BY TRUMAN BARTMAN ON AUGUST 1ST, 2024. THE MAVERICKS.CA

here is under one week to go in the 2024 WCBL regular season. Wow,  time flies. The Mavericks will host the 1st-place Regina Red Sox for a weekday series in which both teams control their destiny. 

The Red Sox must win one of the next two games to lock up first place in the East. If they’re able to do so, they could have a 4.5-game lead with less than a week of games left to complete.

The Mavericks can still reach first place, largely due to the four-game streak they have gone on. They will see the Red Sox three times before the end of the year, and if they win all three, they will sit just a half-game behind them and even the season series. What looked improbable just four games ago has now snuck back into the realm of possibility for Med Hat.

Keys for Medicine Hat

Adam Golby is the unofficial starter for the Mavericks, as the second-year starter looks to ring out his second win of the season. 

In Golby’s last start against the Brooks Bombers, he pitched five solid innings, allowing just three runs and five hits. He also added a season-high eight strikeouts to his stat line. More importantly, Golby claimed the win, and if the Mavericks keep their streak going, it could be important for playoff placement.

The Mavericks are coming off an 11-7 win in Swift Current last night. They originally had a 10-1 lead, and they almost let it slip but were able to put a lid on it when Leo Woods came in to pitch. 

Marshall Burke led the charge through three innings, helping the Mavs claim their original lead after he reached base in all three of his plate appearances and scored on all three as well. 

The kind of production that the Mavs got yesterday to start a game can be both a blessing and a curse. If the Mavericks have learned anything about carrying leads (especially against Regina), it is that they aren’t safe. 

Keys for Regina

Regina glides into the hat after shockingly losing to the Weyburn Beavers a night ago. In a high-scoring affair, it was the Beavers who put up 14 big ones. The thing is, Regina put up 11 runs of their own, so it wasn’t an offensive night for the Sox, which is one positive. 

On the other hand, Ayden Page played his worst game of the season, giving up 11 runs and 10 earned runs in just 3.2 innings pitched. 

That performance should not be a representation of how good the Red Sox’s staff is. Colton Anderson has continued to be one of the league’s best all year, while his senior counterpart Daniel Crabtree has also showcased elite stuff.

Mirroring the dominance of those two is Jackson 3. Syring, Alainz, and Romero have made the Red Sox’s top half of the lineup dangerous. Both Syring and Romero are in the top 6 in batting average, while Alainz is one of the most consistent catchers in the league for a second straight season.

This team is deep and has all the tools to go far in the WCBL playoffs. They will have to prove once again tonight why they’re the team to beat in the East.

Bottom Line

There are just four Mavericks home games left in the regular season and the first of those four kicks off tonight at 7:05 p.m. The Mavericks have a hill to climb if they want to keep their first-place dreams alive. This is an opportunity to take that first big step against the Red Sox.