Mariners bring the pain

Mission Valley wins firecracker tourney, rolls past Kalispell AA

Zach Urness

Leader Staff

The Mission Valley Mariners showed the hospitality of Tony Soprano last weekend, inviting teams from all over Western Montana to O'Maley field for a nice baseball tournament — before depositing them into Flathead lake with cement blocks on their ankles.

The Mariners outscored their opponents 61-23 during the annual "Firecracker Tournament" en route to first place, while center-fielder Will "the hurricane" Gordon earned MVP honors with a 9-for-13, nine RBI performance in four games including a three-run home run in the championship game. Catcher John Rausch took home the defensive MVP award.

As if that were not enough, Mission Valley's finest also beat a very tough Kalispell AA team on Thursday, 10-9, scoring the winning run on a Tim Rausch double in the bottom of the ninth.

The M's have now, for the third time this season, reached a winning streak of 10 games, and have improved their overall record to 38-6.

Mariners 11, Dillon Cubs 5 (championship game)

Brandon Roy pitched all seven innings, scattering eight hits while striking out six, to get the win over the rival Dillon Cubs and improve his record to 7-0. He also slammed a solo home run in the sixth inning to spur a five run explosion that put the finishing touches on the M's 10th straight win.

Tournament MVP Will Gordon provided the early offense with a three-run dinger that cleared the left-center field fence, and added an RBI single to score Brandon Thompson in the third.

Dillon fought back to a 4-4 tie in the fourth inning, hurting Roy by grouping together softly hit singles.

But Mission Valley, who lost a tough one to Dillon earlier in the season 13-7, responded with two runs in the fifth, and beginning with Roy's scoreboard shot home run in the sixth, the M's rolled to victory.

Kyle Brown, who recently moved into the team's leadoff spot, had a productive day, going 2-for-5 with four RBIs. Brandon Thompson and Nick Fell also had one RBI each.

Mariners 16, Deer Lodge 9

The Mariners scored 16 runs in four innings to win their third game of pool play over Deer Lodge on Sunday morning, bringing them into the championship game.

The M's sent three pitchers to the mound over five innings including Spencer Trawick, who started the game and was relieved by Beau Nordberg and Derrick Rathe. Trawick did a good job on the mound for the first few innings, and many of the Deer Lodge runs were due to fielding errors late in the game, and were unearned.

The offense was powered by Will Gordon and Craig Bagnell, who combined for four hits and five RBIs. Beau Nordberg also had two RBIs on the day and Mike Fisher had one, going 2-for-4 from the plate.

Mariners 14,

Bitterroot Red Sox 4

The Massive Moose Brandon Thompson hit his sixth home run of the season and had three RBIs on a 2-for-3 day to help the M's beat down the Red Sox.

Timmy Rausch, after a rough first inning, pitched five innings for the win and improved to 4-1 on the season. Rausch, whose been known for his bat as much as his arm this season, scattered eight hits and, after allowing three runs in the first, held the Red Sox to four runs on the game.

The M's scored in every inning, including four in the first, third and fifth frames. Joe McCarthy and Will Gordon combined for four RBIs to help fuel the offense. John Rausch was perfect at the plate on Saturday, going 2-for-2 and Cubby Pierre went 2-for-3 as each had an RBI.

Mariners 20, Glacier 5

The Mariners unleashed a blitzkrieg of bats on the Glacier Twins, running up 15 runs in the first two innings and 20 in four innings for their first pool play win on Friday. The win was an especially sweet one for the Mariners who lost to the Twins in the semi-final game in Whitefish June 22.

Brandon Thompson announced the Mariners entrance into the tournament with a two-run bomb that nearly knocked down the left-field scoreboard, and after a Tim Rausch single scored two, the M's had a 8-0 lead.

Eric Locke was equally impressive on the mound, striking out four batters in the first inning and finishing the game with 13 Ks for his sixth win of the year. He also went 3-for-3 at the plate and had three RBIs.

The Twins did manage to put five runs on the board in the top of the third, but the game was destined to end after five innings via the mercy rule.

The Rausch brothers (Tim and John) combined for five RBIs and had four hits in the effort and Will Gordon added a 2-for-2 hitting performance.

Mariners 10, Kalispell AA 9

Tim Rausch doubled into gap in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Kyle Brown and give the Mariners a walk-off victory over a very good Kalispell AA team on Thursday.

It seemed almost fitting that the team who would come away with the victory would be the team with the last at-bat considering the game featured seven lead changes.

The Mariners put runs on the board in seven of the nine innings, and early on, forced Kalispell into some mistakes with aggressive base-running from John Rausch who scored on a delayed steal from Kyle Brown in the second frame.

The Moose Brandon Thompson was asked for all he could give against Kalispell, throwing 157 pitches in the game and going eight innings before handing the ball to Brandon Roy, who came in to pitch the ninth inning earned the win.

The Moose also hit the ball well, going 3-for-5 with one RBI. The hero Tim Rausch had four RBIs on 3-for-5 hitting, and Kyle Brown and Cubby Pierre each had RBIs as well.

The Mariners will travel to Kalispell this weekend for a tournament lasting from July 6-8. The Mariners will return home to host the Black Hills, SD Lobos on Monday, July 9.