Millers snag a pair of wins over the weekend

The Moose Jaw Miller Express picked up a pair of wins over the weekend to move their record to 4-5 early in the 2017 Western Major Baseball League.

On Saturday the Millers scored five runs in the first inning and held on for a 9-5 win over the Melville Millionaires at Ross Wells Park in downtown Moose Jaw.

Melville chipped away at the Millers lead throughout the game and trailed 6-3 after the fourth inning. The visitors then put up singles in the sixth and eighth inning to pull to within one but Moose Jaw put the game away with three runs in the home half of the eighth.

Millers leadoff batter Travis Able was 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored and one RBI, catcher Zach Fascia was 1-for-2 with two RBI and two walks, and Ty Schindel was 1-for-4 with two RBI.

On the mound Hunter Kloke picked up the win after allowing three runs on five hits over five innings.

The Millers returned to the diamond Sunday afternoon where they once again got off to a hot start and ended up with an offensively charged 14-6 win over the Yorkton Cardinals.

Moose Jaw scored three runs in the first inning and led 5-2 after three. After three scoreless innings the Cardinals scored one in the top half of the seventh to pull to within two but that would be as close as they would get. The Millers went on to score five in the seventh and another four in the eighth and finished with 15 hits in the game.

Ben Dalke led the charge at the plate going 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBI, Lane Harvey was 2-for-3 with three runs scored, Zach Fascia was 2-for-4 with two RBI, and Joshmar Doran was 1-for-4 with two RBI. Moose Jaw finished with three triples in the game and combined for five walks and had three hit batters.

On the mound, starter Grant Westmoreland allowed two runs on three hits and struck out seven batters in four innings, Arman Lakhani picked up the win after pitching two scoreless and hitless innings.

The Millers are now preparing for a heavy home schedule this week, Tuesday they’ll take on the Brooks Bombers, then on Wednesday Medicine Hat rolls in to town, Thursday the team heads to Melville for a rematch with the Millionaires, and then the Millers come back home for games against Brooks and Regina on Friday and Saturday.