Sliding to state
Mission Valley Mariners sweep through competition at the 2010 American Legion Western A District Tournament to earn a berth in the state tournament in Billings
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The Mission Valley Mariners may need a ride to Billings.
The only problem the Mariners had at American Legion Western District A Tournament in Hamilton was getting there. On the ride down to the four-day, eight-team tournament their bus broke down outside of Arlee, but once they arrived in Hamilton they showed why they were the number one seed from the south.
Using a power surge of seven home runs and a pair of come-from-behind victories the veteran Mariner crew went 4-0 at the tournament to claim the district championship and earn their fourth trip to the state tournament in the past five years.
The Mariners (41-16) open the state tournament against the Gallatin Valley Outlaws at 3 p.m. Thursday at Dehler Park in Billings.
Matt Detwiler, the Mariners DH and first baseman, accounted for four of the Mariners’ seven home runs, with three of his blasts coming in their 18-3 victory against the Bitterroot Red Sox in the championship game. Detwiler’s final home run was a three-run shot in the seventh that put an exclamation point on a 12-run inning for the Mariners. Detwiler went 3-for-4 with six RBIs and finished the tournament with a .500 batting average and a dozen RBIs.
“He’s (Detwiler) always hit the ball hard. There was just a short porch in right field and left and he kept hitting the ball in the right spot,” Mission Valley Mariner manager Jami Hanson said.
The long ball was just one aspect of the potent Mariner offense that averaged more than 13 runs and 11 hits a game at the tournament and had a team batting average of .341.
“We’re starting to swing the bats like we are capable of,” Hanson said. He said the home runs were just an added bonus. “You can’t expect them. They’re not common; but if you hit the ball hard, good things generally happen.”
It took the Mariners’ offense a while to get going. In the opener Thursday, they trailed the Glacier Twins 7-0 before scoring four runs in the fourth. They pushed another four runs across in the seventh to take the lead and complete their third come-from-behind victory in their last three tournaments.
Shortstop Justin Evertz, who before the game was dizzy and dehydrated from sitting on the broken-down bus, went 3-for-5 with three doubles and three RBIs. Evertz plated all three of his RBIs in the seventh to give the Mariners a 9-8 lead, when he was able to pull an inside fastball over the left fielder’s head.
Evertz said there was no panic in the Mariners’ dugout after falling behind to the Twins.
“We stay pretty positive. We know we can come back and get the job done. We all stay pretty up, and we don’t get down on each other,” Evertz said after the 13-9 win. “We just have the confidence. We always know we can do it. We’re solid all the way through the line up.”
Kyle Bagnell went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and catcher Tim Rausch went 2-for-3 with four RBIs, with three of the RBIs coming on a home run in the eighth.
Josh Rustad relieved Derrick Rathe, who struggled with his command, in the fifth. Rustad gave up two runs on five hits and struck out five in five innings for the win.
The Mariners also had to come from behind in the 12-5 victory over the Bucs in the semifinals Saturday. Trailing 5-3 with one out in the bottom of the seventh, second baseman Kaileb Gillingham tied the game with a two-run homer. The Mariners added two more runs in the inning on a Evertz’ double and closed out the game with a five-run eighth.
“That’s something they’ve always done,” Hanson said of the late-inning rally. “They don’t quit. They have pride. They have heart. They continue to play, regardless of the score.”
Rathe went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Evertz was 3-for-5 with four RBIs.
Evertz started for the Mariners. He struck out seven, scattered four hits and gave up three runs, only one of which was earned, in 5 2/3 innings. Rustad picked up his second win of the tournament, not giving up a run or hit in two innings of relief.
Rustad has been a starter and reliever for the Mariners this season.
“I don’t think it matters to him,” Hanson said. “He just likes to throw, and he’s been throwing well for us all year.”
Bagnell, who has been as automatic as they come in his last seven starts, took the hill for the Mariners in a 10-0 win against Libby Friday night. With the complete-game shutout, Bagnell is 8-0 in his last seven starts and has extended his scoreless inning steak to 45 innings. The southpaw struck out 12 and only gave up two hits in seven innings.
Detwiler went 2-for-2 with five RBIs and had a three-run homer in the bottom of the first. Third baseman Tyler Linse had a solo shot in the fourth.
Summary
Mission Valley 13, Glacier 9
Glacier 0 4 0 3 0 1 1 0 0–9 8 5
Mission V. 0 0 0 4 1 1 4 3 x–13 11 7
Chase Anderson, Conner Donahue (5) and Jim Jumper. Derrick Rathe, Josh Rustad (5) and Tim Rausch. W - Rustad. L - Anderson.
MISSION VALLEY - Kaileb Gillingham 0-3, Tyler Linse 1-3, Tim Rausch 2-3, Matt Detwiler 1-4, Justin Evertz 3-5, Kyle Bagnell 3-4, Chris Alfiero 0-4, Justin Evans 1-2, Derrick Rathe 0-2, Cory Hardy 0-1, Josh Rustad 0-1.
Mission Valley 10, Libby 0
Libby 0 0 0 0 0 0 0–0 2 9
Mission V. 5 1 0 1 1 0 2–10 7 1
Chris Herbig, Justin Wicka (2) and Micah Germany. Kyle Bagnell and Tim Raush. W - Bagnell. L - Herbig.
MISSION VALLEY - Kaileb Gillingham 2-4, Tyler Linse 1-4, Tim Rausch 1-2, Derrick Rathe 1-4, Justin Evertz 0-2, Matt Detwiler 2-2, Chris Alfiero 0-4, Justin Evans 0-2, Will Wallace 0-2, Cory Hardy 0-2.
Mission Valley 12, Bucs 5
Bitterroot 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0–5 6 2
Mission V. 0 0 2 0 1 0 4 5 x–12 10 5
Justin Evertz, Justin Evans (5), Josh Rustad (7) and Tim Rausch. W - Rustad.
MISSION VALLEY - Kaileb Gillingham 1-3, Tyler Linse 1-4, Tim Rausch 1-3, Derrick Rathe 2-4, Justin Evertz 3-5, Matt Detwiler 1-4, Chris Alfiero 0-1, Kyle Bagnell 1-4, Justin Evans 0-3, Josh Rustad 0-1, Cory Hardy 0-2.
Mission Valley 18, Red Sox 3
Mission V. 2 1 1 0 2 0 (12)–18 17 3
Bitterroot 0 0 0 0 0 3 0–3 5 5
Tim Rausch and Kaileb Gillingham and Robbie Gauthier (3). W - Rausch.
MISSION VALLEY - Kaileb Gillingham 0-1, Robbie Gauthier 1-3, Tyler Linse 2-5, Tim Rausch 2-4, Derrick Rathe 2-4, Justin Evertz 3-5, Matt Detwiler 3-4, Kyle Bagnell 4-2, Justin Evans 1-5, Cory Hardy 0-4.
