MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- The Moose Jaw Miller Express might not have had the result they wanted on Thursday night in Lethbridge, but there was still positive news just the same.
While the Express gave up three runs in the eighth inning to drop a 7-6 decision to the Bulls in Western Canadian Baseball League action, the Swift Current 57’s also lost to the Saskatoon Berries in Saskatoon.
As a result, the Miller Express officially have clinched the final playoff spot in the East Division, as their 24-23 record is good enough for a 10-game lead over the 57’s in fourth place in the division with nine games remaining.
Things looked good early for Moose Jaw on Thursday as they put together a 6-1 lead through four innings, scoring three in the first, another in the second and two more in the fourth. Lethbridge started to battle back in the middle innings, though, with a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth making it a two-run game.
That set the stage for the eighth, where the Bulls would get three runs off three hits and a walk off Moose Jaw reliever Jacob Castaneda before shutting down the Express in the ninth and taking the one-run win.
Westin Walls had given Moose Jaw a decent start on the mound, allowing a single run on three hits and striking out four over four innings. Drew Sorrentino gave up a run on two hits while getting two outs in the fifth before Jadon Canelli finished the inning and got one out in the sixth, giving up two runs on three hits in the process. Takeo Cookson took over from there and allowed a single hit over the next 1 鈪� before giving way to Castaneda in the eighth.
The Express chased Lethbridge starter Drew Lenehan after 2 鈪�, but could get little going against reliever Luke Dowdy, who allowed two unearned runs on four hits and struck out eight over the next 4 鈪�. Brandon Carter was the beneficiary of the comeback, picking up the win after tossing a scoreless eighth and ninth.
Moose Jaw managed only six hits on the night, with Thomas Soto getting two of those and scoring a pair of runs. Nate Mensik also crossed the plate twice, while Robert Estrada was 1-for-3 with a pair of runs batted in.
Mikey McGinnis led the Lethbridge offence, going 4-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and an RBI.
The Miller Express are back in action on Friday night when Swift Current is in town. First pitch is 7:05 p.m. at Ross Wells Park.
