The Fort McMurray Giants opened up the 2019 Western Canadian Baseball League season with a five game road trip that saw them take on Brooks, Lethbridge and Okotoks.
The Giants dropped four of the five games and head home with a 1-4 record to start the year. It’s definitely not the start the Giants wanted but with a lot of baseball left to be played, there’s plenty of time to get back on track.
The Giants opened the season Wednesday in Brooks and lost a slug-fest 15-10. The Giants showed a lot of heart in that game as they trailed 9-0 after the 4th inning before responding with 7 runs in the top of the 5th. They then added another 3 in the 6th inning to take a 10-9 lead. The Bombers would respond with the long ball as they belted five home-runs in the game.
After being rained out on Thursday, the Giants played a double-header against the Lethbridge Bulls Friday. The Bulls took Game 1 by a 5-1 score before the Giants rebounded with a 6-0 win in the second game. Ike Buxton was solid on the mound throwing five shutout innings to pick up the club’s first win of the season. Tucker Sorenson came on in relief to close out the game and preserve the shutout.
The Giants finished up their road trip with back-to-back losses to the Okotoks Dawgs. A missed opportunity for the Giants on Saturday as they led 7-2 early in the game and 12-10 heading into the bottom of the 9th inning but were unable to keep the Dawgs off the board. Okotoks would score three runs in the 9th to walk-off the Giants 13-12. Five errors in the game including three straight in the 9th inning to load the bases were the difference.
A 6-3 loss to the Dawgs on Sunday wrapped up the Giants opening road swing of the summer.
The road woes will have to be fixed quickly as the team plays 17 of their first 23 games away from Shell Place. Opposing ball parks have not been kind to the Giants as the club had a miserable 4-20 record away from home last season. A major reason why the club missed the playoffs.
There were a few bright spots on the road trip as a few players came flying out of the gate. Tanner Hess is riding a five game hit streak and went a mind-boggling 13-19 at the plate to lead the league with a .684 batting average through the first week of the season.
Another player with a hot bat is 2017 returnee Richard Ortiz. The Puerto Rican belted four home-runs to lead the league and sits second with 10 RBI. Ortiz hit six home-runs in 2017 with the Giants and with the four already this summer, he has taken over the franchise lead with 10 home-runs during his time with the club. Ortiz’s former teammate Keegan Marsden held the mark after hitting nine two years ago.
The Giants certainly have some talent on this roster, it’s now a matter of can they put it all together on a game to game basis?
The club is also still awaiting the arrival of two of their biggest stars who are currently playing Regional Championship games with their respective NCAA D1 schools. Infielder Max Hewitt who plays at Oklahoma State University and pitcher Nik Cardinal who plays at Fresno State. Hewitt suited up for the Giants in 2017 and holds the franchise record for hits in a season with 55 and RBI’s with 38 while Cardinal has played for the Giants the last three summers and emerged as a dominate starter last season for the club. Cardinal went 4-1 over 8 starts with a sparkling 2.98 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 54.1 innings pitched. Both players will be welcome additions when they arrive in Fort McMurray.
Putting their season opening road trip behind them, the Giants look ahead to their home opener on Thursday. They welcome the reigning WCBL champion Medicine Hat Mavericks to Shell Place for a four game set. First pitch is schedule for 7:05 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with Sunday’s game being an afternoon contest with a 2:05 p.m. start.
Tickets for the games can be purchased at the Shell Place box office or online.
