Mariners Sparkle during Firecracker Tourney
At Polson over the Fourth of July weekend, the local Mission Valley Mariners A and B baseball teams played host to nine other visiting squads that included some international flair on account of the participation of Canadian Cranbrook.
Those who were hoping to see some fireworks of the baseball kind would not be disappointed. The Mariners may have swept through their pool play schedule to secure the top seed, but three of their games were nail biter squeakers that hung in the balance until the final out.
Their opener against Deer Lodge featured some hometown heroics with a bottom of the seventh walk-off win. They would have to stave off late rallies in their final pair of pool contests against both Clark Fork as well as Dillon by pulling the plug on tying run batters at the plate.
The closeness of those games would turn out to be a prelude to the finale as both teams ended regulation play tied at four apiece.
Both teams threatened to take the lead during the extra periods, only to turn key defensive plays to snuff the threat of the other. In a game of such magnitude, somebody would have to eventually blink and Livingston would capitalize upon a momentary lapse of team tenacity to repeat as winners of the tournament for the second year in a row.
Polson Firecracker Tournament
O’Malley Park and Ronan Field
July 1-4, 2016
Championship
Livingston Braves 7,
MV Mariners 4 (11 inn.)
In the Firecracker championship on Independence Day, the visiting Braves and the host Mariners squared off in a seesaw contest that saw three lead changes before tying at the end of regulation. Both teams advanced runners into scoring position over the course of the next three extra frames, but pitching prowess and deft defensive allowed the other team to escape unscathed. That is, until the scoreboard had to be reconfigured on account of running out of space. In the top of the eleventh, a sharp single would be sandwiched between a pair of fielding foibles that would load the bases for the Braves with nobody out. After an infield flyout, the first inning home run hitter for Livingston appended a bookend to his day at the plate by hammering a three run scoring triple that would seal the outcome of the game.
The Mariners had their share of chances to tilt the title into their laps. Warren Wood was twice stranded on third in the bottom of the eighth and tenth. In the bottom of the ninth, Brendan Blood was thrown out at the plate attempting to score on a pop fly into the outfield that could have gone the other way had a fraction of an inch or smidge of a second been in his favor.
Braves 101 020 000 03 – 7 10 6
Mariners 000 301 000 00 – 4 8 11
John Becker, Jordan Darr (8) and Zander Petrich. Tyson Pettigrew (8.333IP: 9K,7H,1W), Micah McClure (9) and Warren Wood. W – Darr. L – McClure.
LIVINGSTON – Petrich 0-5, Brock Peterson 0-5, Buck Spallone 3-6, Darr 3-6, Ethan Bullock 1-5, Tristen Jenkins 0-4, Bryce Dorvall 0-4, Becker 1-5, Clayton Busby 2-5.
MISSION VALLEY – Jacob Harrod *0-5, Anthony Jones 2-2, Karsen Krebs 0-4, Bransen Krebs 1-5, Walter Wood 1-5, War.Wood 0-4, Kade Schutzmann 1-3, Nyqolas Gillingham 0-4, Micah McClure 1-3, Brendan Blood 2-5, (cr) Bryant Hales 0-0.
HR – Spallone. 3B – Spallone. 2B – Darr, Blood. RBIs – Peterson, Spallone 4; Schutzmann, N.Gillingham, McClure. SacF – Peterson; McClure, *Harrod. SacB –Dorvall; Schutzmann 2, N.Gillingham, War.Wood. BB – Petrich, Jenkins; McClure. SB – N.Gillingham. (M04Jul16gm5)
MV Mariners A 4,
Dillon Cubs 2
In a rematch of the Dillon Tournament championship two weeks prior, the host Mariners held off a late rally attempt by the Cubs to secure the top seed in their pool. With the Mariners nursing a precarious two run lead, former Ronan resident Kohltin Starkel laced a double in the top of the seventh, advancing to third on a fielder’s choice. That brought the tying run to the plate with two out, but Mariner pitcher Micah McClure snuffed the threat with a struck out to maintain the pristine team tournament slate.
