Mavericks open WCBL playoffs against East-leading Moose Jaw
Medicine Hat enters the best-of-three series as a heavy underdog after losing six straight meetings with the Miller Express this season.
The Medicine Hat Mavericks open Western Canadian Baseball League playoff action Friday at 7:05 p.m. in a best-of-three series against the Moose Jaw Miller Express, who finished the regular season with a franchise-record 41-15 mark and an eight-game winning streak. The Mavs limped into the postseason at 22-34, fourth in the East Division, after dropping their final three regular-season games.
Medicine Hat will lean on All-Star Game MVP Carter Roth, who set a WCBL single-season record with 24 doubles, to spark an offence facing a tough test against Moose Jaw's pitching staff, led by strikeout record-holder Westin Walls. The Mavs' own pitching will need to contain a Miller Express lineup that outscored them 91-57 over their 10 regular-season meetings, with only Levi Tibbetts and Jackson Miles recording wins against Moose Jaw this year.
Medicine Hat won just two of eight games against the Miller Express during the regular season and has lost the last six matchups. Game two shifts to Athletic Park in Medicine Hat on Saturday at 6:45 p.m., with a deciding game three, if needed, back in Moose Jaw on Sunday at 7 p.m. The series winner advances to face either the Saskatoon Berries or defending champion Regina Red Sox in the East Semi-Final.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.