By Scott Roblin

Mavericks crush trio of homers to take pivotal Game 3 in Lethbridge

Aug 2, 2018 | 10:31 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – It took until Game 3 against the Lethbridge Bulls, but the Medicine Hat Mavericks finally got the offensive explosion they were looking for to take a lead in their best-of-five series.

Zack Gray, Sal Rodriguez, and Jaxson Hooge all used the long ball to their advantage on Thursday night, helping Medicine Hat pull off a 9-4 victory on the road.

After dropping Game 2 of their series on Wednesday night at Athletic Park, the Mavericks came out of the gates firing with a Rodriguez RBI single in the first inning to open the scoring.

Lethbridge responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the first off a single from Blake MacDonald, giving the Bulls the lead 2-1.

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That was stretched to 3-1 in the following inning, with Dustin Braun scoring off a Nick Ankermann fielder’s choice to keep momentum firmly on Lethbridge’s side.

Medicine Hat put a stop to that momentum swing in the fourth, as Gray battled an eight pitch at-bat and launched his first home run of the playoffs, a solo homer to cut the Bulls lead to 3-2.

Then with a pair of runners on, Hooge drilled a three-run home run in the nine spot for the Mavericks to regain the lead 5-3 after four innings strong.

Outfielder Jordan Dray contributed with the bat in the top of the sixth for Medicine Hat, connecting on a Jesse Hilyard pitch to bring home Nolan Rattai and put Lethbridge in a 6-3 hole.

In the seventh, the Mavericks put the final nails in the coffin with a Colton Wright RBI double and Rodriguez’s second home run in as many games to add three more runs to their total.

The Bulls added a fourth run in the eighth inning, but Tyler Shumpert got the Bulls to go three up, three down to close out the ball game and a 9-4 win for the Mavericks.

Jumpei Akanuma faced 27 batters on the night over six innings of work, winning his first game of the post-season with just three earned runs given up on seven hits.

It was a return to form for Medicine Hat’s offence, racking up 16 hits on the night with Rodriguez and Hooge knocking in three runs each.

Staying undefeated this year at Spitz Stadium, the Mavericks now lead the best-of-five series 2-1 and will have a chance to eliminate the Bulls on Friday night.

Jared Libke will get the ball for Medicine Hat with a chance to move onto the second round, first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm in Lethbridge.