Mission Valley M's squads showcase promise

The Mission Valley Mariners A and B baseball teams both find themselves in two unfamiliar positions headed into the first part of May.

The Mariners, like several other spring-sanctioned sports in Montana, are not even into the first five games of their season, as the beginning of May closes in.

The M’s, who do not only have a young team but have several players playing for both their B and A teams at the start of the season, will get double the baseball experience.

M’s manager Tim Rausch, whose B team played it’s first game in a 5-4 loss to the Bitterroot Bucs Monday night, is excited about the level of efficiency his team demonstrated in the first game back.

“Our B team played well, and they played a clean game,” Rausch said. “Our team only had one error in eight innings.

Rausch, who saw his M’s A team improve significantly from the start of last year, was impressed with his team’s progress in their 4-2 win over the Kalispell Lakers Thursday afternoon in Kalispell.

“The bats were aggressive early and swinging, they hit fastballs in the zone and they did an excellent job at the plate,” Rausch said. “Our pitchers had only four walks, and our defense ended up getting a few double plays. Overall, they played extremely well.”