Mariners finish week strong
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The Mission Valley Mariners baseball team picked up big wins this past week after they defeated the Hamilton Red Sox at home, and a pair of clutch wins over the Missoula Pioneers and the Bitterroot Bucs on the road after dropping two games to Libby on June 13.
At Libby, the Loggers rallied to pick up a pair of Class A Legion victories, winning 4-1 in the first game, and 7-3 in the second.
Logger Alex Cislo picked up his first win of the season on the mound after he defeated Mariner Austin Von Tom. Cislo’s performance on the mound limited the Mariners to four hits, while striking out three and walking three.
Jack Humphreys led the Mariners at bat, finishing the first game with a pair of hits for his team.
For the Loggers, Alex Bluhn, Justyn Mack and Will Reichel finished with one RBI each in the win.
During the nightcap game, the Mariners continued to struggle offensively at bat, only scoring a total of three runs, falling 7-3.
All three runs came in the top of the fifth inning, temporarily giving them a 3-1 lead. The lead didn’t last long though, as the Loggers rallied in the bottom of the fifth to score four runs.
Mariner Justin Evertz led his team at bat, finishing the game with two hits and an RBI.
For the Loggers, Bluhm smacked three singles to lead Libby in their victory.
Alex Cislo limited the Mariners to four hits in the opener. He struck out three and walked three.
The following day, Mission Valley hosted the Bitterroot Red Sox at home in Polson. Things got off to a better start, as the Mariners were able to take a 2-0 lead during the bottom of the first and never look back picking up their 11th win of the season.
The Mariners started pitcher Josh Rustad on the mound and brought in Justin Evertz for the last two innings to keep the Red Sox’s offense in the dugout. Rustad pitched for seven innings, allowing five runs on eight hits. Evertz came in to pitch two scoreless innings to insure 8-5 the victory.
Kevin Hagedorn led the Mariners at bat, hitting 2 for 4, with two RBIs in the win.
For the Red Sox, Jake Capko led his team hitting 2 for 3 with four RBIs.
The Mariners then traveled to Dillon June 16-19 to compete in the Maybelle Arthur Wood Bat Tournament. On Thursday the team first took on the Missoula Pioneers and beat them 18-7 in a blowout victory.
With the win, the Mariners played the Bitterroot Bucs later that afternoon. A slow start allowed the Bucs to secure a temporary 2-0 lead at the top of the second inning.
The Mariners then fought back with one run in the bottom of the second, followed by two more runs in the bottom of the third to take the lead. In the top of the fifth, the Bucs tallied three additional runs, bringing them up 5-3.
Bitterroot scored another pair in the top of the sixth, yet the Mariners piled on four runs in the bottom of the same inning to tie the game 7-7. Pitcher Bradley Pichler relieved Chris Clary for the final two innings, and picked up the win on the mound. Pichler kept the Bucs’ offense at bay during the top of the seventh but his team still needed a run to pick up the win.
During the bottom of the seventh inning, Clary scored the game-winner on a bunt single to help his team edge the Bucs 8-7.
On Sunday, the Mariners finished off their impressive 5-0 win streak in the tournament with a 9-2 win over the Missoula Pioneers.
The Mariners started off strong, building a 6-0 lead through the first two innings, and stretching their lead to 9-1 by the bottom of the sixth inning. The Pioneers attempted to bounce back in the bottom of the seventh by putting up one run, yet it was too late as the Mariners prevailed.
Mariner Chris Clary finished the game with a pair of hits, along with three RBIs to lead his team.
