A rally in the top of the ninth inning would prove to be the difference in Tuesday night's game between the Weyburn Beavers and the Moose Jaw Miller Express. Small ball would be the key for the first place Miller Express as they scored two runs to take a 5-4 lead, then held on for the victory.
"That's obviously a great baseball team," starting pitcher Luke Zimmer said after the game. He went 6 2/3 innings, striking out seven and allowing one run on four hits. "As we kind of gel together over the next couple of weeks, I think that game goes to us, and just very minor improvements need to be made."
The Beavers had actually built up a 4-1 lead after five innings, thanks to a four-run fifth. The inning started with a Triston Madison single, followed by a walk by Cale Yuzdepski. Eric Wirun would be put out at first, but then Brett Potter got on base thanks to an error. This would load the bases for Jaxson Davis.
Davis, in his first game for the Beavers this season, had already picked up a single in his first at-bat to start the game. He followed it up with a double that cleared the bases, giving Weyburn a 3-1 lead. He would then be brought in thanks to a double by Ryan Muizelaar, and the Beavers had the lead.
Offensively the Beavers would also get a double from Trent Lawson, his third of the season. Madison would also have a strong game at the plate, going 2-for-4.
Moose Jaw had started to claw their way back in the 8th inning. Jacob Clark took over for Jamin Smith with the bases loaded. Clark would allow two runs to cross the plate to make it a 4-3 game but was able to get out of the inning by forcing a flyout to finish it off.
The pitching staff for the Beavers would collect a season high 11 strikeouts.
In the 9th, a double by Dougie Delacruz would drive in two runs, making it 5-4 for the Miller Express. Jared Hall came in to close out the game, pitching the final 2/3 of the 9th, striking out two batters. They would then bring in Zach Sigmon in the bottom of the inning to hold off the Beavers, despite the bats putting runners into scoring position.
The Beavers will look to get the win back on Wednesday night. They travel to Moose Jaw for their third game in a row against the top team in the Western Canadian Baseball League. They are back at home Friday when the Swift Current 57s come to town.
Game Date: 06/06/2023 Moose Jaw Miller Express 5 AT Weyburn Beavers 4 YTD YTD Moose Jaw AB R H BI AVG Weyburn AB R H BI AVG Soto, T SS 5 1 1 0 .333 Davis, J LF 5 1 4 3 .800 Tweet, D LF 4 2 2 0 .542 Dauphinee, R 2B 5 0 0 0 .321 Morales, E LF 0 0 0 0 .000 Muizelaar, R 3B 4 0 1 1 .367 Delacruz, D RF 4 1 1 0 .174 Lawson, T CF 4 0 1 0 .276 Poppy, C C 5 0 1 1 .219 McCarthy, R DH 3 0 0 0 .160 Gurney, A 1B 3 0 1 0 .208 Dorrance, T PR 0 0 0 0 .154 Yanez, C DH 2 0 0 0 .400 Madison, T RF 4 1 2 0 .261 Tweet, W DH,PH 1 0 0 1 .476 Yuzdepski, C SS 1 1 0 0 .176 Dorrance, P 3B 3 0 1 1 .174 Murua, B PR 0 0 0 0 .105 Bond, J 2B 2 0 0 0 .125 Wirun, E C 3 0 0 0 .143 LaChance, L 2B,PH 2 0 0 0 .316 Potter, B 1B 4 1 0 0 .143 Speck, M CF 2 0 0 0 .083 Mensik, N CF,PH 1 1 0 0 .357 34 5 7 3 33 4 8 4 Moose Jaw 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 2 - 5 7 1 Weyburn 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 - 4 8 2 2B--Soto, T SS (1), Davis, J LF (1), Muizelaar, R 3B (2), Lawson, T CF (3). RBI--Poppy, C C (4), Tweet, W DH,PH (5), Dorrance, P 3B (3), TOTALS 3 (0), Davis, J LF 3 (3), Muizelaar, R 3B (3), TOTALS 4 (0). HP--Delacruz, D RF (2), Gurney, A 1B 2 (5), Yuzdepski, C SS (1). SH--Wirun, E C (0). CS--Davis, J LF 2 (2). E--Soto, T SS (3), Yuzdepski, C SS (2), Clark, J P (1). LOB--Moose Jaw 10, Weyburn 7. DP--R. Dauphinee(2B) - R. Muizelaar(3B) - B. Potter(1B), L. Zimmer(P) - C. Yuzdepski(SS) - B. Potter(1B). YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Moose Jaw Merk, E 5.0 5 4 2 1 2 0 1.39 Craig, H 2.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Waller, K (W,1-1) 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3.60 Sigmon, Z (S,2) 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2.25 9 8 4 2 3 4 0 Weyburn Zimmer, L 6.2 4 1 1 3 7 0 4.26 Smith, J 1.0 1 2 2 0 2 0 18.00 Clark, J (L,0-1) 0.2 1 2 1 2 0 0 8.44 Hall, J 0.2 1 0 0 0 2 0 6.00 9 7 5 4 5 11 0 HB--Merk, E (3), Smith, J 2 (2), Hall, J (1). SO--Soto, T 3, Tweet, D, Poppy, C, Tweet, W, Dorrance, P, Bond, J 2, Speck, M, Mensik, N, Lawson, T, McCarthy, R, Madison, T, Potter, B. BB--Tweet, D, Tweet, W 2, Dorrance, P, Mensik, N, McCarthy, R, Yuzdepski, C 2. BF--Merk, E 22 (49), Craig, H 7 (18), Waller, K 4 (21), Sigmon, Z 5 (19), Zimmer, L 26 (54), Smith, J 6 (6), Clark, J 6 (31), Hall, J 4 (15). P-S--Merk, E 76-48, Craig, H 19-13, Waller, K 18-10, Sigmon, Z 18-11, Zimmer, L 103-62, Smith, J 16-8, Clark, J 23-10, Hall, J 17-10. T--2:31. A--220 Weather: 31 degrees, minimal breeze Plate Umpire - Ron Shewchuk, Field Umpire #1 - Matthias Smith, Field Umpire #3 - Brian Hodgson