Mariners win Kalispell tourney championship

The Mission Valley Mariners are wrapping up the season in a good way, winning six of of their eight games over the past week, including taking the Kalispell John Harp championship, as the team hosts their final two home games today (Thursday) and Saturday.

The Mariners started off with a tough 11-7 loss to Kalispell last Wednesday, as things seemed to go the Lakers' way with bloop singles falling for them right and left.

Down 2-0 early on, Will Gordon got the team on the board with an RBI base hit in the second to make it 2-2. That was followed by RBI hits from Robert Wallace and Jake Whetzel that eventually made it 6-3.

Gordon had a shot later in the game that just missed going out by about a foot in left center. He led the team going 4-for-4 at the plate, with Brandon Thompson going 3-for-4. Both hitters had a double on the night, too.

But Kalispell came back, eventually getting some hits to drop in for them, ultimately winning 11-7. The second game was called due to rain, and was ultimately rescheduled and "paired up" with the championship over the weekend so the teams wouldn't have to replay it later.

The Mariners hosted the Libby Loggers on Thursday, and won the first game, 9-1, behind a complete game pitching performance from Eric Locke, who also hit a home run, along with Thompson.

Locke allowed just one walk, and struck out eight to improve to 6-1 on the season. Tyler Trudeau had a double for the team, and Jake Bosley, John Rausch and Thompson all had RBIs.

The game was called after five innings, due to weather, and the second game was scheduled to be made up Tuesday night. Results were unavailable by presstime.

The Mariners opened Day 1 of the John R. Harp American Legion tourney in Kalispell with a 10-6 win over Kootenai Valley, as Tim Rausch got a complete game victory with nine strikeouts to also improve to 6-1 on the year.

Bosley was 4-for-5 with three RBIs, and Trudeau was 3-for-5 with an RBI to help the team. Jake Whetzel and Chris Brown were both 2-for-3, too.

On Saturday, the team had two games, and split the day with a win over Great Falls but a loss to Glasgow.

The beat up on the Black Sox in six innings, winning 13-1 behind five innings of no-hit pitching from Trudeau. Gordon led the team with two RBIs, while Trudeau was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI.

But the Mariners' bats couldn't get going against Glasgow, as they fell 2-1, but had already clinched a championship berth.

On Sunday, the team bounced back with a solid 10-3 win over the host Lakers for the championship, with Thompson getting the win on the mound.

Brown went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, while Trudeau was 4-for-4 and Gordon was 3-for-4 at the plate. Thompson improved to 8-2 on the year after striking out 11.

The loss to Glasgow was frustrating, but all in all, it was a good weekend, head coach Jami Hanson said.

"We had some huge plays in Kalispell. During the Glasgow game, we were starting to get guys on base, at second and third, but we just couldn't get that extra run it," Hanson said. "Had it been a 9-inning game we probably could have pulled it off."

On Monday, the team hosted the Glacier Twins for a doubleheader, with the Mariners winning 12-2 in the first one and 8-3 in the second one.

Brandon Roy got the win in the first game, after taking last Wednesday's loss to Kalispell.

"Brandon looked a lot better last night. He had more rest. We should look at just using him every four days, because he looked a lot better Monday night," Hanson said, explaining that Roy gets used in between starts in relief and "as needed" work.

Will Gordon continued his hitting streak, going 5-for-6 at the plate, with two doubles, while John Rausch had a home run in each game. Nick Fell was 2-for-3 in the first game, and Thompson went 2-for-3 in the second.

Rausch led off the first game with a home run, and then added his second in the fourth inning of the later game.

"When we are hitting the ball like we showed we can do, I don't think many teams can beat us," Hanson said.

Robert Wallace added to the team's pitching depth, stepping up and pitching three innings of relief Monday night. More than 75 percent of the Mariners starters have pitched for the team this year.

"That tells us we can use those two guys when we need them, and throw them out there even if it's just to kill an inning. We have a lot of confidence in our pitching staff right now," Hanson noted.

The team will host the Kootenai Valley Rangers Thursday, with a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. The Mariners' last home game of the year, barring any rain outs, will be this Saturday against the Sanders County Cougars. That doubleheader will start at 1 p.m.

The district tourney starts in Kalispell next Thursday, July 20th, which will also give the team an advantage since they don't have to travel as much. The tourney goes through Sunday the 23rd.

"The kids are playing well now. We're hopefully still going to be doing well going into district play next week," Hanson said.