Miller Express fall in three games with Red Sox
The Moose Jaw Miller Express fell just short in their quest for an upset against the Regina Red Sox in their Western Canadian Baseball League first round series. The Red Sox picked up a 6-2 victory in Game 3 of the best-of-three Eastern Division semifinal on Saturday, Aug. 10, taking a two-games-to-one victory. Moose Jaw picked up a 9-6 win on Aug. 9 at Ross Wells Park one day after dropping a 10-2 decision in their playoff opener.
The Red Sox cranked out five hits in the eighth inning and took advantage of a pair of Express errors to score five runs off standout relievers Michael Ross, Jaden Hoffman and Jack Gamba on their way to closing out the series at Currie Field in Regina.
The Express trailed 1-0 through four innings, but Eric Marriott singled home Blake Gallagher in the fifth to tie the game 1-1. The local squad then took their lead in the seventh when Gallagher hit a one-out single, stole second and scored on a base hit by Markus Melendez.
That set the stage for the Red Sox comeback, as they sent 10 batters to the plate in their half of the eighth, scoring their five runs on four hits and a pair of errors to take a commanding lead.
Marriott knocked home Tucker Zdunich in the top of the ninth as the Express attempted a miracle two-out comeback, but would get no closer.
Michael Borst gave the Express their third straight solid start in the playoffs, going six innings and giving up one run while striking out four and scattering six hits.
Express starter Jeff Nicolosi went six innings, scattering seven hits and allowing only a pair of runs as the Express pounded out a 9-6 win to stay alive in the series.
The way things looked in the early going, it appeared the Express might be in for a long night – Nicolosi surrendered singles to the first four Regina hitters, leading to the game’s first run and loaded bases with none out. But one double play later and things turned around in a hurry. “It was just trying to find it early, I was missing with my 0-2 stuff early in the game and they were making me pay for it, so I just tried to grind through it,” Nicolosi said. “It was just mindset-wise, just keep attacking and don’t let up a bit, because as soon as you let up for one second, that’s when they make you pay. So I just kept trying to get after it… and once you get a little run support the nerves ease up a little, you feel a little more confident and you can just go attack and pitch your game. It was a good team win.”
The Express did most of their damage in the fourth inning, sending nine batters to the plate and scoring five runs for a 7-2 lead.
Borst finished the game 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a pair of RBI, Marriott was 2-for-5 with a pair of runs and Lightley 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Geordie McDougall had a pair of hits and two RBI, Campbell knocked in one while recording a pair of hits.
The Express trailed 5-0 through four innings and were unable to find the key hit when they needed it as they dropped the series opener in Regina.
They had Michael Batten to thank for their offensive woes, as the WCBL triple crown winner scattered seven hits over seven innings of work, allowing only two runs and striking out 11 to take the victory.
Matt Jackson should have been just as effective for the Express – he also gave up seven hits and walked three – but errors and the long ball proved to be his undoing: Willie Estrada belted a solo home run in the seventh, Ben Komonosky a run-scoring triple in the fifth and Jackson ended up surrendering only four earned runs after errors extended innings.
The Express scored both their runs in the fifth inning as Melendez doubled home Gallagher and Dougie DelaCruz.
Gallagher finished the night 3-for- 4 with a run scored, Melendez and Andres Garza were both 2-for- 4.