BROOKS -- The Saskatoon Berries kept up their winning ways on Friday night in Western Canadian Baseball League action, sweeping both ends of a doubleheader with the Brooks Bombers in Brooks.
The Berries found themselves in a battle before taking the opener 5-4 and then rolled to a 17-2 win in the rematch. It was also a good night for Moose Jaw and Regina, with the Miller Express downing the Swift Current 57’s 16-6 and Red Sox taking a 14-9 win over the Weyburn Beavers.
Other scores Friday saw Medicine Hat defeat Okotoks 5-4 and Fort McMurray get past Lethbridge 5-0.
Saskatoon 5, Brooks 4
The Berries fell behind 4-1 early thanks to a three-run third inning for Brooks, but they’d rally with two runs in the fifth and two more in sixth to secure the victory.
WCBL teams play seven-inning games on doubleheader days.
Ethan Menard was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored to lead Saskatoon’s offence.
Ben Fishel had a 1-for-3 night that included a run and two RBI to come away as Brooks’ top hitter.
Matthias Trondson started for the Berries and allowed four runs on four hits over the first three innings, striking out five, before Adam Beamin and Clay Mixon combined to shut down Brooks the rest of the way with two shutout innings each.
Kody Butt took the loss on the mound for Brooks, allowing five runs, four earned on five hits over five innings.
Saskatoon 17, Brooks 2
Saskatoon left nothing to doubt in game two, scoring five in the first, six in the second and six more in the fourth for the double-digit win.
Ethan Murdoch and Cory Wouters each had outstanding games, with Murdoch going 2-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI while Wouters was 3-for-5 with two homers, three runs and five RBI. Abiam Medina and Jalen Freeman also crossed the plate three times each. Cooper Wesslund added a solo round tripper.
A.J. Hurtado and Maddox Shaver scored the Bombers’ runs. Michael Sall picked up the win for the Berries, going three innings and allowing a single run while striking out five.
Brian Walters did his duty in absorbing the loss, giving up 15 runs on 15 hits over 3 ⅓.
Saskatoon remains in first in the East Division with a 10-2 record, Brooks sits fifth in the West at 4-6.
Moose Jaw 16, Swift Current 8
The Miller Express poured eight runs across in the second inning and led 11-0 after three before going on to their commanding victory.
Will Edwards continued to swing a hot bat, going 2-for-4 with two home runs, four runs scored and three RBI. Austin Gurney finished a home run away from the cycle with a 3-for-4 night that included a double, triple, and three RBI, while Thomas Soto was 1-for-3 with a double, two runs and two RBI.
Casey Prychak was 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs and an RBI for Swift Current, Gus Koehn went 2-for-4 with two doubles.
Rodolfo Guardiola had a solid start for Moose Jaw, allowing four runs on seven hits over seven innings and striking out four to secure the win.
Justin Puello was the losing pitcher, surrendering five runs in the first.
Moose Jaw improves to 6-7 and sit fourth in the East, Swift Current drops to 2-11 and are sixth in the East.
Regina 14, Weyburn 9
The two teams found themselves in a back-and-forth battle early, with Weyburn taking a 6-5 lead out of the third inning. Regina regained the lead with four in the fifth, though and after the Beavers got back within one 8-7 in the top of the sixth, the Red Sox added another four in their half of the inning to take the lead for good.
Brady Bye went 3-for-5 with a double, home run, three runs scored and an RBI to lead Regina, while Sam Baker was 2-for-5 with two runs, three RBI and a round tripper of his own. Jory Graves also had three hits and a pair of runs scored.
Noah Brooks and Luke Malzewski each had three hits for Weyburn, while Ian Heck hit his second home run of the season.
Ty Fortin started for the Red Sox and allowed six runs, four earned, on eight hits over four innings. Zander Oudie-Senger was the winning pitcher, tossing the fifth and sixth and giving up a pair of runs. Colton Bank earned the save, allowing a single over the final three innings.
Ryan Meyer got the start for Weyburn and went two innings, giving up three runs on three hits. Ethan Webster was the losing pitcher after giving up five runs through the fifth and sixth innings.
Regina is now 7-5 and third in the East, Weyburn falls to 4-8 and are fifth in the East.
WCBL action continues Saturday night with Weyburn at Saskatoon (6 p.m.), Medicine Hat at Regina (7 p.m.) and Moose Jaw at Swift Current (7:05 p.m.)
