MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- It’s still way early in the Western Canadian Baseball League season, but the Moose Jaw Miller Express will undoubtedly be looking to clean things up on the mound and in the field in coming contests.
That’ll always be the case with a baseball team that’s allowed 37 runs in their last three games.
Thing is, the Express have been swinging pretty good bats of their own in the early going, and as a result currently have a 3-3 record after taking a 13-10 win over Brooks on Thursday night and falling 14-2 to Fort McMurray in their two most recent outings.
Moose Jaw 13, Brooks 10
The Express scored three runs in the top of the 10th to emerge with the win out of an absolute slugfest in Brooks against the Bombers,
Both teams did the majority of their damage in the early innings, as Brooks scored a pair in the first, Moose Jaw put up seven in the second to lead 7-5 through two, and the Bombers added another four in the third for a 9-7 edge.
Brooks led 10-7 when the Express broke through against their bullpen, scoring one in the seventh and another two in the eighth to tie things up, setting the stage for the extra inning rally.
Joe Osborn enjoyed his best game of the season at the plate, lacing a pair of home runs and going 2-for-5 on the night, scoring three runs and knocking in five. Declan O’Hare turned in a 3-for-6 night that included two RBI and kept his average at .500 on the season, while Justin George had a 3-for-5 night at the plate.
Drew Sorrentino got his first start for Moose Jaw and allowed nine runs, six earned, through three innings of work before giving away to Jadon Cannelli who allowed a single run over the next 1 ⅔ innings. Jacob Quiles and Takeo Cookson were lights out from there, each going 2 ⅔ and holding Brooks scoreless.
Jacob Gillis, Antony Gilbert, Wil Bomersbach and Maddow Shaver all hit home runs for the Bombers; Zander Bretza allowed five runs over the final three innings to take the loss on the mound.
Fort McMurray 14, Moose Jaw 2
A stretch of three rough innings midway through the game were all the difference in the Giants’ visit to Ross Wells Park on Friday night.
Fort McMurray put up five runs in the fourth, six more in the fifth and another three in the sixth to account for all of their offence, while Moose Jaw had single runs in the third and fifth innings.
Osborn hit his third home run of the season and was 2-for-4, while Owen Robbins also hit a solo shot and was 2-for-4.
Errors didn’t help Moose Jaw’s pitchers, as Bo Jacob Garza allowed five runs, four earned over four innings of work before Cameron Dunn surrendered nine runs, six earned, over the next two frames. Garrett Houston and Bobby Pokorney tossed the final three frames to close things out.
All the run support made things relatively simple for Giants starter Riley Burns, who allowed two runs on six hits and struck out nine over eight innings.
Jayden Shafer had a great night at the plate for Fort Mac, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and a solo home run. Jadon Wiley was also 4-for-5 at the dish, while Jun Ho Son and Joe Finder both had 3-for-6 outings.
The Miller Express and Fort McMurray are back in action on Saturday night, with first pitch at 7:05 p.m. at Ross Wells Park.
