Mariners in full swing
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POLSON – Sunflower seeds, warm weather and the thudding sound of a baseball smashing into the catcher’s gloves is good sign that summer baseball is in full swing. The Mariners have gone 6-2 in the last two weeks of their season and Head Coach Jami Hanson is looking forward to building on that success.
“The strengths of this team is the camaraderie,” Hanson said. “Overall, we have a lot of returning kids and I am excited to see how they grow throughout the season.”
The Mariners played host to the Kalispell Lakers on Wednesday, June 8. The teams battled through the first two innings with the score being 3-2 in favor of Kalispell; however, in the top of the third inning the Lakers started to pull away. The Marines struggled to find their third out while the Lakers scored six runs making the game 9-2 at the bottom of the third. The Mariners tried to answer back, but the Lakers batting was just heating up. The Lakers continued to score another 11 runs, which ended the game 20-5 mercy rule in the seventh inning.
Despite the loss, Hanson is using the first half of the season to focus on conditioning and technique.
“We still are working on getting in synch with each other,” Hanson said. “We are going to be working on throwing strikes and being defensive ready.”
Hanson said the team is led by its upper classman, including Jacob Harrod, Nyqolas Gillingham, Micah McClure and Bransen Krebs. These athletes are in their final season with the Mariners and want to go out on top, but understand they have to work on individual goals to make the team better.
Krebs is hoping to play to the best of his ability every game and play as a team. McClure wants to focus on his pitching and end the season with plenty of memories. Gillingham and Harrod are both hoping to work on their mental game along with technique.
“I tend to overthink and get in my own head, Harrod said. “I want to fix that and also limit my errors on the field.”
Harrod will also be focusing his final season by working on the team’s communication.
“We are starting to communicate more, but we still need to understand each others tendencies,” Harrod said.
“Working on that will help us become a group of brothers.”
Looking forward, Hanson is hoping to get the wins needed to place the Mariners in a good position in their district.
“Our goal is that we want to be in the top two of the Western District,” Hanson said. “We have a really tough District, so we have some work to do.”
The Mariners play against Glacier Twins in Whitefish on Wednesday, June 15 at 5 p.m. and will travel to Dillon June 16-19 for the MayBelle Arthur Tourney. Their next home game is June 22 at 4 p.m. against the Bitterroot Red Sox and will host the annual Firecracker Tournament July 1-4.
Results
June 8 KALISPELL LAKERS AA 216 342 20 – 20 MV MARINERS 110 111 0x – 5 PB - Heydn Schlepp (2), Andrew Schlausner, Warren Wood (4). SO - Jake Holland, Andrew Schlausner, Dawson Smith, Jonas Nyman, Jayson Combs, Kade Schutzmann, Walter Wood (2), Jacob Harrod. BB - Heydn Schlepp (2), Patrick O’Connell, Jake Holland (2), Spencer Pisk, Jayson Combs.
June 12 LIBBY LOGGERS 100 000 0 – 1 MV MARINERS 000 045 x – 9 PB -Tim Carvey (4), Warren Wood (2). BALK - Dylon Lane. SO - Collin Johnson, Tim Carvey, Julian Jones, Walter Wood, Bransen Krebs. BB - Taylor Wisdom, Collin Johnson, Tim Carvey, Dylon Lane, Shayne Walker, Tyson Petticrew (2), Julian Jones, Walter Wood (2), Warren Wood.
June 13 LIBBY LOGGERS 000 002 0 – 2 MV MARINERS 110 322 x – 9 PB - Dylon Lane (5), Warren Wood (2). WP - Erik Lauer. BALK - Erik Lauer. SO - Taylor Wisdom (2), Tanner Wood, Brayden Thom, Logan Brickey, Jo Reynolds, Erik Lauer, Shayne Walker, Anthony Jones, Walter Wood, Nyqolas Gillingham, Warren Wood. BB - Tanner Wood, Anthony Jones, Walter Wood, Jacob Harrod (2), Bransen Krebs (2).
