Rockies stay optimistic

POLSON — The Mission Valley Rockies, at times, showed why they’re optimistic heading into the upcoming Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament. However, they  couldn’t string together a complete game and went 0-4 during the Mission Valley Firecracker Tournament last weekend in Polson.

“We couldn’t seem to play a full seven-inning game,” Rockies head coach Alan Anderson said.

That all-to-familiar bad inning crept up on the Rockies during the weekend, losing to the Kootenai Valley Rangers 10-1 and Mission Valley Mariners A team 9-0 on Wednesday.

“We didn’t hit nearly as well we could have,” Anderson said. “You’ve got to put the ball in play and give yourself a chance.”

Anderson said his team looked at a lot of strikes during the first two games.

On Saturday, the Cranbrook Bandits scored three runs in the third and seven runs in the sixth en route to a 13-2 victory over the Rockies.

The Rockies’ game against the Mission Valley Mariners B team was pushed back from Friday to Sunday morning due to rain. It turned out to be a good Sunday morning showcase for this county rivalry.

“We both know each other well,” Anderson said. “These kids grew up together.”

The Rockies went to work early on Sunday, jumping out to a 4-0 lead over the Mariners in the first inning.

“That’s exactly what we wanted to do,” Anderson said.

Eneas Inmee drove in two runs for the Rockies, then a passed ball allowed another run to score. Riley Grogan finished off the inning with a single to drive home Inmee and put the Mariners in a hole. The Mariners answered  back in the bottom of the frame, scoring two runs. With Inmee on the mound, three Mariners batters struck out  and Inmee allowed just one earned run over three innings.

Defensive errors led to two more runs under Inmee’s watch and extended his pitch count.

“It didn’t help that the defense made mistakes,” Anderson said. “It affects the pitcher’s mentality.”

With Inmee off the mound, the Mariners battled back in the game. They scored six runs in the fourth to take a 10-5 lead and scored three more in the fifth to enforce the eight-run rule and earn the 13-5 victory. Despite going winless, the Rockies have something to look forward to with the Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament this weekend down in Missoula.

Anderson and his team is confident going into it after playing some tough competition at the Firecracker Tournament.

“We’re going to get better by playing tougher competition,” he said. “We’re going to go down there with a positive attitude.”