BY TRUMAN BARTMAN ON AUGUST 3RD, 2024. THE MAVERICKS.CA
Although Sox usually come in pairs, the Mavericks were able to split their two-game series, with Regina taking the game 14-7 and then dropping last night’s contest 7-2.
In game 1, it was the Maverick’s hot start that helped them get past the Red Sox. With nine runs scored over just three innings of play, the Mavs gave themselves enough of a cushion to get through the finish line first.
Regina isn’t an easy team to beat, but if you make the lead insurmountable, then you’re going to find yourself in a good place, as the Mavs did.
Nick Thibodeau had a takeover game with a career-high 5 RBI performance. He tied Jordan Phillips for the league lead in RBIs, which we will touch on more later on.
Adam Golby and Braedon Davis each delivered stellar outings on the mound as well, with Davis touching 91 on his fastball while also looking to have his locations locked in.
The Red Sox did end the game on a high note with 4 runs in the top of the ninth, but it was too little, too late for a comeback.
With the late-game momentum that the Sox generated, they carried it right over into Friday’s game. Combined with a fantastic start from Colton Anderson, the Red Sox chipped away at the Maverick’s armour and in the 5th and 6th innings finally broke through.
Jacob Petersheim looked poised to go deep after a clean first couple of innings but eventually caved into the pressure that Regina had been applying. In his first loss of the season, Petersheim gave up 4 runs on 7 hits, which included a blast from Kody Hanna.
For the second time this season, Hanna knocked a deep one over the Athletic Park fence. He also displayed how little room pitchers have when facing him after he continuously fought off pitch after pitch against Jack Novak.
When you have a player of that caliber on your team, you want to be able to put them in places where they can show off their greatness. In a game that was tied 2-2, Hanna was given that opportunity, and as so many great players do, he pounced on it.
His home run was important in more ways than one, as it not only pulled the Red Sox ahead but also allowed him to tie the league’s lead in RBIs with the Mavericks’s Jordan Phillips.
Throughout the middle of the season, Phillips was in full control of the lead, but over the past few games, both his teammate Nick Thibodeau and Kody Hanna have climbed up the ranks. It is going to be a race for the books, as all three will have to make one last push to claim the RBI crown.
One thing that will no longer have to be claimed is the East Division regular season crown. Last night Regina finally clinched the all-important 1st seed, which means that the Eastern Division playoffs will run through Currie Field.
The Mavericks will be at home for two more games against the Saskatoon Berries, who they will likely see in round 1. They also have one more road game in Swift Current that will officially put an end to the 2024 regular season.
As for Regina, they will see the Weyburn Beavers for one last two-game series before the postseason. You never want to make any assumptions when talking about baseball, but in saying that I am about to make two.
The Red Sox could very well sit most of their regulars, such as Kody Hanna and Jackson Romero so that they’re fuelled up for the playoffs. Colton Anderson and Tyler Fortin, who pitched last night, should also get lots of rest so that they can be used come game 1.
In game 1, it seems as though the Red Sox will battle a fellow Saskatchewan neighbour in the Moose Jaw Miller Express, who have had a less than impressive back half of 2024. But who knows what will happen when this series gets kicked off? It’s the playoffs; anything can happen.
If this is it for the Mavericks vs. Red Sox in 2024, we were blessed with a couple of comebacks, plenty of star power, and a lengthy pitcher’s duel between two of the league’s best! I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of these two meeting up again in a week or so. After all, they are both the higher seeds in round 1 and have shown their A-tier potential all season long.