Cubs 002 000 0 – 2 8 2
Mariners 011 011 x – 4 6 2
Nate Simkins and RJ Fitzgerald. Micah McClure (8K,0W) and Warren Wood.
DILLON – Peterson 3-4, Gabe Hupp 1-4, Nate Simkins 1-2, RJ Fitzgerald 1-3, Colby Minert 0-3, Vick Huber 1-3, Logan Wilson 0-1, Hunter Wentworth 0-2, Jace Fitzgerald 0-3 Kohltin Starkel 1-3.
MISSION VALLEY – Jacob Harrod 0-3, Anthony Jones 0-2, Bransen Krebs 1-3, Walter Wood 2-3, War.Wood 0-1, Kade Schutzmann 0-2, Nyqolas Gillingham 1-2, Micah McClure 0-3, Tyson Petticrew 2-2, (cr) Karsen Krebs 0-0.
2B – Starkel. RBIs – Simkins, RJ Fitzgerald; B.Krebs, Wal.Wood, N.Gillingham, Petticrew. SacB – Schutzmann, A.Jones, Harrod, War.Wood. BB – Tyson Petticrew, Warren Wood. HB – Simkins, N.Gillingham. SB – Wal.Wood, B.Krebs. (Su03Jul16gm4)
MV Mariners A 6,
Clark Fork Vipers 5
At Polson in the next to last contest within pool play, the visiting Clark Fork Vipers cobbled together a two run lead only to watch the host Mariners erase all their hard work with a big third inning. Pitcher Ryan Ovitt plugged the leaks in the dike by blanking Polson the rest of the way while the Vipers mounted a rally in the top of the seventh when they had the tying run in scoring position and the go-ahead run at the plate. But an early departure on a flyout would extract the Mariners from their predicament as they wiggled out of the jam for the win.
Vipers 110 001 2 – 5 4 6
Mariners 006 000 x – 6 8 3
Ryan Ovitt and Aaren VonHeeder. Tyler Kelsch (3K,3H,4W), Warren Wood (6), Micah McClure (7) and Anthony Jones, () . W – Kelsch. L – R.Ovitt. Sv – McClure.
CLARK FORK – Jase Sorenson 0-4, R.Ovitt 2-4, Tanner Ovitt 0-3, Kyle Milner 1-2, Josh Connolly 0-2, Logan Benson 0-1, Brock Cantrell-Field 0-2, VonHeeder 1-3, Wyatt Weyers 0-1, Kyle Weeks 0-3, Tyler Subatch 0-0.
MISSION VALLEY – Jacob Harrod 2-4, A.Jones 0-4, Bransen Krebs 3-3, Walter Wood 1-3, Karsen Krebs 0-3, Kade Schutzmann 0-2, Nyqolas Gillingham 1-2, McClure 0-3, Tyson Petticrew 1-3.
RBIs – Sorenson, R.Ovitt, Subatch; B.Krebs, Wal.Wood, N.Gillingham. SacF – Sorenson. SacB – VonHeeder; Schutzmann.
BB – Weyers 2, T.Ovitt, Milner 2, Cantrell-Field 2; N.Gillingham. HB – Weyers, Connolly, R.Ovitt, Subatch. SB –Jase Sorenson, R.Ovitt 2, Milner; Schutzmann 2, A.Jones, Wal.Wood, Harrod, B.Krebs. (Su03Jul16gm4)
MV Mariners A 12,
KV Rangers 4
The M’s got all the run support they would need in the first frame, but then added some insurance policies thereafter to ensure the outcome.
Rangers 020 02 – 4 4 3
Mariners 504 12 – 12 10 5
Sam Hannah, Dawson Henrie (5) and Quade Anderson. Marquise Askan (2K,4W) and Warren Wood. W – Askan. L – Hannay.
