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Pair of home runs drive Mavericks to blowout win over Bulls

Jun 24, 2018 | 8:25 PM

 

MEDICINE HAT, AB – There must be something in the South Saskatchewan River this year, as the Medicine Hat Mavericks put on another offensive showcase at Athletic Park.

Playing in front of close to 1,000 fans on Sunday afternoon, the Mavericks used the long ball to their advantage in a 15-5 blowout victory over their rivals in the Lethbridge Bulls.

Medicine Hat took a 2-0 lead in the second inning after a wild pitch from Lethbridge starter Chris Messer that allowed Nolan Rattai and Sal Rodriguez to come around and score.

It wasn’t long until the Bulls found the juice to tie the game at 2-2 though, as RBI singles from Kaleb Warden and Jesse Hilyard got Lethbridge back to even footing.

With one out in the bottom of the third however, Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly that allowed Zack Gray to score from third to put the Mavericks back in control 3-2.

The Mavericks bats were charged in the fourth inning, with RBI singles from Louie Canjura, Carson Johnson, and Rattai cashed in runs in scoring position to increase Medicine Hat’s lead by four runs.

Two more Mavericks runs were cashed in the fifth inning thanks to another RBI from Canjura and a wild pitch from Lethbridge to make it a 9-2 contest.

The big bats came out to play in the following inning with two men on base, as Rodriguez crushed a Liam Sabiston offering to left field for his first home run of the season.

Medicine Hat added another run shortly after with a David Salgueiro single that scored Michael Conn, extending the lead to 13-2 heading to the seventh inning.

Warden knocked in his second RBI of the afternoon for Lethbridge in the seventh, closing the gap to 13-3 with the Mavericks coming up to bat.

With Rodriguez on first base in the eighth inning, the Mavericks elected to bring in depth outfielder Jordan Dray as a pinch hitter.

Swinging on the first pitch he saw, Dray carried the ball over the fence in dead centre field to score a pair for his first home run as a Maverick.

Lethbridge was able to add a pair of runs in the ninth inning, but Nathan Stark was able to calm things down in a relief appearance with a strikeout to end the game in a 15-5 win for Medicine Hat.

It’s the fourth straight win for the Mavericks, who have lost just once in their last 15 games dating back to June 5.

Matt Brooks finally got his first start on the mound for Medicine Hat after having two previous starts rained out, while he allowed just two hits and two runs with four strikeouts in six innings of work.

With his home run in the sixth inning, Rodriguez led the way offensively for Medicine Hat on Sunday going 3-for-4 with four RBIs and a home run.

Increasing their lead in the Western Division, the Mavericks are two and a half games clear of the Okotoks Dawgs for first place as of Sunday evening.

Medicine Hat hits the road for Lethbridge to wrap up their home-and-home set against the Bulls on Monday night, before embarking on a four-game road swing through Saskatchewan to battle the Melville Millionaires and Yorkton Cardinals.