Photo courtesy of Scott Roblin

By Scott Roblin

Bull Fighters

Klingensmith, Sojka rake in crucial victory for Mavericks in Lethbridge

Aug 5, 2019 | 10:06 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – With two games left before playoffs, the Medicine Hat Mavericks will control their own destiny when it comes to home field advantage.

That was made possible by the team’s most important win of the season Monday, taking down the Lethbridge Bulls 9-6 to split their home-and-home series.

Monday’s win vaults the Mavericks back into second place in the WCBL’s Western Division, leading the Bulls by half a game with a game in hand.

Medicine Hat’s hottest bat down the stretch drive of the season was smoking again, as third baseman Collin Klingensmith rattled off a season-high four RBIs on the night.

It was a big game for outfielder Austin Sojka as well, chipping in with three RBIs as well to finish one back of tying his season-high record of four.

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Sojka helped Medicine Hat get out to a 3-0 lead after the first three innings, recording a single and a double in his first two at-bats to cash in a trio of Mavericks runners.

Lethbridge’s slumbering bats were able to wake up in the fourth however, as Dylan Borman smacked a triple to the wall that scored a pair of runs.

Catcher Roger Riley was able to add a single to bring Borman home, tying up the game for the Bulls heading into the fifth inning.

A sacrifice-fly by P.J. Garcia and an RBI double from Sal Rodriguez helped the Mavericks jump ahead again 5-3, but an Ashton Ward single with the bases loaded in the bottom half of the inning pulled the Bulls to within a single run.

Hanging onto a precarious lead, Klingensmith rose to the occasion in the sixth inning with a double that got the Mavericks dugout on their feet to bring in two more runs.

Medicine Hat’s lead shrunk again to 7-6 in the eighth inning, but a Klingensmith single was able to score Tito Jones from third base to re-establish the team’s two-run lead.

A wild pitch with Sojka at the plate would bring in the night’s final run for the Mavericks in the eighth, as Junior Pimentel shut down the Bulls in the ninth inning to hold on for the series split.

Making his first start of the season, Bryce Libke lasted four innings on the mound for Medicine Hat giving up three earned runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts.

Medicine Hat’s record improved to 30-24 with the victory, jumping them into second place in the west and home field advantage in the first round of playoffs against Lethbridge.

The Mavericks can clinch home field on Tuesday night, playing their final home game of the regular season against the Okotoks Dawgs at 7:05 pm at Athletic Park.