Knights earn split against Fort Macleod in Friday double-header

Following Krauss’ RBI, Connor Drever and Brandon Hauck came through with big swings of the bat to take their first lead of the contest 3-2.

Knights pitcher Kobe Coderre ran into some trouble in the third inning, walking back-to-back Royals batters with the bases loaded to give Fort Macleod a 4-3 lead.

Coderre’s afternoon came to a close after he plunked the following batter to make it 5-3, finishing his day with five earned runs given up and one strikeout over two and one-third innings.

Cole Rath came in relief of Coderre but he couldn’t get out of the jam, giving up a fielder’s choice to bring another run across the plate for Fort Macleod.

It stayed a three-run lead for the Royals until the fifth inning, when Kayden Berndt came through with a sacrifice fly to cash Hauck and make it 6-4.

The Knights took advantage of a Fort Macleod error and Krauss being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to knot the game back up at 6-6.

Drever attempted to stretch a double into a triple two batters later and was thrown out at third, but not before driving in two more runs for Medicine Hat to jump ahead by an 8-6 score.

Fort Macleod added another run in the sixth inning, but Rath was able to blank the Royals from there and preserve the victory.

Medicine Hat only managed to muster six hits in the victory, with Drever leading the club with a pair of hits and three RBIs.

It wasn’t the same story in the rematch however, as the Knights gave up seven runs over the opening inning to the Royals.

Of those, Hauck gave up just one earned run but his time on the mound ended after just one inning, with Heydon Harrison coming into the game.

Harrison provided a spark in the second inning with an RBI single to left field to cut the deficit to 7-1, before newly minted Canadian women’s team member Kaitlyn Ross scored on a Royals error.

After Fort Macleod extended their lead to 10-2, the Knights responded off RBIs from Ross, Harrison, and Drever to limit the gap to just four runs.

Defensively, Medicine Hat continued to struggle in the second meeting with 11 more runs given up over the final three innings.

Coderre and Ross added runs in the bottom of the sixth, but the gap was too wide for the Knights as they dropped a 21-9 decision to close out their series with Fort Macleod.

Hauck was handed the loss on the mound, while Harrison pitched just over four innings with seven earned runs allowed on 12 hits.

Returning to the team after her successful Team Canada tryout, Ross had a great day at the plate in the loss after going 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

The Knights will play their final home games of the regular season on Tuesday night against the Lethbridge Miners at Athletic Park, beginning at 5:00 pm.

A busy weekend lies ahead for the Medicine Hat ‘AA’ Moose Monarchs as well, facing the Missoula Mavericks for a pair of games on Saturday afternoon at Jeffries Field.

They’ll wind up the weekend with their final home game of the season on Sunday, battling the Mavericks once again at Jeffries Field at 12:00 pm.

by Scott Roblin

Knights earn split against Fort Macleod in Friday double-header

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