Joe Hart started for Weyburn and allowed seven runs, six earned on eight hits over 6 ⅓, Briggham Kokotailo took the loss after giving up the winning run in the seventh.
Weyburn falls to 7-17 to sit fourth in the East, Brooks are now 7-16 and sixth in the West.
