McNabb Solid; Millers Edge Saskatoon 6-5

(Story courtesy Marc Smith, DiscoverMooseJaw.com) The contributions came from throughout the lineup and the lead was just enough for the Moose Jaw Miller Express to come out of the Bridge City with a win.

The Millers went into Saskatoon and knocked off the Yellow Jackets, 6-5, in Western Major Baseball League's Central Division action. The win improves Moose Jaw's record to 3-2 on the year and gives them first place in the division.

“Everybody was there from first pitch to last pitch,” said head coach Michael Hunt after the road game at Cairns Field. “It was a good win.”

Moose Jaw did their damage throughout the game, starting things off with two in the third inning and then scoring in each of the next four innings on their way to the win.

“We got a couple runs in the top of the third and then we put up a zero, which is something that we haven't done (this year), we usually have given one or two back,” said Hunt. “We did that for the majority of the game, we'd put up a run and a zero, so that's a big step for us.”

First baseman Ben Douglas belted an RBI triple in the seventh, which ended up being the winning run. He added a solo home run to lead off the sixth and ended up with three RBI, while going two-for-five in the win.

“He was getting a beat a little bit to begin with and then he made some adjustments and the results certainly speak for themselves,” said Hunt on the Moose Jaw native's big night.

Outfielder Miles Hunter chipped in offensively as well, going three-for-four, scoring two runs and driving in one. His average is up to .522 on the year, which leads the WMBL.

“Everybody contributed, no matter how little or how big, so it was a great offensive effort by the team,” said Hunt.

Terry McNabb continued his masterful start to the season on the mound and went seven innings to pick up his third win of the season. His ERA dropped down to an unbelievable 0.47, while his WHIP sits at 0.79 with 25 strikeouts in 19 innings of work. “We got everything we expected out of Terry, seven strong and kept us in the game,” said Hunt.

McNabb scattered five hits during the start. He didn't allow a run past second base until the fifth inning when Saskatoon broke up the shutout. McNabb left the game with a 6-1 lead after seven, handing the game over to the bullpen.

Saskatoon would score four runs in the eighth, three coming off Zach Shelstad, but closer Jason Renner came on to finish off the game, pitching 1.1 scoreless innings for the save.

“The cushion we had evaporated a bit, but it certainly wasn't any one guy, it just one of those things that ended up getting away from us a little bit, but it was a good win,” said Hunt.

Catcher Bronson Larson was three-for-five with a run scored for Saskatoon, while Dalton England took the loss on the mound, giving up six runs on nine hits over 6.2 innings.

Moose Jaw struck out just three times in the game.

The Millers will be back at home on Wednesday night to host the Okotoks Dawgs for the first game of a two-game midweek set. Todd Leavitt (0-0) will make his second start of the season for Moose Jaw against the Dawgs. First pitch is at 7:05pm, you can catch all the action live at mjmillerexpress.com.