KOOTENAI VALLEY – Connor Harmon 0-3, Colton Cooper 0-3, Henrie 1-3, Hannay 0-2, Anderson 1-2, Mo Henderson 0-1, Brad Stein 0-3, Donovan Fornall 1-3, Taylor Sherwood 1-2.
MISSION VALLEY – Jacob Harrod 2-3, Anthony Jones 0-3, Bransen Krebs 1-3,Walter Wood 1-2, War.Wood 1-1, Kade Schutzmann 2-3, Nyqolas Gillingham 1-1 McClure 1-1, Tyson Petticrew 1-3, (cr) Bryant Hales 0-0.
RBIs – Anderson, Fornall 2; Harrod, A.Jones, Wal.Wood, Schutzmann 2, N.Gillingham, McClure, Petticrew. SacB – McClure, B.Krebs, War.Wood. SacF – Wal.Wood. BB – Anderson, Henderson 2, Hannay; A.Jones, Wal.Wood, McClure, N.Gillingham 2, Harrod. HB – War.Wood. SB – Henrie; Schutzmann, A.Jones, Hales, N.Gillingham, Harrod. (Sa02Jul16gm2)
MV Mariners A 6,
Deer Lodge Wranglers 5
The Mariners rallied in their opener with a walk-off extra base hit for the game winning RBI. The Mariners tied the contest in the fifth when both Tyson Petticrew and Jacob Harrod scored. Harrod then supplied the hometown heroics by lacing a game winning triple in the bottom of the seventh that plated Petticrew for the walk-off win.
Wranglers 005 000 0 – 5 6 2
Mariners 003 020 1 – 6 9 2
Kade Schutzmann (5K,6H), Micah McClure (7) and Warren Wood. Sheldon Danforth and Logan Danforth. W – McClure (2K). L – S.Danforth.
DEER LODGE – Logan Danforth 1-4, Derek Walker 1-4, S.Danforth 1-3, Taylor Stone 1-3, Sean Mattice 1-3, Kaehl Lowery 0-2, Logan Beck 0-3, Porter Struble 0-1, Michael Heisdorf 1-3.
MISSION VALLEY – Jacob Harrod 3-4, Anthony Jones 2-3, Bransen Krebs 0-3,Walter Wood 0-3, War.Wood 0-3, Nyqolas Gillingham 0-3, Brendan Blood 1-2, Schutzmann 0-1, McClure 1-3, Tyson Petticrew 2-2.
3B – S.Danforth; Harrod. 2B – Blood, A.Jones, McClure. RBIs – Walker, S.Danforth, Mattice, Beck; Harrod, A.Jones, Petticrew. BB – Stone, Mattice, Struble 2. HB – Lowery, S.Danforth. SacB – Lowery; Petticrew. SB – Struble. CS – Stone. MVM Runs – Harrod 2, Blood, Petticrew 3.
(Fr01Jul16gm1)
Livingston Braves 6,
MV Mariners B 5
Braves 001 120 2 – 6 10 2
Mariners B 000 110 3 – 5 3 2
Tristen Jenkins, Rydell Floyd (3), Bryce Dorval (6), Jordan Darr (7) and Zander Petrich. Izyk Gillingham (3K) and Connor Donohue. W – Jenkins. L. – I.Gillingham.
LIVINGSTON – Petrich 1-4, Brock Peterson 1-3, Buck Spallone 3-3, Darr 2-4, Bryce Dorvall 1-4, Becker 1-3, Rydell Floyd 1-2. Busby 2-5.
MISSION VALLEY B – Corbin Davis 1-2, Trevor Lake 1-1, I.Gillingham 1-3.
2B – Becker, Spallone. RBIs – Spallone 2, Darr, Conner Bushby, Becker; Davis, Lake, I.Gillingham. BB – Keyan Dalbey, Zach Evertz, Brendan Blood, Donohue 2, Bryant Hales, Gabe Mergenthaler.
