In a tight game that went down to the wire, the Weyburn Beavers edged out the visiting Medicine Hat Mavericks 3-2 in walk-off fashion Tuesday night at Tom Laing Park.
Ian Heck starred on both sides of the ball, turning in six dominant innings on the mound and later driving in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth. Heck struck out 10 and allowed just one unearned run, holding the Mavericks in check and giving his team a chance to come back late.
“It was a big team effort,” said Beavers head coach Cam Williams after the game. “Obviously Ian Heck gave us a heck of a start, no pun intended, but yeah, he came away with the walk-off sac fly as well. So big night for him, but it wasn’t just that. Gram Middleton was fantastic out of the bullpen and a lot of really good at-bats.”
The Mavericks led 1-0 after three innings and tacked on another run in the top of the seventh after the Beavers scored in the bottom of the sixth. Weyburn answered back in the bottom half of the seventh to tie it up at two. Middleton, who earned his first win of the season in relief, pitched three strong innings and kept the game tied heading into the final frame.
In the ninth, the Beavers mounted the winning rally with one out. Pinch hitter Alex Alva singled to left and promptly stole second. After Luke Malzewski drew a walk, Noah Brooks grounded a single through the right side to load the bases. That brought Heck back to the plate, and the two-way standout lifted a fly ball deep enough to center to score Alva from third and ignite the home crowd of 385.
“You know the boys just played really well together,” Heck said. “We knew we had a good crowd here at home, and you just want to show them the type of baseball that we can play.”
The Beavers struck out 13 times but showed patience at the plate, drawing seven walks.
“Even if maybe the runs weren’t coming, we were having really, really tough at-bats,” Williams noted. “That’s another one right there that we play for each other. You know, we’re a tough team to beat.”
With the win, the Beavers improved their record to 7-13 and notched a statement victory over one of the league’s top clubs. The two teams will face off again Wednesday night in Weyburn.
“We just got to keep the same energy that we had tonight,” Heck said. “Make sure that we’re out and ready tomorrow and just get the job done again.”