By Scott Roblin

Mavericks steamroll Swift Current to get back in win column Sunday

Jul 8, 2018 | 7:51 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – After seeing their double-digit win streak snapped on Saturday, the Medicine Hat Mavericks could have spiralled against the Swift Current 57’s on Sunday.

But they did the complete opposite, using their bats once again to rebound and cruise to a 14-5 victory over their Trans-Canada Highway rivals.

Swift Current took advantage of an uncharacteristic second inning from the Mavericks which saw some sloppy defence and errors, picking up a 2-0 lead heading to the bottom half of the inning.

Speedster David Salgueiro drove in Medicine Hat’s first run of the game with two out, singling to the outfield to score Sal Rodriguez to cut the 57’s lead in half.

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In the third inning, the Mavericks took their first lead of the game after an error off a Louie Canjura hit and an RBI single from Michael Conn brought two more runs around to make it 3-2 for Medicine Hat.

Mavericks infielder Carson Johnson joined in on the offensive charge in the fourth inning, grounding out to second base but able to score Salgueiro from third.

Medicine Hat starting pitcher Matt Brooks hit a snag in the fifth inning after a strong start to the game, giving up a pair of home runs from Blake Adams and Ben Komonosky to score three Swift Current runs and tie the game.

After the 57’s loaded the bases and walked Johnson to give the Mavericks a 6-5 lead, catcher Colton Wright came through with a massive RBI double to score three runs and put Medicine Hat ahead 8-5.

Brooks said after giving up the two home runs, he was relieved to see his offence come alive.

“I think obviously I didn’t have my best stuff,” said Brooks. “But, it’s nice to play in front of an offence that at anytime can just explode and they helped me out for sure.”

That was just a taste of Medicine Hat’s offensive firepower on the night, as they shelled Swift Current in the sixth inning.

First off, it was Conn smacking a double to the outfield for his second RBI of the night, before Salgueiro hit a sacrifice fly to score Rodriguez to make it 10-5.

Wright grounded out to third base to earn his fourth RBI of the afternoon, while it was Zack Gray posting his first two RBIs of the day with a single past the infield.

Local product Nolan Rattai capped the inning off with an RBI double to cash Gray and give Medicine Hat a nine-run advantage.

Barry Caine and Ryan Czanstkowski combined for four scoreless innings in relief of Brooks, with the Mavericks getting back into the win column with a 14-5 victory.

Wright led the team with four RBIs and said both the offence and defence were able to perform at different times on Sunday.

“Once Brooks could kind of settle in and command the fastball, he started to have success,” said Wright. “Us hitters, it was just working counts, getting a good pitch to hit and not missing it, getting base runners on, working walks, bunting, whatever you got to do.”

Improving their West Division-leading record to 24-4 on the 2018 season, the Mavericks are up five and a half games on the Okotoks Dawgs for first.

Mavericks head coach Andrew Murphy said while it was disappointing to see their 13-game win streak come to an end on Saturday, he believes a new one is starting with Sunday’s win.

“Kind of the rally call was ‘start a new streak,’” said Murphy. “So, these guys didn’t want to lose two in a row and they had an answer.”

Medicine Hat winds up seven straight games at home on Monday night in a clash of the West Division’s top two teams, with first pitch between the Mavericks and Dawgs set for 7:05 pm.