Walker hurls Prospects into East Division final
Pitcher stymies Okotoks in 2-1 win
It won’t top his perfect game earlier this season — nothing may ever top that — but Rich Walker certainly had a memorable start.
The Edmonton Prospects rookie right-hander was battling a severe flu bug the last two days, but that didn’t stop him from putting together another gem of a pitching performance in his first career playoff start.
It was plain gutsy.
The 20-year-old from Arizona gave up just two hits and struck out four in seven innings of work as the Prospects beat the Okotoks Dawgs 2-1 Friday night at ReMax Field.
The Prospects clinched the firstround, best-of-five series with the win (3-1) and will likely face the Medicine Hat Mavericks in the Western Major Baseball League’s East Division championship series.
“I don’t know what to say. The adrenalin got going. It’s playoff time, and I just wanted to do my best for the team and do what I can,” said Walker.
“It comes with wanting to win. You’re not going to go out there and have your best stuff every day, but I just try to keep grinding and just have that will when things get tough. That mentality has helped me a lot.”
“I used my defence and I didn’t want to walk anyone. The second inning, Tony (Olson) lays out and makes a great diving catch to save a run for us. This was a great team game and a big team win tonight.”
The Prospects tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth after an Anthony Cusati chopper was too hot to handle, scoring Zane Takhar. In the bottom of the seventh, A.J. Nitschke smoked a triple off the wall and Olson drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly.
Michael Gahan pitched two scoreless innings to earn the save.
When the Prospects have needed a big win they rely on Walker, and he didn’t disappoint.
It’s been a special year for Walker, who has emerged as one of the top pitchers in the WMBL.
Walker pitched the first perfect game in the WMBL’s 87-year history. He led the league with three complete-game shutouts and was near the top of the league in wins and innings pitched. But when the regular season awards and all-star teams were announced earlier this week, Walker was left out.
But that’s never been his focus. “I’ve been really happy with my year. I had five wins, and that’s the most important thing, I want to do everything I can to help the team win,” said Walker, who finished the regular season with a 5-3 record and a 3.16 ERA in eight starts and 11 appearances.
“We don’t really care (about awards or all-star selections). We know how we hit and pitched all summer. It was kind of expected, I guess,” Walker said. “We just say amongst ourselves, let’s be the team with no all-stars win it all this year. There’s definitely motivation that comes with it all.”
The Prospects have a core group of veterans that have led the team all year. Walker may be a rookie, but he’s quickly established himself as a leader on the team.
He doesn’t dominate the opposition by overpowering them, but his strong mix of pitches keeps batters on their heels.
“He’s been lights out (with) his command and he’s been going into the sixth and seventh innings and only at 60 pitches. That tells you a lot. He’s throwing first-pitch strikes and getting ahead of everybody,” said Prospects bench coach Orv Franchuk. “He has an ace mentality. He doesn’t throw 95, but there are a lot of guys in the big leagues that don’t have big velocity, but they have success because they have three pitches they can command.”
Walker has turned heads in his first season, Franchuk said.
“He’s a confident young man and when he’s on the mound, the guys really play hard for him.”