The Moose Jaw Miller Express needed to find a way to rebound after a tough loss in Melville on Thursday night and they had to look no further than pitcher Kyle Sonntag.

The Saskatoon native was outstanding for Moose Jaw as he went 8 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts in a 7-5 win over the Melville Millionaires at Ross Wells Park on Friday night.

Sonntag allowed five runs — only two earned — on five hits as he just missed finishing off the complete game.

“We got a great outing out of Kyle,” said head coach Michael Hunt.  “Kyle just did what Kyle does, he pitched to contact and made us handle the ball and that’s what we need.”

“Everything felt really good,” added Sonntag.  “I think I was up around 130 pitches and my arm still feels like I could pitch some more.

“Definitely wanted to finish it, but a funky hop at shortstop makes it tough and pushed the coach’s hand, but he got everything out of me that he could.”

The win moved Moose Jaw a game back of Melville for the final playoff spot in the Saskatchewan Division.  While still in fifth place, the Millers sit just two games behind the second place Regina Red Sox in a tight division race.

After missing the playoffs in his first two seasons in the WMBL with Saskatoon, Sonntag said he would love nothing more than to get into the post-season this year.

“Always hungry for the playoffs, especially being that close my two years in Saskatoon, hopefully we can string together something here and make a push,” said Sonntag.

Moose Jaw remains right in the thick of things heading into the final week of the season with a tough test ahead this weekend.  Hunt feels the team is ready to put together a run and push into a playoff position.

“I’ve been waiting for it for a long time and if we can do it now, there’s better time than the present,” said Hunt.

Ben Douglas opened the scoring for the Millers with an RBI-single after three straight hits to start the game.  Marvin Malone came around to score on a wild pitch, while Douglas scored on an error to give Moose Jaw a 3-1 lead after one.

The score stayed that way until the fifth when Douglas led off the inning with a single and then came around to score after a double by Ty Russell.  Russell came in on a groundout later in the inning by Chris Suarez.

An RBI-single by Malone and sac-fly from Douglas in the sixth gave Moose Jaw a six-run cushion.

“Guys are stepping up in big situations and doing things that we’re asking them to do and that’s fantastic,” said Hunt.

Douglas had his second big game at the plate as he finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.  Brennan Reidy, Russell and Malone all finished with two hits in the win.

The Millers are back on the field this weekend with the league-leading Lethbridge Bulls in town.  They face off on Saturday and Sunday nights at 7:05pm.