Legion Baseball: The Big Bang

Dramatic comeback in championship game caps Mission Valley

Mariners’ run to Firecracker Tournament title

POLSON - The Mission Valley Mariners A team (29-16) had heaps of adversity thrown at them in the championship game of their home Firecracker Tournament last Sunday.

But they found a way to fight through it.

An uncharacteristic breakdown on defense allowed the Libby Loggers a 6-0 lead going into the bottom of the third.

The Mariners had mustered just one hit and looked like they might be getting the second place trophy at the end of the day.

"We were kind of lackadaisical," Mariners center-fielder Kevin Hagedorn said. "Then we just decided to kick it into gear."

With two outs, Justin Evertz singled, Chris Clary walked and then Robbie Gauthier doubled to plate Evertz. While it didn't erase the entire deficit, the Mariners were in business.

For the next three innings, starting pitcher Kellen Hoyt blanked the Loggers and catcher Jack Humphreys provided the spark that Mission Valley needed.

"What got us going was our catcher Jack," Hagedorn said. "He was really fiery, telling everybody to get up."

The Logger's initial strategy was to test Humphreys' arm, attempting to steal aggressively, but he quickly shut that down by doing his best impression of an army sniper.

"You can't say enough about that kid behind the plate," Mission Valley Mariners manager Jami Hanson said.

In the top of the fourth with two Libby players on base, Hoyt got the first out of the inning with a flyout, then Humphreys picked off a base runner at third base. The frame ended when Libby hit a foul ball that was caught. The Mariners continued to chip away in the bottom of the fourth.

After getting one out, Mission Valley got a pair of walks from Hagedorn and Molzhon, then Humphreys singled to load the bases.

Austin Von Tom hit a sacrifice fly ball to score Hagedorn. That would bring Evertz to the plate. Again the shortstop, who should probably have an action figure dedicated in his honor for the way he plays, had a chance to redeem the team for their defensive miscues earlier in the game.

Evertz singled, which in turn cleared the bases after an error by the outfielder. The Mariners trailed just 6-4 heading into the top of the fifth.

A double play by the Mariners to get out of the frame again showed that the team had gotten out of the defensive doldrums, however, a quick three-up, three-down gave some momentum to the Loggers in the top of the sixth.

Right away, the leadoff hitter singled to put a man on base. Then adversity showed up once again. A scary line drive right back at Hoyt bounced off his throwing hand much to the horror of the crowd at the ballpark.

The Mariners pitcher crumpled to the ground but took the brunt of the hard-hit ball, slowing the shot's momentum and his team was able to turn the double play.

"He got lace marks on his ring finger and if that doesn't hit him, it's a single," Mariners manager Jami Hanson said.

Even though his throwing hand had just been hammered, Hoyt stayed in the game and got the final out of the inning by getting the Libby batter to pop out on a 2-1 pitch.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Mariners were again facing adversity with two outs. They did have two baserunners on then Evertz stepped to the plate. Again the shortstop came through in a big way, hitting a double that plated both Molzhon and Humphreys. He would finish the game 3-for-3 with a double and four RBIs.

Game tied, 6-6.

Clary followed that up with a double of his own on a 1-1 pitch to score a run to take the 7-6 lead heading into the top of the seventh. Josh Rustad, who had thrown 75 pitches the night before in a 6-0 victory over the Cranbrook Bandits, was called upon in relief with one out in the top of the seventh after Libby had scored a run off a double to tie things back up, 7-7.

When Hoyt left the field, he got an ovation befitting a warrior - and probably a bag of ice for his hand.

"Kellen threw a phenomenal game," Hanson said.

Rustad needed just four pitches. He got a ground out to first base on the first pitch for the second out and then got the second batter he faced to fly out on a 1-1 count. In the bottom of the seventh, with the Mariners just needing a run to win the tournament, Jake Young drew a walk, then Rustad sacrifice bunted him over to second.That brought up Hagedorn.

