Mariners battle big bats in Big Bucks Tournament
courtesy photo
Mariners’ pitcher Chris Drebes helped the team finish in third place at the Big Bucks Tournament last weekend in Libby.
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LIBBY — Mission Valley Mariners faced great competition in Libby with teams from Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Alberta, Canada. After battling hard, they walk away with the third place prize. This weekend’s Big Bucks tournament saw some big bats from all teams including homeruns in almost every game.
In game one against the AAA Graham Rainiers, an ace performance by Nick Crawford spurred the Mission Valley Mariners to a 4-1 win in seven innings over the Rainiers on Friday. Crawford got the win for the Mariners thanks to 13 strikeouts, allowing no earned runs on two hits and four walks over seven innings.
T.J. Olson racked up three RBIs on one hit for the M’s with a huge three-run homerun in the fourth inning, and the Mariners held their ground through the seventh to take the first game in the tourney.
In game two, Alex Killian went 2-3 with 2 RBI’s, sparking the Mariners to a 7-2 victory in seven innings over the Strathmore Reds on Friday.
Bradley Pichler’s six strikeouts were enough to push the Mariners past the Reds. Pichler allowed two earned runs on three hits and five walks over seven innings to earn him the win.
The top of the first saw the Mariners take an early lead, 1-0. The M’s attack began with a single from Ryan Pablo and then saw him score off a deep sacrifice fly off of Alex Killian’s bat.
A fourth inning rally saw two runs cross the plate on an RBI double by T.J. Olson and a passed ball. The Mariners scored one run in the 5th and 6th followed by a two-run double hit by Pichler in the 7th, sealing the five-run lead.
The Mariners dropped a 7-13 slugfest to Moscow Blue Devils on Saturday with a total of 23 hits between the two teams — four of those flying over the fence.
Kellen Hoyt got the start for the Mariners, going two and two-thirds innings and logging two strikeouts, two walks and five earned runs. Jared Young came in for relief and Zeke Webster-Yaqui took the mound to close it up.
The top of the first saw the Mariners take an early lead, 3-0, with five straight hits but Moscow came back with some big bats of their own. After falling behind in the fourth, Jeremiah Crawford hit a two-run homerun to tie it up 7-7.
A grand slam off a Moscow bat set the lead for the Blue Devils, squelching the Mariners’ hopes of playing in the championship game.
On Sunday, the Mariners came out on top playing for the third place consolation prize against Kootenai Valley Rangers. The Mission Valley team battled and kept themselves on top after putting up two runs in the first.
Alex Killian did his best to jumpstart the offense for the M’s, reaching base three times. He scored two runs and had two RBIs and launched a big one over the left field wall in the sixth.
Ryan Pablo also saw a good day at the plate going 2-3 with an RBI.
Chris Drebes got the win on the bump. He allowed three runs over five and two-thirds innings. He struck out none, walked one and surrendered six hits. T.J. Olson put away the final three outs to record the save.
The Mariners have a big week coming up with games every day. They will be traveling to Belgrade on Thursday to participate in the Boys of Summer Tournament. The season’s full schedule can be viewed at www.mvmariners.com
Summary
Friday, June 21
Game 1
Mariners 4, Graham Rainier 1
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Mariners000310x-4
Pablo 0-2, Webster-Yaqui 1-3, Killian 0-3, J.Crawford 0-3, Pichler 0-2, Krebs 0-1, Olson 1-3, N.Crawford 0-2, Young 0-2.
HR- TJ Olson. RBI’s – Olson (3)
Game 2
Mariners 7, Strathmore Reds 2
Mariners1002112-7
Reds0010010-2
Pablo 2-4, Webster-Yaqui 2-4, Kilian 2-3, J.Crawford 1-3, Pichler 1-4, Krebs 0-3, Olson 1-2,
Hoyt 0-3, Young 0-3, N.Crawford 0-0.
2B – Webster-Yaqui, Pichler, Olson. RBI’s – Killian (2), Pichler (2), Olson, Hoyt.
Saturday, June 22
Game 3
Mariners 7, Moscow Blue Devils 13
Mariners4012000-7
Blue Devils106240x-13
Pablo 2-4, Webster-Yaqui 2-4, Killian 1-4, J.Crawford 2-4, Pichler 1-3, Olson 1-4,
Krebs 0-2, Drebes 0-2, N.Crawford 1-3.
2B – Webster-Yaqui, J.Crawford. HR – J.Crawford. RBI’s – J.Crawford (3), Webster-Yaqui, Killian, N.Crawford.
Sunday, June 24
Game 4 – Consolation
Mariners 5, Kootenai Rangers 3
Mariners 2100020-5
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Pablo 2-3, Webster-Yaqui 3-4, Killian 1-2, J.Crawford 0-2, Pichler 1-3, Olson 3-4, Young 0-4, Hoyt 0-4, Krebs 1-4.
2B – Webster-Yaqui. 3B – Krebs. RBI’s – Killian (2), Pablo, Olson.
