The Weyburn Beavers have their eyes set on first place in the WMBL East Division and came one step closer Tuesday night. They beat the Moose Jaw Miller Express 10-6 and moved to within a half game of idle Swift Current and Regina, who are currently tied for first.

The game looked like it would be a defensive and pitching battle, with neither team giving up many chances in the opening innings. The Miller Express would be the first to find an advantage when Pate Katechis hit his third home run of the season off Beavers starting pitcher Garrett Waters in the second inning. Moose Jaw added one more run in the third with a sacrifice fly by Ben Dalke.

In the fifth, the Beavers began to find their offense, as they scored two runs, with Brett Young bringing home Ty Scott with a single to left. Zach Mathis then drew a walk with the bases loaded, which brought home, Zach Frazier. The deadlock was broken in the sixth, as Frazier then hit an RBI single to right field.

In the seventh, Moose Jaw blew the game wide open. With two outs, thanks to two strikeouts from Waters, the Miller Express rallied to put four runs on the board, with a number of timely singles and doubles.

Down 6-3, the Beavers then came to the plate and opened up themselves. A single from Ulysses Fluellen brought in Luis Jimenez and Zach Mathis. Anthony Wiggins then brought in two more runs with a double off the wall in center. This spelled the end of the night for Moose Jaw starter Bo Sheridan, who was replaced by Travis Edgar. The scoring didn’t end, though. With no outs on the board, Scott hit a single to center which brought in Wiggins. A wild pitch two batters later let Scott advance home, and then Young recorded his second RBI of the night with a single to center that scored Cam Williams.

Photo 2017 07 25, 7 11 42 PM
Garrett Waters went seven innings, striking out five, and giving up six runs, to earn his sixth win of the season. (photo courtesy Portrayed by PW)The eighth inning saw the Beavers bring in reliever Cody Pamperin, replacing Waters. Waters went seven innings, striking out five while allowing six earned runs. He was credited with the win, his team leading sixth on the season. In his one inning of work, Pamperin allowed one hit with one strikeout. Eric Evans finished the game off, pitching the top of the ninth.

The Beavers will now get ready for the Melville Millionaires, who visit Tom Laing Park Wednesday night. The Millionaires have been a thorn in the side of the Beavers all season, holding a 4-1 edge in the season series, despite being 14 games back in the standings.

There will also be a little scoreboard watching as well, with the Regina Red Sox taking on Moose Jaw, and the Swift Current 57’s hosting Yorkton. Losses by either team will help the Beavers move into second place (with a win over Melville) while losses by both will give Weyburn sole possession of first place in the WMBL East Division.

The game Wednesday starts at 7:05 p.m. at Tom Laing Park.