By Mitch Bach

Mavericks eying home field advantage; fall to Okotoks in final game at AP

Jul 27, 2017 | 9:53 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — With a playoff spot locked up, the Medicine Hat Mavericks are turning their focus to home field advantage.

Head coach Mike Thompson, along with several players, have expressed the importance of playing at home. Taking a closer look at how home turf stacks up compared to other diamonds, it’s clear they’re not wrong.

Despite falling 5-4 to the Division Champion Okotoks Dawgs in their final home game of the season on Thursday, Medicine Hat boasts a dominating 17-7 record at AP.

That includes dropping three of their first four — so we can tighten that statline to 16 wins and just four losses in their last 20 home games.

It’s a stark contrast to their record away from the Gas City, which comes in at a dismal 7-14 this summer. In fact, it took Medicine Hat until June 16th to record their first road victory — over two weeks after the regular season started.

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There are some high points in the Boys of Summer’s road performance. During their longest road-stand of the season, Medicine Hat went 4-4 after dropping their final two matches in Swift Current.

Since the turn of the month, Medicine Hat has won twice away from Athletic Park in eight chances. They’re currently riding a three-game losing streak away from home after falling in Weyburn on July 19 and 20, complimented with a 11-6 loss to Lethbridge three games later.

Lethbridge stormed back to defeat the Edmonton Prospects in extra innings Thursday night. They now sit in second place in the West — the final home field advantage spot — one game up on Medicine Hat and Edmonton.

Medicine Hat has three games remaining on the season, all of which away from home. They hit the road to Brooks tomorrow (7:05 p.m.) before wrapping up the season with a two game series in the provincial capital Saturday (7:05 p.m.) and Sunday (2:05 p.m.).

Although it could be difficult to overcome Edmonton and Lethbridge, likely needing to win at least two of their final three to do so, home field advantage could mean the difference between a lengthy playoff run or an early exit.