By Zach UrnessLeader Staff

LIBBY — As a smoky Sunday afternoon melted into purple twilight at Lee Gehring Memorial Field, there was only one baseball team left standing: The Mission Valley Mariners.

The euphoric Mariners stormed the field after the final out of a 15-4 win over Richland County, celebrating the program's first state title with bear hugs for each other and an ice water bath for head coach Jami Hanson.

The geographically diverse group of young men who came from Plains, Arlee, Charlo, Ronan and Polson for a summer of baseball capped their immaculate season with the top prize in Class A Montana American Legion.

Along the way they survived a trip through the loser's bracket, a 93-mph throwing Canadian pitcher, and a few nights spent sleeping on the team bus and in a local gymnasium.

"It's a wonderful feeling," said Hanson, who played on the first Mariner team in 1989. "And it's even better knowing the kind of great kids we're coaching."

After a painful 22-9 loss to Vauxhall, Alberta nearly derailed their championship aspirations, the M's fought through the losers bracket, winning four games in a row including two on championship Sunday, earning revenge on Vauxhall, 9-5, in the semi-final and 10-running the Richland County Patriots in the championship game, 15-4.

"We just believe in each other," noted Hanson. "Its been that way all season. We don't get down too far when we lose. We always stay loose and expect to win the next game."

Brandon "Moose" Thompson was awarded the tournament's MVP, largely for his play in the two games on Sunday. The big Moose came up huge when the Mariners needed him most, pitching a complete game in the semi-final win over Vauxhall and hitting momentum-changing home runs in both games.

For the tournament, Thompson pitched 17 innings with 25 strikeouts and hit .440 at the plate with three round-trippers and nine RBIs.

The Rausch brothers, John and Tim, were also on a rampage in Libby, combining for six home runs while Tim narrowly missed the award for the highest batting average at .476.

Things got off to an inauspicious start for the M's, however, after they learned their reservations at a local motel had fallen through. Four players had to sleep in the bus the first night. Their troubles continued on the third night in Libby as the team was forced to spend the night in the Libby High School gymnasium.

"It's a good thing these kids don't live to sleep," quipped assistant coach Joe Locke. "They live to play baseball."

"It kind of gave them an incentive to keep winning because we knew we were set up for the weekend," added Hanson.

Hopefully the Mariners will have better luck at their next destination, Anchorage, Alaska, where they will play the Oregon state champ in the six-team regional tournament that begins August 17 at 9:30 a.m. The M's will represent the first American Legion team from Montana to ever to play in Alaska.

"The sky's the limit for this team," said Thompson of the Mariners, who now boast a 60-8 overall record. "I can't wait."

Mariners 15, Richland County 4 (championship game)

While the Mariner offense took center stage in the championship game, smashing out 18 hits and 15 runs in seven innings, the story of the game was Eric Locke. Playing through the pain of a tweaked lower back, Locke- — who also pitched the district championship game — had a workman-like outing, going all seven innings to earn the win.

"I was running on adrenaline," said Locke after the game. "I wasn't going to let the team down, and they really got behind me with run support and defense."

It took a few innings for Locke to find his groove, however, as he was hit hard in the first inning and gave up two runs, putting the M's behind, 2-1.

But just like they have all season, the Mariners exploded for six runs in the top of the third, highlighted by a Will Gordon double that scored two and a Cubby Pierre single that also drove in two runs, giving Mission Valley a 7-2 lead.

The Moose all but ended any of the Patriots' hopes for a rally with a towering three-run blast in the fifth that gave the M's a 11-2 lead. Mission Valley tacked on three more runs in the top of the seventh and Locke finished off the bottom half, prompting a wild rush to the mound for a celebratory mobbing and plenty of "Moose Hugs" from the 6-foot-8, 270 pound Thompson.

The Mariners top six hitters — Kyle Brown, Locke, Tim Rausch, Thompson, Will Gordon and Tyler Linse — combined for 16 hits and nine RBIs.

