Brooks Bombers

Bombers take both in Edmonton to begin the final week of the regular season

The Brooks Bombers traveled to Sherwood Park for a two game series that they swept winning 4-3 and 7-2. The team only has one home game remaining which means extended road stretches and with the playoffs on the line every win is so important. The Bombers began the series 1/2 game back of the Fort McMurray Giants for the final West Division Playoff spot.

In game one Keaton Matlick would start for the Bombers and Travis McDougal would make another appearance against Brooks. Both pitchers were on fire. McDougal was throwing a no hitter through five and two thirds innings with six strikeouts. He was just throwing routine innings with low pitch count and high efficiency. He only had one walk to that point as well.

With two outs in the top of the sixth following a D’Andre Gaines walk Payton Matthews finally broke the no-no with an oppisite field single. Antony Gilbert would see a similar result next up as he singled and scored Gaines to break the tie. Zander Bretza would make it three in a row with yet another single this time scoring Matthews.

As for Keaton Matlick he was on cruise control. He struck out eight prospects and had his fastball dailed in. It seemed like whatever McDougal did in the top hafl Matlick was ready to match in the bottom half. Like his much taller counterpart Matlick also had stress free innings not having to strand many baserunners. With his pitch count approaching 100 Reilly Starko was the first man out of the bullpen in the sixth. Matlick went five and two thirds giving up four hits and striking out eight all while not giving up a single run.

In the top of the seventh Brendan Clelland found himself on base with a walk, he would then steal secound and later advance to thrid from a Jack Walters groundout. Evan Leibl drove him home with a single to give Brooks a 3-0 lead. Starko would throw up a zero in the bottom half setting up James Cote for the eighth inning. Reily Doig singled bringing up Timo Aracena with two outs. Aracena made no mistake on a ball from Cote hitting a two run homerun.

In the bottom of the ninth Lachie Smith reached base on an error and advanced himself to thrid curtosey of two sacrifice hits. With two outs and facing a full count Doig singled to tie the game and send it to extras. A wild pitch in the top of th tenth would score the eventual winning run for Brooks as Julian Pokorny who also pitched in the ninth got his redemption and closed out the game to secure a massive win in extras.

In Game tw the other leftie Grant Harvill got the start for Brooks as they looked for the sweep. Parker Austin would counter for the Prospects.

Similar to Tuesday night the first two innings would go by scoreless but this time around the Bombers would get on the board earlier. In the top of the third, D’Andre Gaines lead off with a walk and with one out Antony Gilbert crushed his 12th homerun of the season to deep left center field to get the Bombers in front 2-0. Harvill would rack up two more strikeouts in the bottom half to maintain the lead.

In the Bottom of the fourth Aiden Szauntner and Time Aracena both reached base. Nick Hagen singled to center to drive in Szauntner cutting the lead in half. Harvill was unfazed and left both Hagen and Aracen stranded getting the final two outs and minimizing the damage. The bats would pick him up in the top of the fifth. Gaines would lead of this time with a base hit. Alex Kitzan would follow suit and some heads up baserunning from Gaines got him to third base. Antony Gilbert once again cashed in this time with a hard hit base to left field.

Harvill’s day would end after getting out of yet another two on one out jam. He went five innings giving up one earned on five hits and striking out six while only managing to walk one batter. In the bottom of the sixth the Prospects would stay pesky and score off a wild pitch to once again make it a one run game.

In the top of the eighth Nate King lead off with a single followed by a Brendan Clelland walk and Maddox Shaver getting hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. James Cote would also get hit this time in the heltmet. A run scored and Cote would be ok and stay in the game. The order was turned over to the top for D’Andre Gaines. The center fielder didnt need to do much as a pair of wild pitches score Clelland. Gaines would be prouductive however as he sent a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Maddox Shaver to make it a 6-2 game. Clelland would later make it 7-2 in the top of the ninth with an RBI single.

Killian McLaughlin would be called upon in the eighth inning. After an error in the field the righty struck out three batters in a row to end the inning. In the bottom of the ninth with one out there were a pair of Prospects on base. McLaughlin would get Ryley Doig and Timo Aracena to strikeout and fly out to end the game and secure the sweep.

The Bombers are now a game up on the Fort McMurray Giants for the final playoff spot in the West Division. Next up for the Bombers the dual of the season with the Lethbridge Bulls at Spitz Stadium.