Mariners set record for wins, start districts today

The Mission Valley Mariners will start district tourney action today, Thursday, after finishing the regular season with a record-setting 47 wins, one more than the prior mark.

The team finished 47-14, and 25-5 in conference play, compared to 43-23 overall last year, and are cresting at just the right moment with key hitting and great pitching to finish up the season.

The team split a doubleheader with Kootenai Valley last Thursday, before winning two against the Sanders County Cougars on Saturday. Jake Bosley pitched well, but took the loss on the mound, hampered by a team that stranded lots of runners and came up short in the field a few times, while Brandon Thompson got the win in the second game.

The Cougars looked better against the Mariners than they did earlier in the year, but Mission Valley had no problem beating them 11-4 in the first game and then 19-3 in the second game.

Will Gordon continued his hot hitting streak, getting a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning, before getting a stand-up triple in the fourth, scoring two, to make it 9-4.

"He's just on fire," said head coach Jami Hanson, of Gordon's pace over the last month or so.

John Rausch's and Bosley's bats also got hot again, with Rausch getting two RBIs in the first, while Bosley and Chris Brown combined for seven RBIs in the second game, which was shortened due to the 10-run slaughter rule.

Brandon "Hobbs" Roy got the win in the first game, striking out four while only issuing two walks in four innings before Tyler Trudeau came in and struck out six batters in three innings.

"Tyler has just been unhittable over the past two weeks," Hanson said.

Tim Rausch improved to 8-1 with the win in the second game, which also featured the return of Tim Gauthier, who has been hampered by an arm injury. Gauthier was 3-for-4 from the plate, with a triple in which he reached home on an overthrow, and led the team with five RBIs.

"It's nice to have him back. He showed me his arm is OK to play. You can't beat his speed on the base paths," Hanson said.

Gauthier gunned down a Cougar runner later in the game, on a throw from the outfield to second base, so Hanson said Gauthier appears ready for districts.

The team traveled to Deer Lodge Sunday, beating the Wranglers 14-3 behind a great performance at the plate by Jake Whetzel, who went 3-for-4 on the day. Gordon continued his dominance at the plate, going 4-for-5 that day.

Chris Brown came in to pitch middle relief for Eric Locke in the fifth, and Locke left with a 7-2 lead. Thompson closed the game out, which was a 9-inning contest that counted as two conference games.

The team has picked up a lot of momentum since taking third in their own Firecracker tourney earlier this month. Since then, the team played 21 games in two weeks, winning more than 75 percent of them.

"Hitting and pitching - that's it. We didn't realize where our pitching was going to be this year but the kids have really come through," Hanson said. "And hitting-wise, we are averaging about .370 as a team. We're very happy this year with where we're at going into districts."

The players reminded Hanson that their magic number is three - the number of wins they need at districts to clinch two team goals this year.

"One goal was to get 50 wins and the other was to make it to state. You win three games in a row at districts and accomplish all of that," Hanson said.

The Mariners' first game is Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in Kalispell. Hanson said he'd like to see the entire Mission Valley come out and support the team, which has players from Arlee to Polson, including Plains which is one of the best in Western Montana right now, especially since the district tourney, coincidentally, is in Kalispell.

Thursday's game will determine when they play next, but if they win, they play the winner of the Kootenai Valley/Bitterroot Red Sox game, probably Friday afternoon around 3:30, Hanson noted, based on last year's schedule. Hobbs will take the mound for the first game.

To get to the fields, take Highway 93 North, and turn left at the gas station across from Glacier Toyota, a mile south of Kalispell. Take a right at the next stop sign, and the fields on on the left, just behind the Roseaur's grocery store and the Kalispell municipal airport.