The Brooks Bombers defeated the Fort McMurray Giants in game two on thursday night to split the series with a 14-5 victory at Elks Field. Brooks dropped game one to the Giants 11-2 and needed the split to not only even the series but split the overall season series.
Megumi Fukuda would start for the Giants and Brooks would counter with Jeremy Kahle. The scroing would start for the Giants in the second inning, Many Alberto hit a double to the gap and set up Joe Finder who brought him home with an RBI single.
In the bottom half the Bombers would try and answer, With two outs Maddox Shaver hit a single to right field and Nate King went first to third on the hit. Jack Walters walked turning the order over to the top for Payton Matthews. The Center fielder jumped on the first pitch he saw and hit a ball hard but it was right at Mack Mitchell on first base for the final out of the inning as the Bombers left the bases loaded.
The Giants loaded the bases in the top of third when head coach Dan Morgan made the call to remove Jeremy Kahle from the game. Julian Pokorny would replace him and get the final out of the inning stranding three Giants on the bases. In the bottom half the Bombers would get on the board. D’Andre Gaines got hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, he would then break for second not long after and advance successfully. Gaines then advanced to third after Jacob Gillis grounded out to first base. Fukuda then pitched one in the dirt that got away from Catcher Adam Thuss to tie the game up.
Fort McMurray would score in both the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth Connor Martin singled to score Thuss and in the fifth Jun Ho Son scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 3-1.
John Shields would replce Fukuda in the fifth and this is where things turned for the Bombers. Jack Walters got things started as he reached first on ana error from first baseman Mack Mitchell. Payton Matthews would step up and make no mistake this time redeming himself for his last at bat. Matthews hit a two run bomb to tie the ballgame. Gaines would walk and get driven in by a Jacob Gillis double to give the Bombers the lead. That would be all for Shields as Dylan Kints would replace him. Zander Bretza was the first batter he faced and reached base from another error, Jacob Gillis would score the fourth run of the inning to give Brooks the 5-3 lead.
The Bombers would do more damage in the sixth. Cam Wright was on for the Giants and walked Matthews, Gaines singled and Gillis reached base on an error that score Matthews. Gaines later scored on a balk from Cam Wright. Familiar face Dax Wandler got his frist RBI with a double off the center field wall. The bases were then loaded when Nate King walked and Evan Leibl got hit by a pitch. Cam Wright then walked Maddox Shaver to score another run, Wright was then replaced by Maxx Davidson. He hit his first batter Jack Walters to bring another run across. The order was turned over once again for matthews who this time hit an RBI single. Jack Walters would be the seventh and final run of the inning curtosey of a past ball.
Nate King would add to the lead with a double that scored a pair in the bottom of the seventh. The Giants ended up getting a pair of runs in the top half but the damage had been done. Evan Leibl would make his first appearance on the mound and would shut down the Giants as Brooks got the series split and ended the season series with the Giants at 4-4.
Next for Brooks two games in Edmonton against the Proscpects. The Bombers sit two games back of the Giants who are now off to play a pair of road games in Lethbridge.