The local squad remains in first place in the six-team league as the season heads into its final week, improving to 11-5-1 after a 7-2 victory over the Regina Pacers in Regina on Tuesday night.
They’ll likely need to keep on winning to make sure the top spot is theirs heading into the playoffs, though. With a pair of games remaining, the Canucks hold a two-point lead over the second-place White Butte Broncos, who have two games in hand.
The Canucks host the Regina Buffalos at Andrie Diamond on Thursday night before closing out the regular season in Regina against the White Sox on Sept. 8.
Against the Pacers, things were close in the early going as the two teams were tied 1-1 after the first and Moose Jaw took a 2-1 lead out of the second. The Canucks pitching staff never faltered, though, shutting out Regina through to the seventh, where they’d tack on a consolation run but get no closer.
Max Simmons got the start and allowed a run in an inning of work before giving way to Rylan Caplette-Tarrant, who would scatter four hits over three innings and strike out three. Owen Varjassy allowed a single run on five hits and struck out three to close out the contest.
Offensively, it was another solid game at the plate for Noah Thul, who went 2-for-3 with a triple in the first inning and a run batted in. Owen Csada also tripled and knocked in a pair, while Varjassy was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Simmons was 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI, with his lone hit a fifth-inning double.
All told, the Canucks had seven hits and took advantage of five Pacers errors on the night.
