Mariners on top at Firecracker tourney

POLSON — Matt Gordon smacked a two-run homer on Sunday to lift the Mariners to a 5-4 win over Kootenai Valley and the championship at their own Firecracker tournament last weekend.

On Friday the Mission Valley Mariners squared off against Cranbrook and they suffered their only loss on the weekend. Cranbrook got the best of Mission Valley by a score of 8-3, aided by great pitching that kept the team on its toes. The Mariners were hurt by their six errors that all ended up allowing Cranbrook to score and were not able to rebound after Cranbrook scored five unanswered points.

"We have been playing pretty well and this game hurt us," said head coach Jami Hanson. "We lost it on defense."

At one point in the fourth inning it was all tied up at three but Cranbrook was able to get some hits and key in on the Mariners' errors.

"Just one of those games. It didn't affect us that much," Hanson said.

Pitcher Brandon Roy took the mound after starter Joe Locke came out with soreness in his elbow, and Roy delivered a stand-up double in the fifth. A two-out single by Brandon Thompson made the score 6-3, but that was as close as the Mariners would get.

Hanson was right about the loss not affecting the team because on Saturday the Mariners rebounded with a victory over Kalispell, 2-1. Terry Lundeen advanced to third base after Locke flied out to right field, and then Tyler Trudeau smacked an RBI single that scored Lundeen from third. It was neck and neck until the sixth inning when Steve Larson connected with the ball, knocking it to right field and scoring Tim Gauthier from third.

"It was a pretty quiet game for our bats," Hanson said.

Gauthier pitched the entire game for Mission Valley and sat down the final two batters by striking them out.

"He (Gauthier) started off a little slow. His arm was tight, but he loosened up and finished the game well," said Hanson.

After knocking off Kalispell 2-1 the Mariners faced the Glacier Twins on Saturday night. Brandon Thompson pitched the complete game for the Mariners, only giving up two hits, striking out nine and only walking four.

"He threw well. He was throwing his breaking pitch a little harder," said Hanson.

The Mariners were able to shut out the Twins, 3-0. Robert Wallace started things off for the Mariners when he singled to right field, and then Shane Perry hit an RBI double to score Wallace and Mission Valley jumped out to the early 1-0 lead. Perry helped add a run after scoring on a passed ball at home. Thompson rocketed the ball to the short stop, causing him to bobble it, and Locke was able to score from third. Both Locke and Perry went 1-2 with a RBI against the Twins.

"Each game Shane is getting better. He is putting the ball in play," Hanson said.

Perry was named the offensive MVP of the Firecracker Tourney, as voted on by coaches.

Sunday the Mariners would face Kootenai Valley in the championship game and Mission Valley came out on top, 5-4, after Gordon smacked a two-run shot over the fence. Steve Larson pitched a complete game striking out 13 and only walking five.

"When everyone is hitting the ball it's tough to beat us," said Hanson.

Hanson was happy with his teams overall performance but noted that as a team they only scored a total of 13 runs in four games during the tourney. The team has averaged around 13 runs a game before this past weekend.

The Firecraker Tourney in Polson hosted six teams and things went as smooth as possible for such a busy weekend according to Hanson.

"All the parents really helped out and made things run smooth. They did everything from make lunch to cleaning up the field," said Hanson.

The Mariners 33-13 overall and 8-0 in the conference traveled to Kalispell to play the Glacier Twins on Tuesday but results were not available by press time.

Next for the Mariners will be the Kennewick tournament in Washington. They start things off against Burlington (WA) at 5 p.m. today (Thursday) and will play host team Kennewick Dusters at 5 p.m. on Friday. The only game set so far for Saturday will be against Kennewick Phantoms at 8 a.m.

"We are looking forward to seeing some more competitive teams (in Washington). Five out of the six Washington teams were either in the reginals or state tournament," said Hanson.