Mission Valley Mariners A team takes third at home tourney
<p>Bryant Hales pitches during the Mariners B team’s game on Thursday against Livingston.</p>
Lake County Leader
At the Mission Valley Firecracker tournament, setting time limits on games guarantees a smooth schedule for every team involved, but it also allows for some unjust endings.
So, rather than a tie-breaking coin toss, the Polson Firecracker tournament settles tie games with a bunt-off, where each team gets three chances to land their bunts closest to targets down the first and third baseline.
After losing a bunt-off to the Livingston Braves on Saturday that would have sent them to the title game, the Mission Valley Mariners come through in the clutch, winning a bunt-off against the Glacier Twins B to break a 6-6 tie and win the third-place trophy at the Firecracker tournament on Sunday.
The Mariners pushed two runs across the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning to force the tiebreaker.
Derek Peel went 2 for 3 for Mission Valley, both hits going for triples.
Nyqolas Gillingham finished 2 for 4 from the plate and Bransen Krebs finished 1 for 3 with two RBIs.
The Mariners have had a very busy week, playing five games during their home tournament, plus four others the same week and another on this past Tuesday
Last Tuesday, the Mariners swept the Missoula Mavericks in a doubleheader, but then were beaten twice by the Bitterroot Red Sox the next day.
During the Firecracker tournament, both the Mariners A and B teams competed. The A team won four out of their five games, with two ending in a tie-breaking bunt-off. The B team had a little less luck, but was competing against some stiff competition.
The Mission Valley Mariners gave up a run in the second inning, but blanked the Dillon Cubs for the rest of the game to take the opener of their host Polson Firecracker American Legion baseball tournament on Thursday.
The Mariners scored twice in the third inning to take the lead and scored at least one more run in the next three innings to win 7-1.
Derek Peel was 2 for 3 from the plate with a triple and a pair of RBIs and Nyqolas Gillingham was 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs to lead the Mariners. Bransen Krebs earned the win on the mound.
On Friday, the A team scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to break a tie with Deer Lodge, leading to a 6-3 victory at the Polson Firecracker tournament on Friday.
Justin Young was 1 for 2 with a double and an RBI to help the Mariners, who took advantage of five Deer Lodge errors to take the lead. Mission Valley had just four hits in the game.
June 30
MISSOULA MAVS A 6 AT MV MARINERS A 7
MISSOULA MAVS A - 140 000 1 – 6 11 4
MV MARINERS A- 330 000 1 – 7 6 4
June 30
MISSOULA MAVS A 1 AT MV MARINERS A 2
MISSOULA MAVS A - 000 000 1 – 1 6 0
MV MARINERS A - 010 010 x – 2 9 1
July 1
BITTERROOT REDSOX 14 AT MV MARINERS A 6
BITTERROOT REDSOX -124 322 0 – 14 18 1
MV MARINERS A- 001 203 0 – 6 9 9
July 1
BITTERROOT REDSOX 16 AT MV MARINERS A 6
BITTERROOT REDSOX - 307 204 0 – 16 16 2
MV MARINERS A- 000 240 x – 6 6 5
Firecracker tournament
Polson July 2-5
Mariners A
DILLON CUBS 1 AT MV MARINERS A 7
DILLON CUBS 010 000 0 – 1 4 1
2MV MARINERS A 002 212 x – 7 7 1
DEERLODGE WRANGLERS 3 AT MV MARINERS A 6
DEERLODGE WRANGLERS 000 200 1 – 3 6 5
MV MARINERS A 200 040 x – 6 4 2
CRANBROOK B 2 AT MV MARINERS A 16
CRANBROOK B 200 00 – 2 6 6
MV MARINERS A 129 4x – 16 14 0
LIVINGSTON BRAVES 3 AT MV MARINERS A 3
LIVINGSTON BRAVES 001 002 00 – 3 6 3
MV MARINERS A 020 001 0x – 3 7 3
GLACIER TWINS B 6 AT MV MARINERS A 7
Third Place
GLACIER TWINS B 220 020 0 – 6 9 3
MV MARINERS A 101 202 x – 7 10 1
WP — Kade Schutzman. LP — Derek Kastela.
GLACIER B — James Sampson-Keck 2-4, Bryce Fagerland 2-4, Ryan Veneman 0-4, Derek Kastela 1-2, Dan Seymour 3-3, Kaleb Veneman 0-4, Ryley Nahrang 0-2, Jared Reynolds 1-2, Zach Flickinger 0-2.
MISSION VALLEY — Derek Peel 2-3, Jacob Harrod 0-2, Bransen Krebs 1-3, Micah McClure 0-3, Jonah Burke 2-2, AJ Jones 1-4, Nyqolas Gillingham 2-4, Justin Young 1-2, Tyson Petticrew 0-1, Kade Schutzmann 1-3.
3B — Peel 2. RBIs — Sampson-Keck, Fagerland, Seymour, Nahrang, Reynolds; Krebs 2, Jones, Young.
Mariners B
LIVINGSTON BRAVES 17 AT MV MARINERS B 1
LIVINGSTON BRAVES 827 000 – 17 18 2
MV MARINERS B 100 00x – 1 1 3
DEERLODGE WRANGLERS 3 AT MV MARINERS B 7
DEERLODGE WRANGLERS 011 001 0 – 3 4 1
MV MARINERS B 070 000 x – 7 9 1
CRANBROOK B 6 AT MV MARINERS B 2
CRANBROOK B 312 000 0 – 6 5 4
MV MARINERS B 100 010 x – 2 3 2