Mariners win 4, lose 1 in annual Firecracker Tourney
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POLSON – The Mission Valley Mariners spent their Fourth of July weekend making plays and spitting seeds. The annual Firecracker Tournament took place from Friday, July 1 to Monday, July 4 at the Polson baseball complex. Twelve teams participated in the tournament in hopes of coming out on top.
The Mariners played the Deer Lodge Wranglers in their first game of the tournament on Friday, July 1. The Wranglers took the lead in the third inning; however, the Mariners answered back in the fifth and seventh innings to take the game. The Mariners won 6 – 5.
The following day, the Mariners took a chance against the Kootenai Valley Rangers. The Mariners found their rhythm from the start by taking a 5-0 lead in the first inning. The Rangers attempted to answer back, but the Mariners were to much winning by a 12-4 mercy rule.
“We play really well when it comes to tournament time and we find ways to win,” Mariner Jacob Harrod said. “We really have a lot of fun in these tournaments.” Harrod said his team needs to work on staying focused an entire game and not get stuck in their own heads if they want to continue improving and winning.
His team did just that in their two games on Sunday, July 3 against the Clark Fork Vipers and Dillon Cubs. The Mariners won both games and found themselves in the championship game the following day on the Fourth of July.
After a long weekend of hosting a tournament and doing all the field work, the Mission Valley Mariners took the stadium for one last game against the Livingston Braves. The Braves controlled the first three innings with a 2-0 lead, but the Mariners were not going to go down without a fight and tied the game 4-4 in the sixth inning.
Both teams battled back and forth for another five innings, until the Braves scored three runs in the eleventh inning to win the game 7-4.
Harrod was happy with the outcome, but would like to work on getting a stronger start to games.
The Mariners will host the Glacier Twins on Thursday, July 14 and the Kootenai Valley Rangers on Saturday, July 16.
Firecracker Tournament Results:
Friday, July 1 Deer Lodge 005 000 0 – 5 MV Mariners 003 020 1 – 6 PB - Logan Danforth (2), Warren Wood. SO - Logan Beck, Taylor Stone, Michael Heisdorf, Sheldon Danforth, Sean Mattice, Porter Struble, Logan Danforth, Walter Wood (2), Warren Wood (2). BB - Taylor Stone, Sean Mattice, Porter Struble (2).
Saturday, July 2 KV Rangers 020 02 – 4 MV Mariners 504 12 – 12 PB - Quade Anderson (3). WP - Dawson Henrie, Sam Hannay (3), Marquise Askan (2). BALK - Marquise Askan (2). SO - Donovan Fornall, Connor Harmon, Anthony Jones. BB - Quade Anderson, Mo Henderson (2), Sam Hannay, Anthony Jones, Walter Wood, Micah McClure, Nyqolas Gillingham (2), Jacob Harrod.
Sunday, July 3 Clark Fork 110 001 2 – 5 MV Mariners 006 000 x – 6 PB - Aaren Von Heeder (3), Anthony Jones. WP - Ryan Ovitt, Tyler Kelsch, Warren Wood (2). SO - Logan Benson, Wyatt Weyers, Tanner Ovitt, Josh Connolly, Kyle Milner, Tyson Petticrew, Karsen Krebs, Walter Wood, Nyqolas Gillingham. BB - Wyatt Weyers (2), Tanner Ovitt, Kyle Milner (2), Brock Cantrell- Field (2), Nyqolas Gillingham. Dillon Cubs 002 000 0 – 2 MV Mariners 011 011 x – 4 SO - Jace Fitzgerald (2), Colby Minert (2), Nick Huber, Gabe Hupp (3), Anthony Jones, Micah McClure (3), Nyqolas Gillingham, Warren Wood. BB - Tyson Petticrew, Warren Wood.
Monday, July 4 – Championship Game Livingston Braves 101 020 000 03 – 7 MV Mariners 000 301 000 00 – 4 PB - Zander Petrich (2), Warren Wood (4). WP - Tyson Petticrew. SO - Bryce Dorvall (3), Brock Peterson, John Becker, Ethan Bullock (2), Buck Spallone, Tristen Jenkins, Karsen Krebs, Walter Wood (3), Nyqolas Gillingham (2), Jacob Harrod (2), Bransen Krebs. BB - Zander Petrich, Tristen Jenkins, Micah McClure. ROB ZOLMAN PHOTO Mariner Bryant Hales slides into home during the championship game against Livingston.
