REGINA, SK — When called upon, the Regina Red Sox bats did not disappoint.
Neither did their starting pitcher.
Erik Crossman chalked up four hits and brought in three runs, helping keep the Sox hopes to win a WMBL Championship alive with a 12-1 rout over the Medicine Hat Mavericks in Game 3 Tuesday night.
Facing a must-win situation, Red Sox starter Kyle Wilson pitched a remarkable complete game, allowing just one run and seven hits. After donning a record below 500 in the regular season, Wilson has turned it up in the playoffs, having won all three games he’s appeared in with a combined 20 strikeouts. That includes fanning four Mavs batters to keep the Red Sox season going.
Medicine Hat’s first league title since 2014, and third in franchise history, will have to wait at least one more day.
Game 4 from Currie Field goes Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. — The Mavs second chance to win the league championship after a pair of victories at home to open the series.
Regina’s 12 runs is the most this post-season ahead of three 10-run performances in the previous two series. They outhit the Mavericks 16-7.
Wesley Moss helped bring in three runs and also scored a couple, while Phil Langlois crossed the dish thrice. Danny Hunt and Brooks Stotler collected two runs each.
Medicine Hat’s lone tick came from the foot of Nolan Rattai in the second inning. That cut Regina’s lead to 2-1 after the Mavs allowed their opponent to score in the first frame for the sixth straight game.
Mavericks starter Jumpei Akanuma was relieved of his duties after four innings. Ryan Czanskowski took the ball to open the fifth, but lasted just 1.1 frames. Czanskowski faced eight batters, four of which reached base off hits, and allowed three runs in the process.
It’s Akanuma’s first loss of the post-season, and just his second in all of 2018.
Medicine Hat has a second chance to secure the WMBL Championship on Wednesday. If that attempt fails, the series shifts back to the Gas City for a must-win Game 5 on Thursday at 7:05 p.m..
