Mariners upend Pioneers to win Firecracker finale
Mariners go 5-0 to win Firecracker Tournament and extend win streak to seven games
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A little rain and some cold weather couldn’t cool down the red-hot Mariners at their Firecracker tournament over the weekend.
In weather more fitting for April than July, the tournament host went 5-0 over the five-day tournament to reclaim the Firecracker title and push their win streak to seven games.
“It’s not easy to win your own tournament. Period. There is so much time and effort involved in it,” Mission Valley manager Jami Hanson said.
The Mariners arrived at 7 a.m. to make sure the field was in good condition and everything was running smooth. With the rain on Friday and Saturday, the team was constantly busy with the upkeep of the field, but they still found time to play baseball – and very good baseball at that.
In the first three wins of the Firecracker, the Mariners offense was explosive. They smashed out 36 hits in just 14 innings, outscored their opponents 33-8 and had a blistering team batting average of .493. On the final day of the tournament the sizzling Mariner offense went missing – except for a four-run outburst in the seventh against Libby – and they had to rely on a gutsy performance by pitcher Josh Rustad to give them a chance for a 6-5 come-from-behind victory against the Loggers to make sure they advanced to the championship game. In the 1-0 championship win against the Missoula Pioneers, Mariner ace Kyle Bagnell pitched a masterpiece and the rest of the team found a way to win, reminding Hanson of the great Mission Valley teams of the past.
“We’re coming together as a team. This was a total team effort,” Hanson said. “Past Mariner teams found ways to win, it didn’t matter if we were down by seven runs in the seventh inning, they found ways to win. That’s where we’ve been in the past and that’s where we’re heading now. Things are turning around for us and that’s what we need.”
With the seven wins, which include a conference sweep of the Bitterroot Red Sox in a doubleheader in Hamilton to start the week, the Mariners improved to 29-13 on the season and 9-1 in the Western A conference.
There weren’t much offensive fireworks in the Firecracker finale. The two teams combined for three hits, with all three hits coming off of Mariners’ bats.
Bagnell kept the potent Pioneer offense, which averaged 10.5 runs in their four victories heading into the championship game, hitless for his second no-hitter and fifth shutout in his past five games. In the five-game span the left-hander with a nasty curveball is 5-0 and has only given up three hits in 31 scoreless innings, but Hanson doesn’t want to jinx him with praise.
“That’s what we expect from him. He’s is that kind of dominating pitcher,” Hanson said.
The tournament MVP got stronger as the game went on. Bagnell struck out the last five batters he faced to finish with 15 strikeouts.
“My curveball was working pretty well and my fastball just came along with it and then I just needed to keep them off guard,” said Bagnell, who didn’t notice he was throwing a no-hitter until after the game.
Mariner third baseman Tyler Linse, who went 4 for 11 with three RBIs at the tournament, hit a grounder past the outstretched glove of the Pioneer second baseman with one out in the third inning for the first hit of the inning for the first hit of the game. Pioneer pitcher Kalen Entzel got Rausch to fly out to center and struck out Matt Detwiler to end the threat.
Mariner right fielder Chris Alfiero placed a single in nearly the same place as Linse’s single with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. Alfiero stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by the Missoula catcher. Alfiero scored the game-winning run, when Pioneer shortstop Dan Metz threw the ball away trying to cut down Justin Evans at first base.
Hanson said doing the little things like such as stealing second base to get into scoring position with two outs is what wins close games, adding that the Pioneers had opportunities to do the same. Out of the six Pioneers to reach base – two by walk, three by error and one on a fielder’s choice – Mariner catcher Tim Rausch gunned down two of them trying to steal second.
Against the Loggers Sunday morning, the Mariners entered the final frame down 5-1, but scored four runs in the seventh to send the game – a game they didn’t necessarily have to win to make the championship – into extra innings.
Mariner second baseman Justin Evans led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, advanced to second on a passed ball, beat out a throw at third on a fielder’s choice and scored the game-winning and his sixth run of the tournament after the Logger right fielder dropped a Linse fly ball, which would have been deep enough to score on anyway.
Out of all the strikes Bagnell threw on the day, none were more important than the one he threw from right field in the top half of the ninth to keep the game tied. Bagnell cut down Logger catcher Micah Germany at home plate for the third out of the inning, after Germany tried to score from second on a Justin Wicka single.
The Mariners had a hard time figuring out Logger pitcher Wicka and his changeup. The Mariners had only one hit and seven fly-ball outs heading into the bottom of the sixth down 4-0. In the sixth, Linse got the Mariners’ second hit with a two-out double and scored their first run of the game on an infield single by Rausch.
The run opened the floodgates for the Mariners’ offense. Down 5-1 the Mariners had two hits, two walks and took advantage of two Logger errors and two passed balls to score four runs in their final at bat.
Mariner outfielder Kaileb Gillingham had the only RBI in the rally. Gillingham drove in Bagnell, after just beating out a throw at first base on what would’ve have been a game-ending double play. Gillingham scored the game-tying run after two Logger errors.
Shortstop Justin Evertz and Alfiero each had a single in the Mariners’ rally.
The Mariners’ comeback wouldn’t have been possible, without Rustad battling on the mound. In only his second start since moving from the bullpen, Rustad went eight innings for the Mariners, striking out nine and scattering six hits. Rustad only walked one and worked around seven Mariner errors to give up five runs, none of which were earned.
Rustad, who was given the tournament’s hustle award, kept the Loggers off the scoreboard in the eighth, even though his pitch count was nearing 120.
“Just bear down, the guys have my back. Just do my job and they’ll do theirs,” Rustad said is what he was thinking at the end of the game.
Xavier Morigeau only gave up one hit in 1 1/3 innings to pick up the win.
Morigeau was one of the offensive heroes in the Mariners’ 17-6 rout of Glacier Saturday night. In a game where the Mariners had 16 hits, none were bigger than Morigeau’s grand slam in the fourth to make it 17-6 and make it possible for the Mariners to end the game after five innings due to the eight-run mercy rule.
Gillingham went 2 for 2 with three RBIs, Linse was 3 for 4 with two RBIs, Detwiler went 2 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs and Evertz went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and three runs.
The Mariners opened the tournament with a 9-0 blanking of the Mission Valley Rockies Wednesday evening. Derrick Rathe went all five innings for the shutout. Rathe only gave up two hits and struck out five.
The Mariners defeated the Wranglers 7-2 Thursday night. Linse gave up two runs on six hits in six innings to pick up the win. He struck out five and only issued one walk. Jay Sorrell only gave up one hit and no runs in an inning of relief.
Evans was a perfect 3 for 3 at the plate and scored three runs. Evertz was 2 for 3 at the plate with two RBIs and two runs and Rathe was 2 for 2 with a RBI.
