Saskatoon Berries fans had plenty to cheer about on and off the field on Wednesday.
In the stands, fans had a chance to cash in some of their 10 free hot dog tickets are part of the club’s Wiener Wednesday promotion. On the field, the Berries ensured fans stayed glued to the action instead of their hot dogs with a 17-4 win over the Medicine Hat Mavericks.
Third Baseman Josh Henson led the way for the Berries with two hits, including a fifth inning grand slam. Henson finished with six RBIs on the night. Catcher Aiden Kilshaw had the second hottest bat in the Saskatoon line-up, going three for four with a double, a walk, and three RBIs.
The Berries got to Medicine Hat starter Cody Myers early. Saskatoon opened the bottom of the first with four straight singles, and eventually scored four runs before the Mavericks stopped the bleeding.
The Saskatoon bats stayed hot in the second and third, piling up three more runs in each inning, and chasing Myers from the mound after 2.2 innings.
Saskatoon starter Owen Stempel held Medicine Hat to four runs on five hits over 4.2 innings. Stempel also walked four and struck out four before giving way to Clay Mixon with the Berries leading 10-4 in the top of the fifth.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Berries exploded for six runs, capped by Henson’s two-out grand slam.
Mixon and fellow relievers Tyler Bailey and Brody Wrench combined to give up just one hit over three innings while striking out a combined six batters. The Berries added another run in the bottom of the seventh to make it 17-4.
The win means the Berries move within a game and a half of the Moose Jaw Miller Express, who were idle on Wednesday, for the WCBL’s Eastern Division lead. The Berries were off on Thursday, while the Express hosted Medicine Hat. The final score was not available by press time.
