Mariners go 1-2 in Alaska

Zach Urness

Leader Staff

Even the sweetest dream has to end sometime.

And the Mission Valley Mariners' dream season, which featured the program's first state title, a team record for wins and the unconditional admiration of fans from Plains to Polson came to an end last weekend, as the M's went 1-2 over the weekend at the regional tournament in Anchorage, Alaska.

"The kids had a great season," said head coach Jami Hanson. "You look at our final record, and more importantly the kind of kids we had, and you just have to say that we had an amazing season."

Mission Valley won their first game of the tournament over Ashland, Ore., on Friday, 10-7, but lost to Box Elder, Utah, on Saturday, 7-3, and than dropped a tough one to Wheatland, Wyo. on Sunday, 6-4.

"We just didn't have our defense or our normal 'Mariner' hitting with us," said Hanson of a Mission Valley team that averaged more than 10 runs per game during the season. "We didn't group together our hits very well."

"Our pitching wasn't bad at all," he continued. "We just didn't hit or get the breaks."

And while the season may be gone, this Mariner team is not likely to be forgotten anytime soon. Not only did they post a 61-10 overall record and bring home the district and state titles, but they also inspired a community that includes all of the Mission Valley to come together and contribute roughly $14,000 to make the M's the first American Legion team in Montana history to play baseball in Alaska.

"It was unbelievable to see how the community supported us," said Hanson of the money contributed. "The kids have been enjoying themselves just like they should. It's just been overwhelming."

Of course it's never too early to begin looking forward to next season, when the Mariners figure to make yet another run at a state title. The M's will lose two fantastic players and leaders in Brandon Thompson and Will Gordon, but will return their entire starting infield — Tyler Linse, Cubby Pierre, Beau Nordberg, John Rausch and Eric Locke — as well as standout pitchers Locke, Brandon Roy, Tim Rausch and Craig Bagnell, among others.

"I think that this could be the start of something big," said Hanson. "We have a lot of young talent and a season like this gets everybody excited about putting together a real legacy. I am very excited about where this program is going."

Mariners 10, Ashland, OR 7

The Mariners rode their explosive offense to a win in the opening game of the class A regional tournament, scoring eight runs in the bottom of the sixth and getting a complete game effort from Brandon Thompson on the mound.

The sixth inning featured fantastic defense as well, as Kyle Brown and Eric Locke relayed perfect throws to catcher John Rausch, nailing an Ashland runner at the plate who was trying to tag-up and score on a deep fly ball.

"John made a great play at home to block the plate," said assistant coach Jack Cummings. "We could have been down at last 3-1 so it was a big play."

The M's took that momentum into the bottom of the inning where they scored eight runs. The onslaught was highlighted by RBI singles from Tyler Linse and doubles from Beau Nordberg and Cubby Pierre. The Moose, Brandon Thompson, capped the scoring with a two-RBI single.

Thompson also earned his 10th win of the season on the mound, pitching all nine innings with 11 K's. The Moose, obviously at home in Alaskan wilderness, left his mark with a stratospheric home run in the fourth inning estimated at 480 feet.

"People who were in the stands said they've never seen one that long," said Cummings of the home run. "It kind of shook up the pitcher and we got to him in the sixth."

Thompson finished the game with two hits and four RBIs and was followed by Cubby Pierre who had two RBIs, and Kyle Brown, Will Gordon, Ty Linse and Beau Nordberg who each had one.

Box Elder, ID 7, Mariners 3

Errors and uncharacteristically quiet Mission Valley bats led to the Mariners first loss of the tournament on Saturday. The M's had five errors in the field and, although they took a 2-1 lead after three innings, they couldn't do much against Box Elder pitcher Daniel Smith who had 13 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings.

Eric Locke, who brought a 2.34 ERA into the game, went seven innings and struck out 11 batters but gave up eight walks, which, combined with the Mariner errors, gave the Idaho state champs enough runs to win comfortably.

John Rausch smacked a two run double to give the M's a brief 2-1 lead until the top of the third, when the Bees tied the game and eventually took the lead, 4-2, in the top of the sixth.

Box Elder added two runs in the eighth when Kyle Bagnell replaced Locke on the mound, but the story was the silence of the Mariner bats, which managed only six hits for the game.

Will Gordon led the team with a 2-for-4 effort and Cubby Pierre went 1-for-4 with one RBI.

Wheatland, Wyo. 6, Mariners 4

The Mariners' comeback effort came up two runs short in the top of the ninth, as their struggle to score runs ultimately led to the end of the season on Sunday. Despite out-hitting Wheatland 13-7, Mission Valley was only able to get four runs across and only put up one run through seven innings.

Brandon Roy pitched seven strong innings, fanning 11 batters while giving up seven hits. Brandon Thompson pitched a perfect eighth inning and the M's put together two runs in the top of the ninth inning, but they couldn't break through, and lost despite nearly doubling Wheatland's hit total.

Kyle Brown smacked a RBI single to score Cubby Pierre in the third inning and Tyler Linse singled in Will Gordon in the eighth.

John Rausch led off the ninth with a double and scored on an error. Brandon Thompson followed with an RBI single but the Mariner rally couldn't score again, and the season came to a premature end.