Mariners get back on track with Loggers sweep

After a red-hot 10-1 start to their season then stumbling a bit in their last three games, the Mission Valley Mariners Legion baseball team probably needed to take a deep breath, rely on the basics like solid hitting and lockdown pitching to get back in the grove.

They had lost two of their previous three, including one to the powerful Kalispell Lakers and the other against the perennially tough Bitterroot Red Sox.

And Saturday’s games were in danger of being called off as rain pummeled the area, forcing a more than two-hour delay.

They put those losses behind them Saturday with a home stand sweep of Libby, 13-3 and 3-2, to get back on the winning track and in so doing hike their season record to 13-3.

And both victories were aided by some outstanding pitching by the Wadsworth boys, Whyatt and Cole, who controlled the Loggers offensive production in the opener, then watched as Dawson Dumont handcuffed the visitors in the nightcap.

The Mariners opened the double header with a run in the bottom of the first after Whyatt Wadsworth set down the Loggers in order in the top of the inning.

The Mariners score came off a sacrifice RBI from Alex Muzquiz that scored Xavier Fisher from third base. Fisher had reached third on a single, a stolen base and via another sacrifice from Dawson Dumont.

But Libby showed it had some firepower of its own in the top of inning number two when they plated three runs on two singles after Wadsworth struggled to find the strike zone and walked three batters. Those would prove to be Libby’s last runs of the game.

Wadsworth pulled it all together, shutting down the visitors the rest of the way in what became a five-inning victory due to the 10-run Mercy rule.

In the meantime, Mission Valley hitters took advantage of some shaking Libby pitching and tied the game at three apiece in the bottom of the second on a pair of singles sandwiched around a walk and a sacrifice ground out.

With Libby’s batters held in check, Mission unleashed an offensive barrage in the bottom of the third inning.

They opened the lower half of inning number three with six straight hits on their way to a nine-run inning that propelled them to a 12-3 advantage seemingly in the blink of an eye.

Mission collected nine hits during the offensive explosion, part of their 16 hits for the game. They put the game away in the bottom of the fifth when Dillon Davis scored from third base on a wild pitch that made it 13-3

Wadsworth meanwhile, limited the Loggers to just two hits for the game while striking out a pair of Libby batters in his five inning of work.

With the threat of rain receding as the afternoon wore on, the two teams took to the field for the second game of the double dip. Libby got on the scoreboard in the top of the first due to some control problems by Dumont, who walked the first two batters he faced in the inning. Dumont settled down and struck out two Libby hitters, but not before the Loggers scored on a sacrifice.

Mission came right back in the bottom of the first, tying the game at one each when Xavier Fisher scored on a single by Espn Fisher.

Dumont put down the loggers in order in the top of the second inning, recording two more strikeouts in the process.

The Mariners then took the lead in the bottom of the first when Cole Wadsworth came home on a Xavier Fisher single giving the home team a 2-1 lead in what quickly became a pitching duel.

Dumont picked up his fifth strikeout of the game in the top of the third when he again set down the Loggers in order. The visitors managed to get to Dumont for a single run in the top of the fourth on a pair of singles and a sacrifice fly before the Mariners’ pitcher reached deep and fanned the final two batters of the inning.

Neither team scored the rest of the way as Mission Valley held on for the 3-2 win. Dumont finished the game with eight strikeouts to pick up the victory after being relieved by Cole Wadsworth in the top of the sixth.

The Mariners banged out nine hits during the game.

Mission Valley next plays a double header this Tuesday against the Clark Fork Valley Riverdogs in Plains.