Weekend ends on sour note

(Courtesy Marc Smith, DiscoverMooseJaw.com) Another busy week for the Moose Jaw Miller Express ended on a losing note on Sunday afternoon as they dropped a 10-2 game to the Yorkton Cardinals at Jubilee Park.

Playing their 18th game in 20 days, the Millers (12-9) couldn’t get much going throughout the game as the 5-13 Cardinals connected for 18 hits to roll to the win.

“There wasn’t a lot that we threw that they didn’t make a lot of contact on,” said Head Coach Michael Hunt. “We played clean defensively, we just didn’t execute a whole lot of things, but we didn’t have a whole lot of opportunities to do some execution. There’s going to be days like that and thankfully, we haven’t had too many.”

Moose Jaw will head back to Yorkton on Tuesday and Hunt said they’re looking to bounce back right away in that game.

“We’re in Yorkton again for our next game, this one will be in the past, but it’s something that we’re going to have to prove that we can play there,” said Hunt.

Going into Sunday, the Millers were coming off their fourth win in the past five games, a hard fought 4-3 win against the Swift Current 57s on Retro Night at Ross Wells Park on Saturday.

Sunday’s game was the end of another six straight days with a game, which is the third week in a row that Millers have played on six consecutive days. Hunt said the players weren’t using the busy schedule as an excuse.

“Nobody is saying anything and if they’re wearing down they’re keeping it to themselves,” said Hunt. “I know how the body is, especially when we have these grinding spots on our schedule. It was a 6 a.m. roll in (Saturday) from Okotoks and then having to play again (that night) and then having to leave early today. We get a day-off (Monday), the guys get to refresh the bodies and mind and we’ll get back it on Tuesday.”

Four Cardinals picked up three hits in Sunday’s game, while seven players finished with an RBI in the win.

Catcher Jake Davidson went 3-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI for Yorkton, while left fielder Hank Forrest was 3-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored.

Yorkton led just 1-0 after four innings, but then blew the game open with five runs in the fifth inning. Moose Jaw responded with one run in the sixth, but the Cardinals extended their lead in the bottom half of the inning with three more runs.

The two teams traded runs in the eighth inning.

Right fielder Ty Schindel had the best day at the plate for the Millers, finishing 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Left fielder Pate Katechis drove in Moose Jaw’s first run with a single in the fifth, he was 1-for-4 in the loss.

“Ty is locked in and even Scott Platt, who came in to pinch hit, he’s been doing real well the last couple of games,” said Hunt. “We’ve got some guys that are hot, but we mixed our lineup a little bit, trying to get some guys some days off. We tried some different things and they just didn’t work out today.”

On the mound, starter Jesse Marks was tagged for six runs on 12 hits over 4 2/3 innings of work. He had three strikeouts and one walk.

Mitchell Price allowed three runs on three hits and one walk in 2/3 innings. Arman Lakhani continued to be strong out of the pen for Moose Jaw with 1 2/3 shutout innings with three strikeouts, while Joshmar Doran allowed one run on one hit and had one strikeout in the eighth.

Sunday’s contest was the start of a stretch of nine straight road games for the Millers, who head back to Yorkton on Tuesday. They will travel to Alberta for two games each in Fort McMurray and Edmonton over the rest of the week.

The Millers then come back to Saskatchewan to face the 57s in Swift Current next Tuesday and then back-to-back games in Regina.