Millers open week with win over Beavers

(Courtesy Marc Smith, DiscoverMooseJaw.com) Following Sunday’s loss in Weyburn, the Moose Jaw Miller Express were confident that they would respond in the rematch on their home turf on Tuesday.

The Millers did just that as they rolled to a commanding 7-1 win over the Beavers at Ross Wells Park. It was the first win for Moose Jaw in four tries against Weyburn this season.

“They’re really the only team that we’ve been having trouble with this year, so it was good to get one back on them and beat them pretty good,” said Millers’ second baseman Lane Harvey, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI in the win.

Moose Jaw improved to 9-7 on the year with the win and kicked started another busy week with a momentum building win.

“Everything that we put in play worked,” said Head Coach Michael Hunt. “We had some moving parts, had to make some changes, but it didn’t matter who we put in, they got the job done.”

Galen Andrews was stellar to start for the Millers as he pitched four innings of shutout ball. He allowed two hits each in the third and fourth innings, but found a way to get out of trouble, finishing with four strikeouts and two walks.

“Galen has been a quality start guy for every start expect that first one when he got here and tonight is what it is, but we’ll get his finger right and get him back out there again,” said Hunt.

Andrews exited with a blister in the fifth inning, but reliever Arman Lakhani came in and kept the Beavers in check to pick up the win. He pitched three shutout innings, allowing just two hits with one walk and one strikeout.

“We’ve got a lot of horses in a lot of different situations, so it’s nice that we can use those guys and trust in them to do that job,” added Hunt.

The bats were going right from the start of the game for the Millers as centerfielder Ty Schindel set the tone with a lead-off single and came around to score two batters later on a base hit by left fielder Cole Warken.

The Millers followed that up with three more runs in the second inning with Schindel starting things off by driving in one with a single and then Harvey cashed in a pair of runs with a single of his own.

“Anytime that we get hits in the first inning and put up a number in the first inning is great and then when we keep it going, it’s nice,” said Harvey.

The score stayed at 4-0 until the eighth inning when the Millers gave themselves some insurance with a three-run frame. Moose Jaw loaded the bases for Grant Westmoreland, who drove in one and then Harvey brought around another run with a sac-fly to left.

Warken picked up second RBI of the game with a single in the next at-bat.

“(Weyburn starter Cody Pamperin) did a great job, especially getting hit in the foot and grinding through it, he kept us off balance, but we just stayed with it and good things happened defensively, which helped us stay with a good approach,” said Hunt.

Pamperin lasted six innings for Weyburn allowing four runs on ten hits with four walks and five strikeouts. Brodie Staris came on in the seventh and gave up three runs on five hits.

Pinch hitter Brady Nygaard scored the Beavers’ lone run when he hit a solo home run in his only at-bat in the ninth inning.

The Millers return to Ross Wells Park on Wednesday night to host the Melville Millionaires, who are coming off a 7-3 loss to Regina on Tuesday. First pitch is at 7 p.m.