The Moose Jaw Regals picked up their first win of the season in walk-off fashion on Sunday afternoon at Ross Wells Park.

Pinch runner Riley Morhart came home to score from third base on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Regals a 2-1 win over the Regina Angels in the Regina Optimist Junior Baseball League.

“It was a tight ball game and we stuck with things and it worked out for us in the final inning, so that was good to see,” said Head Coach Kevin Smith.

The win improves the Regals’ record to 1-2 on the year.

Chris Cooper was masterful on the mound for Moose Jaw in the win, going the full seven innings and allowing just one run on two hits. He struck out eight with no walks.

“He’s a veteran guy, so that’s what we expect,” said Smith. “It’s early in the year, so it’s nice to see him go the full seven innings and I don’t think he threw a ton of pitches, he was spot on for sure.”

The Regals had just five hits in the game, but Smith felt like they were making good contact.

“We hit the ball well, but a lot of time it was right at them,” he said. “They’ll start dropping in for us, but other than that, we should start cruising along here pretty good.”

Moose Jaw opened the scoring in the second inning when Tanner Fritzke reached base on an error to lead-off the inning and then came around to score on a single by Kyle Wilson.

A hard hit ball by Regina’s Brett Wendall and an off-target throw to third base led to the only run for the Angels in the fourth inning.

The Regals looked to answer back in the fifth, but left runners stranded on first and second.

First baseman Wyatt Riendeau led off the seventh inning with a double and a single by Kaleb Wilson advanced Morhart, who was pinch running, to third where he came around to score on the wild pitch for the win.

In their first season last year, the Regals finished second at provincials and then went 1-3 at Western Canadians. Smith feels like they’ve got a strong team again heading into this season.

“It’s a mixture of some veterans and some new guys and then some guys that play a little college ball down in the states, so with the mixture of everything, we’ll be fine,” he said.

The Regals return to the field on Thursday for a doubleheader against the Regina Pirates at Ross Wells Park. The games go at 6:15 and 8:45 p.m.