Hagedorn, who is from Thompson Falls and lives in Polson during the summer to play baseball, took a ball and then fouled off a pitch. Then he saw exactly what he wanted.

"Fast ball, right down the middle," Hagedorn said. "It felt great, I saw it go into the gap and knew it was going to score the winning run."

Young scored off of Hagedorn's double, jumping onto home plate with his fist raised high in the air as his teammates hysterically mobbed him.

The celebration, to put it mildly, was epic.

"Part of it is that they've really started to come together as a team," Hanson said of his team's ability to come back. "It's about gelling. If you make some mistakes, you overcome the mistakes."

The Mariners did that, and won their third straight tournament this summer with the turning point of the game happening in the fourth. With the Loggers leading by a large margin, there was something of a hush over the crowd in Polson. It was quiet at Mission Valley's home stadium, except for one thing - the non-stop baseball chatter coming from the dugout.

"You heard them in the fourth," Hanson said. "They were 100 percent from then on."

Young received Defensive MVP honors during the trophy ceremony and they were well deserved.

"He's getting the rewards for his hard work," Hanson said. "He doesn't make many mistakes and he's getting better every day."

The manager also had heaps of rewards for the parents and players that were at the ballpark all weekend helping to run the tournament. Days usually went from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

"There's not enough credit due for those parents," Hanson said.

Mission Valley 6, Cranbrook 0

Josh Rustad had the Cranbrook Bandits off-balance the entire game, throwing a two-hitter as the Mission Valley Mariners finished scheduled play in the Firecracker Tournament 4-0 with a 6-0 victory.

Rustad went seven innings, and struck out four on seventy five pitches. Mission Valley scored in the first inning, as Chris Clary drove home Jack Humphreys, then again in the second as Kevin Hagedorn plated Jake Young.

Rustad continued to destroy the Bandits' hearts and minds with his dazzling array of pitches, and the Mariners built on their 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third.

Humphreys was hit by a pitch, Austin Von Tom singled and Chris Clary reached on an infield single to load the bases. With Young at the plate, the Polson state wrestler singled on an 0-1 pitch to center field, which would automatically plate Humphreys. The outfielder couldn't handle the hit ball, giving time for Von Tom and Clary to score.

Young advanced to third base and scored on a passed ball to make it 6-0.

That's how it would stay for the next four innings as Rustad threw just seven pitches in the top of the sixth inning, and eight pitches in the top of the seventh. Austin Von Tom made a great catch in right field to end the game.

GAME NOTES - Clary and Young both finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. It was Mission Valley's second shutout of the tournament.

Mission Valley 11, Kalispell 3

Mission Valley got back-to-back home runs from Chris Clary and Robbie Gauthier in the bottom of the third, and the Mariners rolled to a 11-3 victory over the Kalispell Lakers on Saturday in the Firecracker Tournament.

"Big-hit Bob" Robbie Gauthier went 3-for-4 with a home run, double and three RBIs, while Clary went 2-for-3 with a home run, double and three RBIs also.

Mission Valley worked up a 6-0 lead three innings before Kalispell scored their first run in the top of the fourth.

The M's answered back thanks to a sac fly RBI by Austin Von Tom and a double by Clary that scored Justin Evertz. That made it 8-1.

Von Tom pitched six innings, struck out two and spread out six hits. A two-run homer by the Lakers in the top of the fifth pulled them to within 8-3 but "Big-hit Bob" found a way to come through again. In the bottom of the sixth, Jack Humphreys scored on an error and then a few batters later with the bases loaded, Gauthier hit a double that scored both Von Tom and Evertz to enact the eight-run rule.

GAME NOTES - The first five batters in the lineup provided all 10 hits for the Mariners. In the first three games of the Firecracker Tournament, Mission Valley has committed just one error. They've also had three starting pitchers finish complete games. Clary and Gauthier combined for six RBIs and four extra-base hits in the game.

Mission Valley 9, Glacier 0

Mission Valley used an eight-run bottom of the fourth to down the Glacier Twins 9-0 in their second game of the Firecracker Tournament.

