The summer of 2018 came to a close for the Moose Jaw Miller Express on Friday night.

The Millers were eliminated from the Western Major Baseball League playoffs with a 9-2 loss to the Weyburn Beavers in Game 4 of their best-of-five first round series.

"There is no excuses, that is a very, very good team over there and they are built to win, they've got a lot of seniors, guys aren't leaving and they're there for the long haul and it won't surprise me if they're standing at the end of the season as champions," said Millers head coach Michael Hunt. "If you’re going to go out, you're going to go out to a team like that, it's bittersweet, but it is what it is."

The game played out much like many between the Millers and Beavers this season, as Moose Jaw kept it close in the early going, but one inning swung momentum on the Beavers’ side and the Millers couldn’t recover.

Weyburn held a 2-0 lead after three innings and extended that advantage to 6-0 with four runs on four hits in the fifth inning.

Moose Jaw responded with single runs in the sixth and seventh innings, but it wasn't enough to get momentum on their side and mount a comeback.

"It's a sad night, losing a lot of brothers tonight, but we gave those guys a run for their money, we definitely surprised them a little bit by taking one from them and we had them on their heels early here and it just didn't go our way," said outfielder Eric Marriott, who finished with just one error in over 300 innings during the regular season.

Marriott added that he really enjoyed his summer in the outfield at Ross Wells Park.

"I loved it, it was a different experience for me, I've never been to this part of Canada before and it was amazing with Coach Hunt taking me in from school, I met so many great people and I definitely want to be back," he said.

Millers outfielder Eric Marriott hauls in a ball during Friday's Game 4 loss at Ross Wells Park. (Photo: Marc Smith)

The Millers had runners at second and third with two outs in the second and couldn't convert.

In the fourth, first baseman Markus Gregson led off with a single, but was called out due to interference on a call reversed by the umpires after he was initially called safe.

The overturned call really took the life out of the Millers and the Beavers pounced in the next inning with four runs to take full control.

"They're a solid team, they’re a veteran team, we're a little younger and we had a lot of guys leave on their own terms and it makes you wonder what would have happened if those guys were here, we were special early on, but some things just didn't break our way," said Marriott, who went 1-for-5 in the loss.

Mason Garispe had a strong start going until he and the Millers ran into some trouble in the fifth inning. He ended up allowing six runs -- four earned -- on ten hits with four strikeouts in five innings.

Tannar Galey replaced Garispe to start the sixth inning and struck out Weyburn's Anthony Galindo, but the sky opened up during the next batter and the game was halted due to lightning. A thunderstorm would stop the game for the next hour and it was more of the same when things picked back up.

Weyburn scored two in the seventh and one in the ninth to seal the win and move on to the next round.

The storm ended Beavers starter Chase Thometz's night, but he still earned the win, throwing five shutout innings with just three hits and one walk against. He struck out seven.

Moose Jaw scored their two runs off reliever Dalton Ross, who was tagged for two runs -- one earned -- on three hits and two walks over two innings. He finished with four strikeouts.

Chandler Casey and Eric Evans pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings, respectively.

Logan Hoffman threw 1 2/3 innings after the storm, allowing two runs on four hits with three strikeouts.

Blake Gallagher pitched a scoreless eighth inning and senior Travis Edgar allowed one run on one hit with two strikeouts in the ninth inning.

Gregson went 3-for-4 and Ty Schindel finished 2-for-4 as they accounted for five of Moose Jaw’s seven hits in the loss.

Weyburn will now play Regina in the Eastern Division Final after the Red Sox beat the Swift Current 57s, 4-3, in Game 4 on Friday. The Western Division Final will have Edmonton, who won in four games over Okotoks, going up against Medicine Hat, who eliminated Lethbridge in four games.