Indians Game 2 Thorp 570x427
Will Thorp

The Swift Current Indians continued to get production from the bottom of the order as they beat Regina 6-2 on Friday night.

The Indians swept the season series with the two-time defending WMBL champion Red Sox.
Mario Sanchez and Will Thorp each went 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and an RBI while hitting in the 7th and 8th slots in the order.

Interview with Joe Carnahan"That's a tribute to this team," said Indians Coach Joe Carnahan. "We've got a bunch of guys throughout our lineup that were 3, 4 or 5 hitters at their college. When you have a bunch of them they're spread through our lineup up here."

"Guys are starting to feel comfortable at the plate and it's nice to see depth throughout the lineup."

Carnahan was happy to see another strong game from Thorp who had struggled at the plate in very limited duty before getting hurt and missing several weeks of action.

"He was just starting to find his swing and he ended up getting injured," Carnahan said. "He's ready to go now. He had a line drive single (Thursday), he had 2 hits again today (and) he's going to be a big factor at the end of the season here and heading into the playoffs."

It was a frustrating start to the game for the Indians as they left runners in scoring position in each of the first 5 innings. Swift Current did strike twice in the 4th when Sanchez scored on a passed ball and Bryant Munoz drove Thorp in with a single to centre.

Regina also had a hard time cashing in on their opportunities against Indians starter Chris Haddeland. The Red Sox broke Haddeland's 15 inning shutout streak when a Geoff MacDonald foul pop out to first scored 2 runs on after first baseman Danny Clifford made a throwing error.

The Indians bounced right back with a 4-run seventh inning where they scored all of their runs with 2 outs.

Highlights of Indians Baseball on The Eagle 94.1 FM"The best thing about today was when they scored those 2 runs we responded right away," Carnahan said. "It's always nice to see our team respond like that."

Matt Henriksen got the Indians going in the seventh by walking and stealing 2nd base when the Red Sox left the ball at the backstop. He would later score on a wild pitch.

Sanchez then drove in Jake Gonzalez with a double to left field. Thorp then drove in Sanchez with his second hit of the game.

After walks from Alex Schultz and Matt Spillman, Munoz drove Thorp in when his ground ball to 3rd base was bobbled by Tyler Wheeler. Munoz ended the game with 2 RBI.

Haddeland allowed 1 earned run on 6 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 5. He beat Regina three times this summer. Swift Current has only allowed 18 total runs over their last 10 games.

The Central Division champion Indians have now won 9 of their last 10 games heading into a big weekend series with the East Division leading Melville Millionaires. Melville is riding an 8 game winning streak.

"They have good pitching, good hitting, play good defence," Carnahan said. "It's not surprise to see how successful they've been especially of late. It should be a lot of fun these next two days."

The Indians come back to Swift Current for their final regular season home game against Weyburn on Monday. They'll wrap up the regular season schedule on Tuesday in Medicine Hat.

Our regular season broadcast schedule is now complete, but you will be able to hear Indians playoff road games on The Eagle 94.1 FM. Keep your eye on Swift Current Online for playoff and broadcast schedules.

Click here for Friday's boxscore