It not have meant anything in the standings, but the Moose Jaw Miller Express gained a small psychological edge Wednesday.
The Express swept the Melville Millionaires with 5-4 and 3-0 wins in Melville. The meeting was a preview of the first round of the Western Major Baseball League playoffs.
“Momentum is a big thing,” said Express head coach Michael Hunt. “When you have confidence going into the playoffs I really believe it carries over.
“I put a lot of stock into it. Especially with the way we started the season off. Now we’ve shown we can compete with anybody.”
The Express finish the regular season with a 19-23 record.
Their best-of-five playoff series with Melville will begin Friday in Melville. Game 3 will be in Moose Jaw Sunday and Game 4 — if necessary — will be Monday at Ross Wells Park. Both home games will start at 7 p.m.
Express 3 Mills 0
The Express finally broke the deadlock when Zack Cadet hit a leadoff double in the sixth inning. Jess Cooper hit an RBI single to cash in Cadet. Dustin Silva singled to set the table for Christian Wise’s two-run double.
Those three runs would stand up as the Express’ bull pen closed out the seven-inning game.
Paul Waterman had his best outing of the season for the Express as he allowed three hits in five innings work, while striking out a pair.
Cory Ridenour didn’t allow a hit and struck out a pair in an inning’s work to earn the save.
Express 5 Mills 4
After struggling at the plate in Tuesday’s 3-0 loss in Swift Current, the Express ripped 11 hits in seven innings.
The Express got on the board in the third when Matt Balogh reached on an error. Fred Atkins doubled which set the table for Cooper and Silva to bring them around to score for a 2-0 lead.
The Express doubled that lead in the fourth when Jon Cotter reached base on an error and came around to score on another error after a Balogh single. Cadet drove Balogh home.
Marshall Dean was solid in his five innings of work. He allowed three hits and no runs. Wise gave up three hits in the seventh, but picked up the save as he got Paul LaMantia to ground out with the bases loaded.
For more please see Thursday’s Times-Herald.