Dalton Molzhon blanked the Twins and struck out two in the top of the fifth to shut the door and end the game. It ended early because of the tournament's eight-run rule.

The M's struck first, as Cole McArthur scored from third on a wild pitch in the second inning. Then, two innings later, the fireworks started early for the Fourth.

First, Jack Humphreys made contact with the ball with two base-runners on and a throwing error allowed them to score. Two batters later, Justin Evertz tripled to drive home two more runs and force Glacier to switch pitchers.

Another passed ball allowed Evertz to score, then after a Robbie Gauthier double, Jake Young hit a sac fly to drive in a run. Then a wild pitch would allow Gauthier to score and later in the inning, Humphreys had a RBI with a single to bring home McArthur.

In all, it was an eight-run rally off four hits and one

error. Glacier couldn't answer back and the eight-run rule

ended things early. Evertz and Humphreys both finished the game 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

GAME NOTES - Mohlzon threw 66 pitches through five innings of action. Seven different Mariners collected hits against Glacier. In the two innings that the Twins committed an error, they allowed runs.

Mission Valley 6, Deer Lodge 1

Justin Evertz pitched a gem as the Mission Valley Mariners A team (24-15) won their first game of the Firecracker Tournament. Evertz went seven innings for a complete game, two-hitter with 11 strikeouts in a 6-1 victory over Deer

Lodge.

Throwing 85 pitches, 59 of them for strikes, Evertz blanked the Wranglers for the first five innings of the game. For a time, he was actually outscoring Deer Lodge himself, after he singled on a 1-0 pitch to drive home Austin Von Tom in the bottom of the third.

For the game, Evertz finished 3-for-4.

The Mariners added to that lead in the bottom of the fourth. Robbie Gauthier tripled with a full count, then Jake Young bunted on the first pitch he saw to bring home the Ronan quarterback.

After Josh Rustad advanced Young over to third base on a sac bunt, Kevin Hagedorn singled to drive him home and push Mission Valley's lead to 3-0.

Gauthier, or rather "Big Hit Bob" went two-for-three with a triple and a double. Evertz came back in the top of the fifth with a ninepitch frame, striking out one batter looking and getting two quick fly outs.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Mariners continued to add to their lead thanks to a double by Gauthier that drove home Von Tom and Evertz. After Young moved Gauthier over to third with a sacrifice bunt, a passed ball allowed him to score. That gave the Mariners a 6-1 advantage going into the top of

the sixth.

Deer Lodge was able to get a lead-off walk and then a steal but Evertz answered back with a strike out. The next batter singled to advance the base-runner to third and then a ground out drove home the Wrangler's lone run.

Evertz struck out a Deer Lodge batter to end the inning. It proved to be his longest inning, as he threw 21 pitches.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Mariners went a quick three-up, three-down but they again turned to their starting pitcher who recorded two strikeouts and a groundout in the top of the seventh to freeze the Wranglers and end the game.

GAME NOTES - In his last outing, Evertz went seven innings with nine strikeouts against Strathmore Reds in the Libby Big Bucks tournament. Mission Valley won their home tournament last season. Mission Valley was flawless in the

field, not committing a single error while Deer Lodge committed two. The Mariners also had 10 team hits in the game. Six players had hits, four drove in runs for the M's.

Mission Valley falls to Missoula Mavs 14-11

Last Wednesday in Missoula, an eight-run fourth inning by the Mavs hurt the Mariners, but the team from Mission Valley didn't give up.

Down 10-3, the Mariners went on to score eight runs, including a five-run top of the ninth that almost ended up tying the game.

Justin Evertz had three hits and drove in three runs.

Mariners split with Red Sox

The Mission Valley Mariners extended their win streak to 13 by winning their first game of their doubleheader against Hamilton last Tuesday, 11-1.

