Mariners fall to Dodgers in state championship game
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After an action-packed weekend of phenomenal play, the Mission Valley Mariners fell in the state championship game to defending State “A” Champs the Laurel Dodgers, 8-1. The Dodgers were the only team to beat Mission Valley during the five-day home-hosted tournament.
The Mariners upset the No. 1 seed Great Falls Electrics twice, before falling to the Dodgers in the final championship game. Mission Valley came into the state tournament as a No. 2 seed after the Libby Loggers secured the Western District championship one week earlier. The Mariners blew out both the Great Falls Electrics in the opening round, followed by a 15-0 win over the Belgrade Bandits on Friday.
The Mariners’ first, second and only roadblock of the tournament was served up by the defending “A” Champion Laurel Dodgers, who edged the Mariners 6-2 on Saturday, sending Mission Valley to the loser’s bracket where they won big over Libby 11-3, advancing to again play Great Falls in game 14 on Monday.
The Mariners beat the Great Falls Electrics 12-0 in seven innings.With the win, the Mariners played their toughest opponent of the tournament once more, but this time the ultimate prize was on the line. Mission Valley got off to a slow start, eventually losing the championship game. (For complete breakdown of the championship game visit www.valleyjournal.net or see next week’s Valley Journal.)
Right from the start, the Mariners proved that records mean nothing. The No. 1 seed Great Fall Electrics came in on Thursday with a 52-10 record, the best Legion record in the state, but that meant nothing to the No. 2 seed Mission Valley Mariners (40-27), who beat the Electrics 16-6 via the 10-run rule in a shortened game.
Mariner pitcher Josh Rustad picked up the win on the mound, fanning eight in the seven inning game.
During the top of the first inning, Chris Clary smacked a single, allowing Mariner catcher Jack Humphreys to slide into home to take an early lead of 1-0. The Mariners continued their winning ways in the second, as Kevin Hagedorn picked up a run to lead 2-0. The Electrics showed a spark of life in the bottom of the inning after the Mariners made an error at second, allowing Great Falls to pick up a triple, which would eventually lead to a Great Falls run, bringing the score to 2-1.
Chris Clary then drove in Justin Evertz for the team’s third run in the top of the third inning. The Electrics answered with Dalton Cook driving in an RBI, before Justin Pfennings smacked a double to tie the game at 3-3.
The Mariners continued to put up runs during the top of the fourth after Dalton Molzhon was brought home by Jacob Young’s triple, bringing fans to their feet. The game remained close until the Mariners used an eight-run streak in the sixth to break a 6-6 tie, and seal their opening round with a 16-6 win.
Robbie Gauthier and Derrick Rathe finished the game with two hits, a double, and three RBIs, while Molzhon had two hits and a two-run single.
On Friday, the Mariners downed their second No. 1 seed opponent of the tournament, the Belgrade Bandits. Mariner pitcher Justin Evertz pitched a no-hitter while striking out eight and walking five, allowing the Mariners to win 15-0.
With great defense came great offense for the Mariners, as they wasted no time filling the bases in the bottom of the first, but they couldn’t convert as two back-to-back strike outs left them empty handed. This proved to be only a preview of what was to come from the heavy-hitting Mariners for the remainder of the game.
The Mariners began to heat up in the batters box during the second inning, as Jacob Young singled to RBI Derrick Rathe, opening up an early one-run lead.
The Mariners continued to hold the Bandits to no runs as they slowly built their lead until blowing the game wide open in the top of the sixth. The Mariners loaded the bases for Young, who sent the ball soaring beyond the outfield fence for a grand slam to lead 9-0. The Mariners capped the game at 15-0 in the top of the eighth, after scoring an additional six runs, ending the game with a big blowout win.
Seven Mariners had multiple hits, while Jack Humphreys and Young added doubles.
The Mariners advanced to Saturday’s unbeaten game, playing incredible ball and downing two No. 1 seeds in two days. The team then played the defending “A” champions, the Laurel Dodgers and experienced their first speed bump. The Dodgers made few mistakes throughout the game, making it difficult for the Mariners to convert runners at home at the end of the game.
Laurel led 1-0 after the first inning, with Mission Valley picking up a pair of runs in the second to take a quick 2-1.
A pair of runs for the Dodgers gave them a one-run edge in the bottom of the third, which began a four-inning stand-off with both teams unable to put up runs.
In the top of the fifth Humphreys came close to tying the game as he made his way to home, but was met by Laurel catcher Ryan Caron who tagged him out inches from the plate.
Laurel ended the game with a three-run streak in the bottom of the eighth, to win 6-2.
With the loss, the Mariners played the Western District Champion Libby Loggers Sunday morning, where Josh Rustad threw the complete game, striking out 13 and limiting the Loggers to only six hits, as the Mariners picked up the 11-3 win.
The Mariners jumped out to a 4-0 lead during the first three innings, but the Loggers didn’t lay down and scored three during the top of the sixth. Kevin Hagedorn answered in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run home run, setting the tone for the remainder of the game.
He again sent two runners home in the bottom of the seventh, after smacking a single, to give the Mariners an 8-3 lead. The team added three additional runs in the bottom of the eighth as Robbie Gauthier drove in a run, followed by a double by Austin Von Tom.
The Mariners finished a season to remember and should be able to make a strong run next year with up-and-coming talent from their B team.
