Mission Valley Mariners primed for District play
MISSION VALLEY Mariners pitcher Xavier Fisher delivers a pitch in a regular season game against the Libby Loggers. The M’s will get ready to play the Kalispell Lakers at 10 a.m. Thursday in the first round of District Tournament play in Hamilton. (Photo by Jason Blasco/Lake County Leader)
THE MISSION Valley Mariners baseball team was presented a check on July 11 from the Rural Community Grant. Pictured (from left): Tim Lake, LAC member; Joey Hennes, NWFCS employee; Tim Rausch, Mariners head coach; Bryant Hales, Dylan Wisenewski and Corbin Davis, Mariners; Scott Kesler, NWFCS employee; and Amanda Hall, NWFCS employee. The Mission Valley Mariners are preparing for District play against the Kalispell Lakers at 10 a.m. Thursday in Hamilton. (Courtesy photo)
Mission Valley Mariners baseball coach Tim Rausch knows one sports cliché is applicable to the upcoming American Legion District play when his team will open with the No. 4 seeded Glacier Twins at 10 a.m. Thursday at Hamilton.
Rausch knows that you can throw out the records and at districts, “Anything can and will happen.”
“At this point, every game that we play is important,” Rausch said. “(How we succeed) will come down to execution and what you are doing on the field. The team that is executing better is going to win.”
The M’s, who will enter the tournament with a No. 5 seed, will play a team that they’ve beaten before, the Kalispell Lakers, in the first round of the winners’ bracket Thursday at 10 a.m. in Hamilton.
“You know we’ve played them multiple times and we still have a losing record against them,” Rausch said. “It really just depends on what team shows up and whether we hit the ball well or not.”
Rausch expressed confidence that if his team hits the baseball, they’ll have a good chance of winning against any opponent in the District Tournament.
“Our pitchers are doing a great job throwing strikes and our outfielders are making plays,” Rausch said. “It will be whether or not we are hitting that will dictate whether we win.”
Mission Valley will have one of their key returners back for the postseason. Tyson Petticrew, who struggled near midseason with a knee injury, will be able to play in the District Tournament opener against Kalispell, according to Rausch.
Rausch acknowledged Petticrew as one of the key contributors to his team this season, both on the field and off it, in a previous interview.
“Pitching-wise, Tyson is one of the older guys that is throwing along with our younger guys who are throwing strikes and hitting the ball around a little bit,” Rausch said. “When they leave the ball down, they do a really good job for us.”
In Rausch’s first year as the M’s manager, he compiled a record of 24-22 and a conference record of 9-11.
“We are really young and we have only two seniors and two juniors,” Rausch said. “Our record of winning 24 or 25 victories is a huge improvement. We will tell our kids in the off-season to continue to improve, physically make sure their arms are healthy and just more physically developed next year.”
Rausch knows the cream of the district crop is Bitterroot and Glacier, but he said he felt anyone can win this district.
“There is no real standout team outside of Glacier and Bitterroot, and everyone in the league can win because it just depends on who shows up and who doesn’t,” Rausch said. “Every game that we play (at this point) is important. It will come down to execution and what you are doing in the field. The team that executes correctly will most likely win.”