Errors would be the key factor for the Weyburn Beavers Tuesday night. Two in the second inning would be crucial for the Medicine Hat Mavericks, as they capitalized on every mistake en route to a 19-6 win over the visiting Beavers.
Weyburn starter Ian Heck had a rough outing on the mound, giving up 11 runs, only five earned, over 4 1/3 innings. The defence would finish the game charged with eight errors, leading to the gap between runs allowed and earned runs.
After falling behind 6-0 in a second inning marred by errors and a three-run homer by Mavericks slugger Evan Morrison, the Beavers answered back with a run in the fourth. Alex Alva drew a walk and advanced on a pair of pickoff misfires before coming home on an RBI groundout by Heck.
Weyburn plated another in the sixth when Alva again sparked the inning with a leadoff single and later scored on Heck’s RBI knock to left. The offence finally showed signs of life in the seventh, when Luke Malzewski singled and was joined on base by Alva. Ryan Dauphinee then drilled a three-run homer to right, his fourth of the season, cutting the deficit to 12–5.
Dauphinee’s homer was one of the few highlights for the Beavers, though Malzewski quietly had a strong game, going 3-for-4 with three singles and a run scored.
Tyren Dorrance added a pinch-hit double in the ninth and scored Weyburn’s final run on a wild pitch, but by then, the Mavericks had added five more runs in the bottom of the eighth to put the game out of reach.
The Beavers fall to 8-23 on the season with the loss. They’ll look to bounce back Wednesday in the second game of the road series against the Mavericks. They return home on Thursday when they host the Saskatoon Berries at Tom Laing Park.