By Randy Palmer
Moose Jaw puts up seven runs in first inning, roll to 17-6 victory at Ross Wells Park to force third and deciding game Tuesday in Saskatoon
The Moose Jaw Miller Express apparently took their lopsided loss in Game 1 of the Western Canadian Baseball League East Division Final very personally.
A little over 24 hours after falling to the Saskatoon Berries 14-1 in the series opener in Saskatoon, the Express pounded out seven runs in the first inning and went on to a 17-6 win to tie the best-of-three series at a game apiece.
As a result of the win in front of 880 fans at Ross Wells Park, the two teams will now play a winner-take-all game on Tuesday night in Saskatoon, with the winner advancing to the WCBL Final against either Okotoks or Sylvan Lake.
The Express got things going quickly in the opening inning, and would end up sending 12 batters to the plate, scoring their seven runs on five hits and a pair of errors.
Nathan Houston had one of the big hits in the inning, knocking home Nate Mensik and Austin Gurney with a double to make it 3-0, and Thomas Soto plated another two runs on a bases-loaded error that brought Elijah Bear and Ryan Gouldin.
The Express didn’t let up in the second inning, with a two-run home run off the bat of Bear making it a 9-0 game, and they’d extend the lead to 11-0 when Gouldin hit another two-run round tripper in the fourth.
Saskatoon briefly made things interesting when they put up five runs on four hits in the fifth, but Moose Jaw got one back in the bottom of the frame and tacked on two more runs in the sixth on a two-run single by Robert Estrada.
There things remained until the eighth, when Mensik hit a three-run home run to close out scoring for the Express on the night.
McGwire Turner hit a solo home run for Saskatoon in the ninth, and that would mark the end of a long night for the Berries.
Mensik capped the game with a rather strange scoreline, going 1-for-2 with four runs scored and three runs batted in, thanks to his three walks on the night. Bear was 2-for-2 with two runs and two RBI, while Gouldin finished up 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBI. Bobby Pokorney also took advantage of Saskatoon’s 10 walks on the night, going 1-for-3 with three runs scored after drawing a pair of free passes.
All that offence gave Moose Jaw starting pitcher Ethan Merk plenty of room to work with, and he’d pitch four scoreless before giving up the five runs on nine hits in the fifth. Jacob Quiles finished off that inning before giving way to Jaden Canelli, who turned in a solid relief showing by scattering five hits over the next 3 ?. Julian Gonzalez finished things off, giving up the single run in the ninth.
Carter Beck continued his hot streak at the plate for Saskatoon with a 3-for-5 showing that boosted his postseason batting average to .652, while Ethan Menard went 4-for-5 with a run scored and Cory Wouters 3-for-5 with an RBI.
Mike Singleton started for Saskatoon and was only able to get one out in the first inning, with only three of the seven runs he allowed being earned.
Cory Lawson finished off the first, with Jevon Parent taking over and allowing five runs on three hits over the next 3 ?. Maris Brons gave up two runs in the sixth, and Jaden Lamothe pitched the final two innings, giving up Mensik’s homer.
The deciding game of the series will now take place Tuesday in Saskatoon, with first pitch at 7:05 p.m. from Cairns Field.