Mavericks clinch first against Lethbridge, to face Bulls in opening round

Two pitches later, it was Julien Ly connecting on a Tambellini pitch to score Gray from third base to close out a wild opening inning.

Not much changed in the second inning, with Gray leading things off with a two-run single to make it a 6-0 contest.

Lethbridge’s pitching continued to struggle as Sal Rodriguez chalked up his first run of the night after a wild pitch, while Jordan Dray was walked with the bases loaded to make it an eight run lead for Medicine Hat.

Catcher Reed Odland closed out a five-run inning for the Mavericks with a sacrifice fly to cash in Nolan Rattai and give the Mavericks a comfortable 9-0 lead after just two innings.

In the top of the fifth, Wright took a hold of a Kal Poffenroth offering with two men on for his team-leading eighth home run of the season to make it a 12-0 contest.

Lethbridge finally got their first run of the night in the sixth inning after an error charged to Carson Johnson allowed Ashton Roy to score.

Bulls catcher Jaret Semeniuk came up with an RBI single shortly after, cashing in another Lethbridge run to cut the deficit to ten runs.

Mavericks starter Junior Pimentel was replaced for Jared Libke after allowing the two runs, finishing his night with just two hits given up over five and one-third innings.

The Bulls had one more run in them before the end of the game, as Blake MacDonald ripped a single to left field with two men on to score Lethbridge’s third run of the game.

Medicine Hat utility knife David Vilches made his pitching debut for the Mavericks in the ninth inning to close out the game, striking out the final two batters he faced to secure the win.

At the plate, Wright and Gray were the ones driving the offence with a combined four hits and seven RBIs between the pair.

Sporting a 37-9 record on the season, the Mavericks now have enough distance between themselves and the Dawgs to clinch first place in the West Division.

That means Medicine Hat will face the fourth-ranked team in the West, which will coincidentally be the Lethbridge Bulls, who are four games back of Edmonton.

A make up game has not been announced between the Mavericks and Dawgs for their rained out contest on Thursday night, which may be ultimately cancelled if all playoff spots are set.

The Bulls play their final regular season game against the Dawgs in Okotoks on Sunday afternoon.

The Mavericks and Bulls meet again Tuesday night in Medicine Hat for Game 1 of their opening round series.

by Scott Roblin - CHAT News

Mavericks clinch first against Lethbridge, to face Bulls in opening round

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