Millers hold of 57s; Improve to 6-0

The Moose Jaw Miller Express scored early and held on late as they collected their sixth straight win on Wednesday night, knocking off the Swift Current 57s, 4-3, at Mitchell Field.

"It was definitely a grind effort, we scored a little early and were able to hold on," said head coach Michael Hunt after the win.

The win improves the Millers' record to 6-0 on the year in the Western Major Baseball League. The team is no doubt enjoying their early season success, but Hunt added that they don’t plan on letting off the gas any time soon.

"There's still work to do, it's never going to be an easy game and we need to make sure that we're focused for each one that comes up," said Hunt.

Outfielder Alex Hendra-Brown drove in a pair of runs in the top of the first inning with a double. Moose Jaw added another run on an RBI-single from second baseman Scott Platt in the second inning and they held their 3-1 lead for much of the game.

The Millers got some much needed insurance in the seventh inning when Platt led off with a double and then came around to score on a sacrifice fly by D.H. Ty Roseberry.

That run proved to be key as Swift Current put the pressure on in the ninth inning, cutting the lead to one and sitting with the bases loaded and one out. Reliever Gunner Pickett came up huge with a strikeout and a pop-out to left field to end the game.

Millers starter Jess Marks was a big reason why Moose Jaw was able to stay in front for much of the game. He allowed just one unearned run on three hits with three strikeouts and no walks over six innings to pick up the win.

"Jesse really did well, he pitched to contact, kept his pitch count down and was really able to go deep into the game to help the bullpen out," said Hunt.

Ryder Yakel threw two shutout innings in relief, while Ryann Gray surrendered two runs on three hits in his 1/3 of an inning before Pickett came on for the save.

Hendra-Brown continued his strong start to the year, going 2-for-4 to push his average to .476 through six games. He doubled for the second straight game and drove in a pair of runs.

"He's been a big part of the lineup, in that middle of the order, the top of the order has been getting on for him and he's had a lot of opportunities and has been successful in those," said Hunt.

Platt was 3-for-5 out of the lead-off spot with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.

Catcher Noah Moore also went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the win.

On Swift Current's side, starter Jake Pennington took the loss after allowing three runs on seven hits over six innings. He struck out two and walked one.

Bryan Benz and Alex Orenczuk both went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the loss for Swift Current.

Moose Jaw is off on Thursday and will return to the field in Medicine Hat for a two-game set on Friday and Saturday. The Millers return home to host Melville on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.