Mariners tear through final week the way it’s ‘supposed’ to be
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POLSON – The Mission Valley Mariners proved to be a force in their last week of league play adding five wins to their conference record and bringing their final tally to 13-6 on the season.
Fighting off intense weather including heat, a rainstorm and even hail, the M’s lit up the diamond with strong pitching and offense that their opponents could not catch.
Coach Jami Hanson is pleased with the improvements he has seen in the last couple of weeks of play.
“The kids are playing like their supposed to be playing,” Hanson said. “The kids are coming through at the plate, defense is throwing some leather around, pitching’s starting to come through – we’re hitting the ball like we’re supposed to.”
On Monday the Mariners traveled to Hamilton to split with the Bitterroot Red Sox, a team that has been swimming top ten in the Montana power poll for weeks.
Zeke Webster-Yaqui commanded the mound, picking up the 10-4 win in game one. Webster-Yaqui hurled seven strikeouts in the complete seven-inning game, with 61 of his 85 pitches coming in as strikes.
M’s bats were hot off the griddle as the team put up 17 hits off of Red Sox pitching. Alex Killian and Jacob Harrod each went 3-4 at the plate with Harrod chipping in two RBIs. TJ Olson and Jared Young each added two runs batted in apiece.
In game two for the day, the M’s took a dive dropping the conference game to the Red Sox 3-7. Despite the loss young guys Trevor Paro put up two hits in his three at bats bringing in two runs while Brenen Abromeit added the only other Mariner run.
Bradley Pichler showed the Kootenai Valley Rangers the door on Tuesday dominating the Rangers both on the mound and at the plate while hosting the conference 14-4 victory at home. Pichler threw nine K’s from the hill while allowing only one earned run and a single walk. Pichler also took charge at the dish going 3-4 with two doubles. Almost every Mariner logged an RBI in the contest with Derek Peel leading with two.
Wednesday was the “Alex Killian Show” as Killian launched two homeruns in back-to-back innings against the Libby Loggers. The Mariners grabbed the 20-2 win with Bransen Krebs on the bump tossing five strikeouts and allowing two runs. Micah McClure added a 4-5 effort, driving in six RBIs. Webster-Yaqui and Pichler helped out with two RBI’s each.
On Friday, Killian continued his hot bat, batting in five Mariner runs off of a 3-4 day at the plate while adding two more homeruns for the week. Derek Peel picked up the 10-1 win against the Bitterroot Bucs on the mound, striking out three with only one earned run logged. Webster-Yaqui was also 3-4 throwing in an additional pair of RBIs for the M’s.
Killian said he’s “feeling pretty good” about hitting the ball and is hoping to keep it up for the upcoming District tournament.
“I think we’ve come around 110 percent and I think we’re hard to beat when we’re swinging the bats and throwing strikes,” Killian said. “Hopefully we just keep it going for Districts, hopefully I stay hot, and hopefully the team keeps swinging well.”
In the nightcap the Mariners toppled the Bucs 11-3 with Webster-Yaqui gaining the win from the hill, tossing seven strikeouts and two walks. Webster-Yaqui, Killian and Olson all landed on second with doubles. Olson threw in five RBIs and Killian chipped in three more.
On Sunday, the Mariners faced a downpour from the skies, which led to a called game against Glacier’s Twins, a game that was already canceled once earlier in the season and was scheduled as a make-up game due to rain. Because the teams were unable to get through five innings of play, the game did not count toward either team’s conference standings, leaving the Mariners grabbing the second seed in conference going into the District Tournament starting Wednesday in Kalispell.
Hanson is looking forward to the District tournament, believing the M’s are in a “good spot” and is happy the tournament is close to home, saving some of the exhaustion that comes along with travel.
“I’m excited for it,” he said. “I can’t believe it’s here, but I’m excited for it,” adding his appreciation in a “shout out” to the parents and fan support the Mariners received throughout the season.
“It’s just the way it’s supposed to be,” he said.
Results
Mariners 0 2 2 1 1 1 3 – 10 17 2
Bitterroot Red Sox 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 – 4 5 2
Ryan Pablo 0-1, Zeke Webster-Yaqui 2-4, Alex Killian 3-4, TJ Olson 2-4, Bradley Pichler 2-4, Derek Peel 1-4, Jacob Harrod 3-4, Brenen Abromeit 2-4, Trevor Paro 0-4, Jared Young 2-2.
2B – Killian (3), Webster-Yaqui, Pichler, Abromeit. 3B – Peel. RBIs – Webster-Yaqui (2), Harrod (2), Killian, Olson, Pichler, Abromeit, Young.
Mariners 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 – 3 6 2
Bitterroot Red Sox 0 4 2 0 0 1 – 7 13 2
Jared Young 0-4, Zeke Webster-Yaqui 0-2, Alex Killian 2-4, TJ Olson 0-3, Bradley Pichler 0-2, Derek Peel 1-3, Jacob Harrod 0-1, Brenen Abromeit 0-1, Trevor Paro 2-3.
2B – Killian. RBIs – Paro (2), Abromeit.
Mariners 2 5 0 5 0 0 2 – 14 11 5
Kootenai Valley Rangers 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 – 4 7 3
Bransen Krebs 0-2, Zeke Webster-Yaqui 1-2, Alex Killian 2-3, TJ Olson 2-4, Bradley Pichler 3-4, Derek Peel 2-4, Jacob Harrod 0-2, Jared Young 0-2, Trevor Paro 1-3.
2B – Olson (2), Pichler (2), Webster-Yaqui. RBIs – Peel (2), Krebs, Webster-Yaqui, Killian, Olson, Pichler, Harrod, Young.
Mariners 2 1 1 2 2 7 5 – 20 17 1
Libby Loggers 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 – 2 4 5
Bransen Krebs 2-5, Zeke Webster-Yaqui 3-4, Alex Killian 3-5, TJ Olson 1-5, Bradley Pichler 2-4, Derek Peel 1-3, Jacob Harrod 0-1, Jared Young 0-2, Micah McClure 4-5, Trevor Paro 0-1, Raymond Matt 1-1, Warren Wood 0-0, Aaron Rasmussen 0-1, Brenen Abromeit 0-0.
2B – Webster-Yaqui (2), McClure (2). 3B – Peel. HR - Killian (2). RBIs – McClure (6), Killian (4), Webster-Yaqui (2), Pichler (2), Krebs, Olson, Peel, Harrod, Matt, Rasmussen.
Mariners 1 0 3 2 4 0 – 10 11 1
Bitterroot Bucs 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 – 1 4 7
Bransen Krebs 1-3, Zeke Webster-Yaqui 3-4, Alex Killian 3-4, TJ Olson 2-4, Bradley Pichler 1-3, McClure 0-2, Jacob Harrod 1-4, Brenen Abromeit 0-3, Trevo Paro 0-2, Warren Wood 0-0.
HR – Killian (2). RBIs – Killian (5), Webster-Yaqui (2), McClure (2).
Mariners 2 3 5 0 1 0 – 11 14 4
Bitterroot Bucs 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 – 3 8 3
Bransen Krebs 0-5, Zeke Webster-Yaqui 2-4, Alex Killian 3-4, TJ Olson 2-4, Bradley Pichler 0-3, Derek Peel 1-3, Jacob Harrod 2-4, Brenen Abromeit 1-4, Trevor Paro 3-4.
2B – Webster-Yaqui, Killian, Olson. 3B – Olson. RBIs – Olson (5), Killian (3), Krebs, Webster-Yaqui.