Austin Von Tom was masterful on the mound, throwing a complete, five-inning, one-hitter. Meanwhile at the plate, Robbie Gauthier went 3-for-3, hitting a home run and two RBIs. Jack Humphreys was solid as the leadoff hitter, going 2-for-3 with an RBIs.

However, the win streak came to an end in the second game, as Hamilton won 8-5.

They jumped out to a 6-2 lead through five, and while Mission Valley rallied with three runs in the fifth, the Red Sox added two insurance runs for the victory.

MVA 6, D-LODGE 1

D - 000 - 001 - 0 - 1

M - 001 - 230 - x - 6

Deer Lodge - 2 hit, 2 errors. MV - 10 hits, 0 errors

Mariners batting - Jack Humphreys 0-3, Austin Von Tom 1-2, Justin Evertz 3-4, Chris Clary 0-3, Robbie Gauthier 2-3, Jacob Young 1-3, Josh Rustad 1-3, Kevin Hagedorn 2-2, Dalton Molhzon 0-1.

Doubles - Von Tom, Gauthier. RBIs - Evertz, Gauthier 2, Young, Hagedorn.

M Pitching - Evertz (7 IP, 11 K, 85 pitches)

MVA 9, GLACIER 0

G - 000 - 00 - 0

M - 010 - 8x - 9

Glacier - 3 hits, 2 errors. Mission - 10 hits, 1 error

Mariners batting - Jack Humphreys 2-3, Austin Von Tom 0-2, Justin Evertz 2-3, Chris Clary, 1-2, Robbie Gauthier 2-3, Jake Young 0-2, Cole McArthur 1-2, Kevin Hagedorn 1-2, Josh Rustad 1-2

Doubles - Clary, Gauthier. Triple - Evertz. RBIs -

Humphreys 2, Evertz 2, Young.

M Pitching - Dalton Mohlzon (5 IP, 2K, 66 pitches)

MVA 11, KALISPELL 3

K - 000 - 120 - 3

M - 213 - 203 - 11

Kalispell - 6 hits, 3 errors. MV - 10 hits, 0 errors

Mariners batting - Jack Humphreys 3-4, Austin Von Tom 1-3, Justin Evertz 1-2, Chris Clary 2-3, Robbie Gauthier 3-4, Jacob Young 0-2, Cole McArthur 0-2, Kevin Hagedorn 0-1, Dalton Molhzon 0-2.

Doubles - Clary, Gauthier. HRs - Clary, Gauthier. RBIs - Clary 3, Gauthier 3, Humphreys, Von Tom.

M Pitching - Von Tom (6 IP, 2K, 88 pitches)

MVA 6, CRANBROOK 0

C - 000 - 000 - 0 - 0

M - 114 - 000 - x - 6

Cranbrook - 2 hits, 2 errors. MV - 7 hits, 4 errors

Mariners batting - Jack Humphreys 1-3, Austin Von Tom 2-3, Justin Evertz 0-3, Chris Clary 2-3, Robbie Gauthier 0-3, Jake Young 2-3, Cole McArthur 0-3, Kevin Hagedorn 0-3, Dalton Molhzon 0-2.

RBIs - Clary, Young, Hagedorn.

M Pitching - Rustad (7 IP, 4K, 75 pitches)

MVA 8, LIBBY 7

L - 402 - 000 - 1 - 7

M - 001 - 303 - 1 - 8

Libby - 12 hits, 2 errors. MV - 9 hits, 4 errors

Mariners batting - Jack Humphreys 1-3, Austin Von Tom 0-3, Justin Evertz 3-3, Chris Clary 1-3, Robbie Gauthier 2-4, Jacob Young 0-2, Rustad 0-3, Kevin Hagedorn 1-2, Dalton Molhzon 1-2.

Doubles - Evertz, Clary, Gauthier 2, Molhzon, Hagedorn. RBIs - Von Tom, Evertz 4, Clary, Gauthier, Hagadorn, Molhzon.

M Pitching - Kellen Hoyt (6 1/3 IP), Rustad (2/3)