Things looked good early on for the Moose Jaw Miller Express against the Lethbridge Bulls in Western Canadian Baseball League action on Tuesday night, but a nine-run outburst in the fourth and fifth innings led to a less than positive result.
The Bulls scored four runs in the fourth inning and added another five in the fifth on their way to an 11-6 victory at Ross Wells Park.
Moose Jaw got off to a solid start, as Nate Mensik took advantage of an error to knock home a pair of runs in the second, and one inning later a Hudson Barrett sacrifice and Luke LaChance single gave the Express a 4-0 lead.
Lethbridge got to Millers starter Kellan Voggesser the next inning, though, with a bases-loaded triple off the bat of Noah Rodriguez bringing home three of the four runs in the frame.
Torrin Vaselenak then did Rodriguez one better in the fifth, taking the first pitch he saw from reliever Liam Sommer and sending it over the wall for a grand slam home run, giving Lethbridge their 9-4 lead.
Voggesser ended up allowing eight runs, four earned, on six hits while striking out seven in 4 ⅓ innings of work.
J.J. Padilla and Triston Seitz each allowed a run the next two innings before Livio Bundi and Cam O’Reilly tossed a scoreless frame each to close things out.
Moose Jaw tacked on a pair of runs in the seventh, but would get no closer.
Can Grant and Austin Gurney each scored a pair of runs on the night, while LaChance capped his night with a pair of hits and two runs batted in.
The loss saw Moose Jaw fall to 20-9 at the midway point of the season, good enough for a five-game lead in the East Division over the Regina Red Sox.
The Miller Express are back in action tonight when they take on Lethbridge in a rematch at Ross Wells Park. Game time is 7:05 p.m.