HB – Blood 2, I.Gillingham, Donohue. SacB – Keyan Dalbey, Evertz, Hales, Logan Erickson, Ryan Burland.
Missoula Pioneers 3,
MV Mariners B 2
Pioneers 111 000 0 – 3 6 4
Mariners B 000 001 1 – 2 7 5
Tony Lennaman and Hunter Jiminez. Zach Evertz, Logan Erickson (4) and Izyk Gillingham. W – Lennaman. L – Evertz.
MISSOULA – Carter Baughman 1-4, Ethan Pryon 2-4, Thomas Reichenburg 3-3.
MISSION VALLEY B – Bryant Hales 1-3, Brendan Blood 2-4, Gabe Mergenthaler 1-3, Zach Evertz 1-2, Corbin Davis 1-1.
2B – E.Pyron; Blood. RBIs – E.Pryon, Gage Haran, Ceaton Oliver; Mergenthaler. BB – Lennamann, Ty Hoppie; I.Gillingham. HB – Reichenburg. SacB – Jiminez; Hales, Mergenthaler. SB – Reichenburg, Baughman; Blood, Dylan Wisniewski, Davis.
Other Monday, 4th of July
Firecracker contests:
3rd-4th place (2nd seeds)
Dillon Cubs , Glacier Twins B 0
5th-6th place (3rd seeds)
Missoula Pioneers 6, Cranbrook Bandits 5
7th-8th place (5th seeds) at Ronan Field
Libby Loggers 23, CF Vipers 5
Firecracker Tournament Accolades
Most Valuable Player
Buck Spallone
Best Hitter
Jordan Darr
Best Pitcher
Micah McClure
Best Shortstop
Jacob Harrod
Best Defensive
Zander Petrich
Other Tournament
Pool Play scores
Blue Pool
Mariners A 4, Cubs 2
Rangers 10, Bandits 12
Mariners A 6, Vipers 5
Mariners A 12, Rangers 4
Bandits 3, Wranglers 3 (Cranbrook wins bunt off)
Wranglers 10, Rangers 6
Cubs 9, Vipers 2
Cubs 12, Bandits 2
Kohltin Starkel 1-3
Cranbrook Bandits 13, CF Vipers 11
Dillon Cubs 14,
KV Rangers 0
Green Pool
Pioneers 3, Twins B 6,
Braves 6, Mariners B 5
Wranglers 8, Vipers 3
Braves 16, Loggers 4
Loggers 23, Mariners B 3
Braves 2, Twins B 1
Pioneers 3, Mariners B 2
Livingston Braves 11, Pioneers 1
Loggers 8, Twins B 3
Missoula Pioneers 11, Libby Loggers 5
Glacier Twins B 11, MV Mariners B 2
Abbreviations employed for space conservation: CF (Clark Fork), KV (Kootenai Valley), MV (Mission Valley)
Games preceding the Firecracker Tournament
Missoula Mavs 5, MV Mariners 2 (gm2)
Walter Wood (2K), Tyson Pettigrew (3) and Warren Wood. Andrew Leonard and Beau King. W – Leonard. L – Wal.Wood.
Mariners A 000 000 2 – 2 7 2
Mavericks A 002 021 x – 5 5 1
MISSION VALLEY – Schutzmann 2-3, Harrod 0-4, A.Jones 2-4, War.Wood 1-4, B.Krebs 0-2, N.Gillingham 0-3, McClure 0-2, Karsen Krebs 0-1, Kelsch 0-2, Brendan Blood 2-3.
MISSOULA – Larson 0-3, King 1-2, Bucy 0-0, Fraser 0-3, Stevens 1-3, Buchanan 2-3, Jaeren Graham 1-3, Jayce Denman 0-2, Zimmerman 0-1.
