By Randy Palmer June 15th, 2023
Two-hour rain delay sees game take nearly six hours to play as Brooks takes 14-10 victory
It was the bottom of the second inning when Moose Jaw Miller Express hitter Dawson Tweet fouled off six pitches from Brooks Bombers starter Fernando Medina to work himself into a 2-2 count.
Two hours later, he’d finish his at-bat with a fly-out to left field.
The Western Canadian Baseball League clubs ended up waiting through a lengthy rain delay midway through Tweet’s second at-bat of the game at Ross Wells Park and would take nearly six hours to finish things off once it was all said and done, creating one of the longest games in league history.
It would be the Bombers who would come out on the right side of the equation, taking advantage of six Moose Jaw errors to earn a 14-10 victory at Ross Wells Park.
Despite the slew of defensive miscues, the Express were still in the hunt heading into the ninth inning, with the contest tied 10-10.
Brooks would pound out four hits in the inning off relievers Kaleb Waller and Triston Seitz, including a two-run double off the bat of Jeremiah Sanchez, and scored their four runs to take their big lead.
That was more than enough for Brooks reliever Joey Mazzetti, who finished off his 5 ? innings of one-run relief by allowing a single and nothing more.
It was a strange one for the pitching staffs in general.
Ethan Merk got the start for Moose Jaw and held Brooks scoreless the first two innings before attempting to return after the break. The Bombers promptly put up four runs to tie the game, and then scored another three in the fourth to take a 7-4 edge.
The Millers got all of that back and then some the next inning, though, sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring five to take a 9-7 edge.
Moose Jaw reliever Haldon Craig allowed a run over the next two innings, setting the stage for Brooks’ late-game surge.
Outside of his weird at-bat, Tweet had another solid game at the dish, going 2-for-5 with an eighth-inning home run and a double, two runs scored and two runs batted in. Wyatt Tweet had a pair of hits and three runs batted in in five trips to the plate, while Christian Yanez was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Moose Jaw is now 9-4 on the season and continue to hold a two-game lead over the Regina Red Sox at the top of the East Division. Brooks improved to 6-7.
The two teams are right back at it on Thursday night, with the Bombers making their final appearance at Ross Wells Park this season. Game time is 7:05 p.m.