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Mavs walk-off Cardinals in 12-11 thriller on Saturday

Jun 18, 2017 | 11:31 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The Medicine Hat Mavericks had their hands full on Saturday night with a battle against the Yorkton Cardinals, ending in dramatic fashion.

Singles by Chris Caffrey and Zack Kunkel in the first inning set the stage for the Mavericks, with both driving in runs to make it a 2-0 lead for the home side early.

Yorkton gained some confidence in the second however, as Parker Smejkal stepped into the batter’s box and crushed his fourth home run of the season to put the Cardinals on the board.

The Mavericks responded in the bottom half of the inning courtesy of a Louie Canjura single that brought in a pair of base runners to vault Medicine Hat to a 4-1 lead.

Strong early play from the Mavs continued in the third, as a fielding error by the Cardinals and a Jaxson Hooge double cashed in two more runs to make it a 6-1 game.

The Cardinals kept themselves in the game with two runs in the fourth and fifth to cut into the deficit 6-3, before Canjura and Blake Rowlett each picked up RBIs in the bottom of the fifth for the Mavs.

Medicine Hat liked to score in pairs on Saturday, bringing in another two runs in the sixth thanks to swings of the bat from Frank Podkul and Hooge to extend the Mavs lead to 10-3.

Things began to unravel in the seventh for the Mavericks, as Yorkton registered a pair of doubles from Walker McCleney and Hank Forrest for two runs to make it a 10-5 score.

Three more runs for the Cardinals in the eighth cut the deficit to 10-8, but the Mavericks caught a break in the bottom of the inning after Caleb Longley was walked with the bases loaded to give Medicine Hat a three-run cushion.

That cushion disappeared in the ninth with one swing of the bat from Yorkton’s Dondrei Hubbard, who’s home run tied up the game at 11-11.

With one out and Kunkel on second base, pinch hitter Colton Wright singled to the outfield to bring in the runner and clinch a thrilling 12-11 win for the Mavericks.

Canjura had a breakout game for Medicine Hat going 3-5 at the plate with 3 RBIs, while Rowlett and Hooge both picked up multi-RBI games as well.

Despite pitching just one inning, Nelson Quark was named the winning pitcher for the Mavericks.

Starter Aaron Garner went six and one-thirds innings, striking out a pair while allowing five earned runs on 10 hits.

Medicine Hat has now won three straight games, their longest streak of the season, and now sit alone in fourth in the Western Division.

The finale of the two-game set against Yorkton is scheduled for 2:05 pm on Sunday at Athletic Park, with the Mavericks wearing special ‘Plaid for Dad’ jerseys benefiting prostate cancer research.