Mariners 9, Vauxhall, Alberta 5 (consolation semi-final)

A smoky haze settled over Lee Gehring Field early Sunday afternoon and for a while, it served as an apt metaphor for the M's attempts to hit Vauxhall ace pitcher Mitch Schmaafsma.

With a trip to the championship game lying in the balance, Schmaafsma used a fastball that hit 93 mph on the gun and a dirty breaking ball to strike out five of the first six Mariners he faced, and eight through the first three innings.

"I knew that he couldn't last that long," said Hanson, noting that Schmaafsma had thrown in excess of 100 pitches a few games prior. "Eventually we knew we'd get to him."

Sure enough, Mission Valley began to chink away at Schmaafsma's armor and a 1-0 Vauxhall lead in the fifth inning, beginning with a Cubby Pierre single and a walk to Kyle Brown. Eric Locke knocked across the first run of the game with an RBI single and Tim Rausch followed with another single, giving Mission Valley a 2-1 lead. Brown than scored on a wild-pitch, leaving runners on second and third base for big Brandon Thompson.

"You don't have to give him anything to hit," a Vauxhall coach yelled to Schmaafsma from the dugout. "We have first base open."

For all of his pitching prowess, Schmaafsma is apparently a lousy listener, because on the next pitch he left one up and the Moose bombed it over the center field fence, giving the M's a 6-1 lead they would not relinquish.

The Vauxhall coach's response from the dugout was not appropriate for a family newspaper.

Thompson was also a terror on the mound, pitching all nine innings with 12 strikeouts for his eighth win.

The Mariners would give the Spurs more reason to curse in the sixth, as John Rausch, who went 2-for-3, smacked his third home run of the tournament to give the M's a 8-2 lead and they won by a final score of 9-5.

Mariners 11, Richland County 2

The Mariner mashers announced their presence loudly on Saturday to the previously undefeated Richland County Patriots, as each of their first four batters smashed a hit to or over the fence. Kyle Brown opened with a long drive that took an incredible play in deep left-field to catch. Then Eric Locke mashed a double to the gap and Tim Rausch followed that with a long drive over the left-field fence.

And just like that, Patriot pitcher Brett Zadow was pulled after a total of six pitches.

Brandon "Hobbs" Roy took advantage of the early run support and pitched a true gem, mixing a good fast-ball with a sharp breaking ball to strike out nine and go the distance on the mound for his 11th win.

The Mariners continued to pound Patriot pitching in the sixth inning as Tim Rausch knocked in his third and fourth RBIs of the game and his older brother John added one. Will Gordon also had two RBIs on a 2-for-5 effort and Tyler Linse drove in one run on 2-for-3 hitting.

Mariners 10, Great Falls 0

Tim Rausch struck out 12 batters in a complete game shutout on Friday night, helping the M's keep their championship hopes alive. His battery mate, brother John Rausch, helped him shake off any rust, as it was his in his first appearance on the mound in nearly two weeks.

The offense was sharp as well, scoring five runs in the seventh on the strength of a John Rausch RBI double and an Eric Locke RBI single to take a 8-0 lead.

Rausch added his second home run of the tournament in the eighth as the M's cruised to victory.

Vauxhall 22, Mariners 9

It turned out that the team the Mariners needed to fear wasn't even from the United States. The Vauxhall Spurs from Alberta, Canada bombarded the M's for 15 runs in the final three innings to put the Mariners on the losing end of the 10-run rule for the first time all season.

Mission Valley took a 8-4 lead after three innings but the floodgates opened up in the top of the sixth when six Spurs came across the plate. Another eight scored in the top of the eighth.

Mariners 10, Gallatin Valley 2

The Mariners earned revenge on the team that knocked them out of the state tournament last season with win over the Outlaws in the first game of the tournament on Wednesday.

John Rausch was the star with a 4-for-4 game with a home run and seven RBIs.

Brandon Thompson started on the mound and struck out 15 batters in eight innings of work. Eric Locke hit his eighth home run of the year to help the M's to victory.