B team plays grade-A ball

POLSON — The Mariners B team wrapped up their season two weeks ago and the players were able to reflect on a season that saw plenty of growth and potential for next year.

The B team allowed  younger Mariners players to get more time out on the field in preparation on suiting up for the A team in the future. However, most of their competition was against other Legion A teams in the area.

“At the beginning, we looked at it like we were a B team and they were an A team,” Chris Clary, of Ronan, said. “As the season went along, we looked at them as just another team.”

Along with baseball, the team also had to deal with wet conditions on the field for much of June as the weather just didn’t seem to want to agree.

While the team started the season 0-6, they were able to turn things around and played .500 baseball for the rest of the season. They finished with an 11-17 record.

A large key to the Mariners B offense this year was their leadoff hitters. Head coach Chris Brown was impressed with their ability to get on base all season. Jack Humphreys, of Ronan, was specifically a very good leadoff hitter for the team.

“It almost feels like an honor to lead off for those guys,” Humphreys said.

Several players felt that once practices separated them from the A team, they were able to receive more one-on-one time with coach Brown and Eric Locke, the team really started to come around.

The team also got more comfortable with one another the more games they played. 

“We became more of a team,” Kellen Hoyt, of Polson, said. “We knew what each other was thinking.”

That’s not an easy thing to do with players coming from Ronan, Polson and Thompson Falls.

“We were pretty much a new team when we got together,” Dalton Molzhon, of Ronan, said.

The highlight of the Mariners’ season, according to the players, was the dominant performance they registered at a weekend tournament in Deer Lodge at the end of June.

“Everyone thought we were going to do bad and we ended up getting three shutouts,” Hoyt said.

The Mariners B team went 4-1 in the wood bat tournament against A level competition.

Throughout the season, the pitching staff really came around and proved to be a strength of the team. 

“Our pitching staff [was a strength] and the way we could all jump up together and hit,” Hoyt said. “Just kind of like someone lit the flame.”

Much like the team itself, Hoyt overcame a slow start on the mound and developed with the rest of the pitchers.

“I got better when I got a feel for the game on a Legion Field as opposed to a Babe Ruth field,” he said.

The future certainly looks bright for the Mission Valley Mariners as they’ll have plenty of talent to choose from for their A team next year.

“There’s nothing I’d rather do than play baseball,” Humphreys said. “I loved it.”