BY TRUMAN BARTMAN ON AUGUST 4TH, 2024. THE MAVERICKS.CA

The Mavericks improve to 6-1 against the Berries this season and will look to sweep them at home this afternoon in their final home game of the regular season.

It feels like just yesterday the Mavs were getting set to return home after a two-game series against the Miller Express to open up their 2024 home campaign. 

They swept their first home stand by blowing out the Berries twice, and they have an opportunity to do the same thing to close the year.

Keys for Medicine Hat

The Mavericks know how to play ball against the Berries as they pounded home 11 runs and had grounded performances from Josh Landry, Leo Woods, and Evan Gant on the mound.

Let’s talk about Evan Gant, who hadn’t had his best stuff all year and finally seemed to turn over a new leaf in his two innings of work. He generated 4 strikeouts and found his feel for a strike zone that was elusive for him in his prior appearances. 

Gant proved his worth and made a strong case for why he could be a factor in the postseason. It only takes one solid outing for a pitcher to change his narrative, and Gant seems to have done that.

Two of the Mavericks catchers (one of them playing first last night) had their eyes on the outfield. Jaden Babiuk and Nick Thibodeau both made the most of their plate appearances, with Babiuk hitting three singles and Thibodeau going a perfect 5 for 5 at the plate, adding a few extra-base hits as well.

The Mavs should feel more confident than ever when it comes to who they have behind the plate, at least from a hitting perspective. 

Keys for Saskatoon

The Berries locked up the third seed despite losing yesterday, which likely isn’t what they had drawn up, but they will take it nonetheless. Knowing that it is the Mavericks that they will see on Wednesday, they may reserve most of their stars until then. 

The Mavericks didn’t get much of a taste of what the new look Berries had to offer. There are still lots of things that this Berries offence has to figure out, and it seemed evident last night that they may not be where the Mavericks are yet.

One player that did have a standout performance was catcher Dominic Archilla. In his 4 plate appearances, he managed to get a hold of 3 hits while also having a strong game on defence. The thing that makes Archilla so good is his athletic presence behind the plate combined with movement that is both claimed and calculated. 

When the first round begins, be sure to keep your eyes on Archilla because he is a treat to watch and could be a game-breaker down the road and this afternoon (if he is in the lineup).

Saskatoon has to prove to themselves that they can beat the Mavericks because their sort of confidence will be needed when they see the Mavericks on the big stage come Wednesday night.

Bottom Line

This one has the makings of what they call a “friendly” in the football world. Pride is about the only thing that this game offers for both squads.

Hopefully, the weather holds up for fan appreciation at Athletic Park as we celebrate the Maverick’s last regular season home game of the year at 2:05 pm.