The season has come to an end for the Melville Millionaires.
The battered WMBL club, forced to play with only 14 players and a number of them in positions they regularly don’t play, lost out in a tough five-game series with the Moose Jaw Miller Express at Pirie Field.
Game five saw the Express score early and often, knocking Mils ace Jon Mark Abbey out of the contest after just three innings as they scored six runs on the way to a 10-1 victory and a 3-2 series win. The lone bright spot offensively for the Millionaires was catcher Cam Firth who recorded three hits.
The Mils faced a win-or-go-home situation in Moose Jaw and managed to stave off elimination with a 5-4 triumph. Sheldon O’Dell was the hero at the plate for Melville, homering in the first inning and doubling in the fifth, driving in three runs. Michael Medina started on the mound for Melville but was replaced by eventual winner Allen Rimer, who allowed only four hits and two runs while fanning six in a relief appearance.
It took a few extra days for the Express and Mils to complete games three and four of the first-round playoff series. Originally set to be games on back-to- back nights in Moose Jaw, the games were rescheduled to be a double-header. In game three the Express held a 5-2 advantage when the skies opened, meaning the Moose Jaw club would get the win, but it would leave the two teams needing to hook up again in the Band City for game four.
The contest saw the Express score four first-inning runs and hang on for the rain, and the win. Parker Thomas got the start for the Mils and was charged with his first loss of the year. He hurled six-and-two thirds innings, walked two, struck out seven, and allowed five runs. It took 15 innings in game two, but the Express tied the series at one game apiece, exploding for six runs off Melville closer Dustin Emmons who took his first loss off the season with a 10-4 triumph at Pirie Field.
Every player on the Millionaires collected at least one hit with third baseman Garrett Killgore’s grand-slam homer in the sixth inning being the big blow for the Millionaires.
Ryan Talley started on the mound for the Millionaires and he was solid, giving up four Moose Jaw runs in five innings of work. Nathan Kirby and Rimer combined for three innings of scoreless baseball before Emmons allowed five runs on four hits and three bases on balls.
Medina finished the game for the Mils, allowing a couple of hits and one unearned run in one-third inning of work. The Melville Millionaires took a 1-0 series lead over the Moose Jaw Miller Express in the first game as three pitchers combined for a 6-0 shutout. Abbey was masterful for the Mils, recording nine strikeouts over seven innings in a gem of a game for the righty hurler. Kirby and Medina each tossed an inning of scoreless baseball to keep the Express off the scoreboard.
Sebastian Wong was four-for-five at the plate for the Blue and White while Ben Villafuerte, Killgore and Bryson Thionnet each hammered out a couple of base hits for the home field Mils.