2B – Schutzmann, A.Jones. RBIs – Schutzmann, A.Jones; Fraser 2, Buchanan. SacB – Bucy. BB – Schutzmann, Kelsch, B.Krebs; Bucy 3, King 2, Denman, Stevens, Larson, Fraser, Zimmerman. HB – Zimmerman. SB – B.Krebs. (Th30Jun16gm2)
Missoula Mavs 8, MV Mariners 2 (gm1)
Mariners A 010 001 0 – 2 7 3
Mavericks A 104 003 x – 8 8 1
Jacob Harrod (5K,6H,5W), Marquise Askan (6) and Warren Wood. Parker Stevens and Beau King. W – Stevens. L – Harrod.
MISSION VALLEY – Schutzmann 0-3, Harrod 1-3, Wal.Wood 1-2, A.Jones 1-4, War.Wood 1-2, B.Krebs 0-3, N.Gillingham 2-3, Tyler Kelsch 0-2, Petticrew 1-3.
MISSOULA – William Larson 0-2, Beau King 1-2, Samuel Bucy 1-2, Dane Fraser 2-4, Stevens 2-4, Brendan Buchanan 0-3, Andrew Leonard 2-4, Kellen Johnson 0-3, Asher Zimmerman 0-3.
3B – Leonard. 2B – Blood. RBIs – War.Wood, N.Gillingham; Bucy, Fraser 2, Stevens 2, Leonard 2. SacB – Bucy. BB – Petticrew 2; King 2, Buchanan, Larson 2. HB – Bucy. SB – Petticrew, B.Krebs; Leonard, Buchanan. (Th30Jun16gm1)
Bitterroot Bucs 4, MV Mariners 2 (gm2)
Mariners 100 010 0 – 2 7 2
Bucs 200 011 x – 4 9 1
McClure (5K) and War.Wood. LeSoine, LeCoure (5) and Sully. W – LeCoure. L – McClure.
MISSION VALLEY – Schutzmann 0-3, Harrod 1-3, Wal.Wood 1-2, A.Jones 1-4, War.Wood 1-2, B.Krebs 0-3, N.Gillingham 2-3, Tyler Kelsch 0-2, Petticrew 1-3.
BITTERROOT – Zeiler 3-4, D.Gavlak 0-3, Finley 2-4, LeSoine 1-2, LeCoure 0-3, McCullough 1-3, Sully 1-2, Schneiter 0-1, Alex Gavlak 1-3.
2B – N.Gillingham, Harrod. RBIs – A.Jones 2; Zeiler, LeSoine, LeCoure, McCullough. SacB – Kelsch, Harrod; Schneiter 2, D.Gavlak. BB – Schutzmann, Wal.Wood 2, War.Wood. HB – Sully, LeSoine. SB – Petticrew, Wal.Wood; Zeiler. (Tu28Jun16gm2)
Bitterroot Bucs 11, MV Mariners 0 (gm1)
Mariners 000 00 – 0 4 4
Bucs 340 4x – 11 6 1
Bransen Krebs (5K), Walter Wood (5) and Warren Wood. Rees LeSoine and Jacob Sully. W – LeSoine. L – B.Krebs.
MISSION VALLEY – Kade Schutzmann 1-2, Jacob Harrod 1-2, Wal.Wood 1-2, Anthony Jones 1-2, War.Wood 0-2, B.Krebs 0-2, Nyqolas Gillingham 0-2, Micah McClure 0-1, Tyson Petticrew 0-2.
BITTERROOT – Bo Zeiler 1-3, Dylan Gavlak 0-3, Jake Finley 2-3, Rees LeSoine 2-2, Liam LeCoure 1-3, Braxton McCullough 1-2, Jacob Sully 0-2, Brendan Schneiter 0-1, Brendan Bailey 0-2.
2B – LeCoure. RBIs – Finley, LeSoine, LeCoure 3, McCullough, Sully. BB – McClure; Schneiter, Zeiler, McCullough, Bailey. HB – Schneiter, Sully, LeSoine. SB – LeSoine. (Tu28Jun16gm1)