Young Mission Valley Mariners gain valuable experience

Mission Valley Mariners’ manager Kaileb Gillingham and his team have learned to adapt because of a combined A and B roster that consisted of only 20 players.

According to Gillingham and the M’s, they aren’t phased by shuffling around the smaller roster.

Currently, the Mission Valley Mariners’ record is 10-28 and they are 5-12 in the conference.

“The kids are doing really well and most of the kids that have had to come on the A team were on the B team,” Gillingham said. “The experience is actually doing them a lot of good. They are holding their own weight, especially with pitching. One of my pitchers is holding his own against some of the older kids.”

The Mariners’ roster consists of several players that are playing two years above their age bracket, Gillingham said.

“We are super young and I feel like they are holding their own and we are right on the edge of coming together,” Gillingham said. “We are starting to string out hits together. We are making contact with the ball but the baseball is traveling right to outfielders and that is making them frustrated.”

Gillingham isn’t just looking at the ‘now’ in regards to the M’s, he’s looking towards the future with the amount of his experience his B team is getting by playing up.

“Because we are so young and I feel like they’ve got so many years to play together, they are going to mesh sooner than if they were to come up to the A team in a couple of years,” Gillingham said. “Guys on my team that are 14, and I didn’t start playing until I was 16, are getting an opportunity for team bonding. They are all meshing sooner than if they were joining the team when they were 16.”

The Mariners lost their recent double-header to Glacier 9-1 and 4-0.

“The last couple of games, I feel like we did really well in both games and it was like our singles just went straight to outfielders,” Gillingham said. “It was a little frustrating for those players because they are trying so hard but things weren’t going their way.”

Currently, the M’s motto is to sweep at home and split on the road.

“If we are able to win at least one game out of two on the road and we are able to win both games at home, then we will be in the middle of the pack and that would be a pretty good start for us in the tournament,” Gillingham said.

With the District Tournament starting on July 20, Gillingham said he felt they are starting to “gel.”

“I am going to have live hitting, live bullpen, live pitches and some of my older guys throw to the younger guys so they gain more experience,” Gillingham said. “They will start to see what faster pitches look like and the things that we need to work on that way. We will be mainly working on pitching, figuring mechanics, tweaking small things, and building their confidence.”