FORT MCMURRAY -- Friday night will be one to forget for Saskatchewan’s teams in the Western Canadian Baseball League.
Four of the five teams from the Land of the Living Skies took close road losses, with the Moose Jaw Miller Express dropping a 6-5 decision to the Fort McMurray Giants, the Swift Current 57’s losing 4-2 to the Energy City Cactus Rats in Fort McMurray, the Regina Red Sox falling 9-7 to the Medicine Hat Mavericks and the Weyburn Beavers losing 6-5 to the Okotoks Dawgs. The Saskatoon Berries had a rare Friday night off.
Fort McMurray 6, Moose Jaw 5
The Miller Express fell behind 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth before regaining the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, but the Giants would strike right back with another two runs in the eighth to secure the win.
Austin Gurney hit his eighth double of the season and knocked in a pair of runs to lead Moose Jaw’s offence, while Thomas Soto and Ben Waliczek each crossed the plate twice.
Darcy Barry hit a solo home run as Fort Mac took the lead in the eighth, while Matt Rhoades also hit a round tripper and knocked in a pair. Miles Murphy had three RBI.
Westin Walls had a solid start on the mound for Moose Jaw, allowing four runs on seven hits over seven innings while striking out 10 and walking only two. Amane Kondo took the loss after giving up the two runs in the eighth.
K.J. Jones allowed three runs on three hits over 4 ⅔ to start for the Giants, Sam Rambajan pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win, Chris Billings picked up the save.
Moose Jaw falls to 11-14 and remains fourth in the East, Fort McMurray is now 8-14 and fifth in the West.
Energy City 4, Swift Current 2
The 57’s took an early lead with a pair of runs in the first inning, but the Cactus Rats would get one back in the fourth before putting three across in the sixth to secure the win.
Swift Current had only five hits in the contest, with Gus Koehn and Silas Hilton getting one apiece and also scoring the 57’s runs. Koehn also had a pair of stolen bases on the afternoon.
Timo Aracena was 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI for Energy City. Parker Husu also had two hits and scored a run.
Jaylen Gutierrez got the start for Swift Current and allowed four runs on seven hits over six innings while taking the loss. Max Noto tossed two scoreless innings of relief.
Josh Higgins was the winning pitcher after putting together a quality start, allowing a single earned run on four hits over six innings. Chris Nino pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the save.
The 57’s are now 5-19 on the season and sit sixth in the East, Energy City improved to 11-14 and are fourth in the West
Medicine Hat 9, Regina 7
The Red Sox took a 7-2 lead out of the fourth inning but couldn’t make it stick, as the Mavericks scored three in the sixth, another in the seventh and then took the lead for good with another three in the eighth.
Matthew Fox was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI for Regina, with Justin Seward and Jaden Collura also hitting solo round trippers.
Aaron Vulcano was 3-for-5 with a solo home run to led the Mavericks offence, Jaden Babiuk had three hits, scored two runs and knocked in a pair. Carter Roth also had three hits, Adam Vulcano knocked in three runs.
Blake Johnson started for the Red Sox and allowed two runs on eight hits and struck out nine over five innings, Nicolas Yard was the losing pitcher after giving up three runs on five hits in the eighth.
Tyler Spruiell gave up four runs on five hits in 3 ⅓ as Medicine Hat’s starter, Diego Centella earned the win after holding Regina without a hit in 4 ⅔ innings relief. Luke Barrientos picked up the save.
Regina falls to 12-11 and are third in the East, Medicine Hat is now 17-8 and second in the East.
Okotoks 6, Weyburn 5
The Beavers got off to a great start with a 4-0 lead through the first two innings, but the defending league champion Dawgs would rally to take a 6-4 lead in the middle innings before holding on for the win.
Ian Heck was at it again for the Weyburn offence, hitting a three run home run in the first inning, his fourth homer of the season. Zach Tanabe also had a solo home run.
All but one player in the Okotoks line-up had at least one hit, with Eric Machej going 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored.
Dylan Parton started for the Beavers and allowed three runs on eight hits over four innings, Isaiah Granado took the loss after giving up the lead in the fifth.
Jase Wessels pitched the first two innings and allowed four runs for Okotoks before the Dawgs used seven relievers the rest of the way. Ryan McFarland picked up the win after pitching a scoreless fifth, Easton Corey gave up a run in the ninth but earned the save.
The win was the third straight for Okotoks and saw them move into first in the West at 16-8, Weyburn falls to 7-15 and are fifth in the East.
WCBL action continues Saturday with Moose Jaw at Energy City in Fort McMurray (1:05 p.m.), Saskatoon at Medicine Hat (7:05 p.m.), Swift Current at Sylvan Lake (7:05 p.m.), Weyburn at Okotoks (7:05 p.m.) and Brooks at Lethbridge (7:05 p.m.).
