By Randy Palmer Jul 26, 2023
Moose Jaw steadily chips away after giving up seven in first inning, take lead in top of sixth, go on to 12-9 victory in WCBL action
With the way things went for the Moose Jaw Miller Express in the first inning in Weyburn on Tuesday night, head coach Eric Marriott was likely thinking in the back of his mind which position players would be taking the mound later in the game.
The Beavers sent 11 men to the plate, put up three runs before Moose Jaw was able to get an out, and eventually strung together seven runs for a quick 7-0 lead after the opening inning.
But teams don’t put together the kind of record the Miller Express have this season without being able to mount comebacks — and on Tuesday, Moose Jaw had one for the ages.
A five-run third inning got the Express back within a pair, things were tied 9-9 through six and Moose Jaw eventually finished things off with three runs in the top of the ninth for a 12-9 victory.
The Miller Express are now 31-15 on the Western Canadian Baseball League season and once again have an 8 ½ game lead over the Medicine Hat Mavericks at the top of the East Division. With 10 games remaining on the schedule, the Express can potentially clinch first place on Thursday night at home against Swift Current.
The top of the order paced Moose Jaw’s comeback, with Julio Acosta putting together a 2-for-4 night that included a double, run scored and two runs batted in. Dawson Tweet also had a solid — if somewhat painful — night at the plate, as he was hit by a pitch in each of his last three plate appearances but finished his night 1-for-3 and scored three runs.
The Beaver had issues pitching inside all night, in fact, as they’d hit a total of seven batters.
Austin Gurney also had a good showing, knocking in a pair of runs, scoring twice and drawing a pair of walks in five trips to the dish, while Greyson Barrett scored a pair of runs. Luke Lachance was 2-for-4 with a run and RBI.
It was a tough start for Kaleb Waller on the mound, as he allowed six runs on five hits and was unable to get an out. Triston Seitz surrendered two runs on two hits before escaping the jam and then tossing a scoreless second.
Things went well for Moose Jaw pitching staff from there — Gabe Soto tossed a scoreless third, Andrew Barger went three innings and allowed a single run, Julian Gonzalez pitched the seventh and eighth and gave up a single hit and Ethan Merk finished things off with a perfect bottom of the ninth.
The Miller Express are back in action Wednesday night when they travel to Swift Current before hosting the 57’s at Ross Wells Park on Thursday. Game time is 7:05 p.m.