The Prospects came into Friday nights game after an exciting Game 4 in Edmonton that was won by the Prospects in a 10th inning walk-off wild pitch. Ultimately forcing a winner take all Game 5 in Medicine Hat with the winner going to the WMBL Championship.
Rich Walker would get the ball in Game 5 and be tasked with pitching the Prospects to the Finals. Walker has been one of the better pitchers for the Prospects this year, including pitching a perfect game earlier in the season.
The Prospects would get on the board first after Tony Olson would get on base with a leadoff walk, just like he did in Game 4 and eventually be batted in by Michael Gahan putting the Prospects up 1-0 early in Game 5.
Rich Walker would pitch a scoreless first inning before the very good Medicine Hat bats would rough him up in the 2nd, scoring 7 runs and putting the Prospects in a hole very early. Rich Walker would ultimately would finish with 1.1IP, allowing 5 hits and 7 earned runs.
Medicine Hat would put up 3 more runs in the bottom of the fourth as they would get to the reliever Jordan Smith, surprisingly none of the runs being earned runs as the Prospects would shoot themselves in the foot with errors.
The Prospects would try to claw back in the late innings. Michael Gahan would score in the 7th off a Daylen Calicdan single, but the Prospects, unfortunately, would leave 3 players on base in the inning. They’d grab another run in the 8th inning via a Michael Gahan single to bring in Tony Olson, they’d leave 2 runners on base in that inning and in 9th inning Eric Crain would hit a home run to bring the Prospects within 7 but that’s as close as they’d get as they’d fall to Medicine Hat 11-4 in Game 5 and their season would end.
The Prospects left 14 runners stranded in Game 5 and put up 5 errors as the potential for them to be in this game was there.
Congratulations to the Medicine Hat Mavericks on a hard fought series and good luck in the WMBL Championship!
All in all, it was a good season by the Prospects as they made it to the Western Division Finals and one game from the WMBL Championship. Thanks to the fans for support the team all year and we can’t wait until 2019 for another great season of Prospects baseball.
Michael Gahan will get out last Prospects player of the game for the season, Gahan went 2-4 in this one with 2 RBI’s and a run scored.
