As time slowly ticks away from the Fort McMurray Giants and the team’s wish of reaching the Western Major Baseball League (WMBL) post-season, the club couldn’t take the edge in a four game set against its expansion brothers the Brooks Bombers at Shell Place that wound up as an even split.
Friday night the Giants staged a ninth-inning comeback courtesy of a walk-off single that drove in two runs off the bat of Garrett Takamatsu. The winning run in the 7-6 victory was scored by Max Hewitt, after the Giants entered the bottom of the ninth down 6-5. Cy Vojak scored the win on the mound for the Giants after an inning of work in the ninth.
Alex Nolan had a rough start for the Giants going four innings allowing ten hits and five runs, after that Ryan Dunn came in as a long reliever allowing a single run over the next four innings.
On Saturday the Giants fell in the matinee half of the double header by a 5-0 margin, with the Bombers notching four runs in the eighth and another in the ninth on 11 hits. Fort McMurray only mustered three hits in the game courtesy of complete game from Brooks’ Mason Swegarden who also tallied six strikeouts.
The nightcap game again saw the Giants win via walk-off again, this time it led to a 1-0 win in a pitcher’s duel as the two teams only combined for nine hits. Tyler Hodder went the full nine for the Giants, striking out five, while Kyle Poapst suffered the loss after giving up the winning run Ryan Villareal who’s single to left field drove home Corey Conklin. Cameron Kremers pitched eight strong allowing four hits for Brooks before Poapst came in relief.
Sunday afternoon saw the Bombers escape the four game set at Shell Place with the series split after taking another tight game by a 2-1 score. This time the fireworks started early, with the Bombers scoring runs in the opening innings of the match, while the Giants spotted a single in the third. That was followed by six straight innings of scoreless ball.
The Giants now sit in the basement of the Western division, with just 12 games remaining in the regular season the club is running out of track to make a push for the post-season.
Fort McMurray is in Regina Tuesday night to begin a two game set against the Red Sox, they’ll then travel to Yorkton for back-to-back games against the Cardinals and then Melville on Saturday and Sunday before closing out the home portion of their schedule at Shell Place against the Edmonton Prospects on Monday and Tuesday.
