BY TRUMAN BARTMAN ON JUNE 16TH, 2024. THE MAVERICKS.CA

There is a lot to get through in this postgame report, as last night’s game was one for the books. 

If most of you turned off the game early last night, I don’t blame you at all; it was a difficult start for the Mavericks. The Miller Express came out cooking as Austin Gurney smoked a 2-run shot that carried far into right field. 

The Mavericks would keep pace, but after the top of the 4th inning, the Millers carried a 7-1 lead and had the bats popping. It’s also important to note that Ethan Merk was moving along swimmingly at this point, making quick work of all Mavericks batters.

Enter Nick Thibodeau, the home run-crushing catcher who kicked another one over the fence that cut the Moose Jaw lead to just 4.

Good teams usually tend to respond, and that is what the Millers did after cashing in another run in the high half of the 5th. However, the Mavs had a response of their own, depositing three runs in their half. 

If this game seems back and forth, it’s because it was, but it wasn’t close to being done yet. After a clean 6th for both sides, the 7th had fireworks in store.

The Miller Express would take over, nailing four hits that drove in four runs, and one error on the Maverick’s defence helped Moose Jaw take a 12-6 lead. At this point, it appeared that Moose Jaw had the game locked down, and the Mavericks would be heading back to the drawing board. 

The Mavericks took the pen from Miller’s hands and wrote their ending. A monumental 6-run 7th saw the Mavericks tie the game with a base hit on top of a base hit. Buried alive, the Mavericks found a hole and rose to the surface. 

Dylan Runge and Jadon Canelli duelled it out and forced extra innings after four clean innings to end regulation.

Runge would keep things rolling in the 10th, knocking down Moose Jaw’s bats in order and setting the stage for a walk-off win in the bottom half.

With Jaden Babiuk in for a pinch run, Evan Morrison advanced him to third off of a ground ball to first. Then Johnny Vulcano sent a fly ball up into the night sky, which allowed Babiuk to tag up and pant in the winning run.

Somehow, the Mavericks found a way to clip the Miller Express 13–12 in what was a comeback for the ages. Twice, the Mavs found themselves down six runs, and both times they responded. It’s safe to say that tonight’s game was definitely worth the price of admission.