Big bats come alive for Mission Valley in Florence tournament

with state on the horizon

FLORENCE - The Mission Valley Rockies had an exceptional show of offense at the Rassmusen Tournament last weekend,

and after some adjustments, they should be ready for the state tournament this weekend in Bonner.

"Overall with our bats we really hit the ball well," Rockies manager Alan Anderson said. "I'm very happy with where we're sitting."

The Rockies, who just added three 14-year-olds to the roster and one 15-year-old, started the tournament on Thursday with a 9-1 loss to the host Bitterroot Bucs.

It was a deceiving score though, as Mission Valley was only down 3-1 going into the bottom of the sixth.

However, a six-run rally because of errors put the game in the hand of the Bucs. Jeremiah Crawford pitched well for Mission Valley, going five innings and allowing just three runs. He was named the team MVP for the game by the tournament announcers.

The Rockies bounced back though, in a huge way.

Against Salmon on Friday, Mission Valley went off for 14 hits, with five extra-base hits for a 16-3 win.

"We started out red hot and we were stroking the ball," Anderson said. "It was something to behold."

The Rockies took the 10-0 lead in the first inning, and continued to score in every frame of the game. It was shortened to five innings due to the 10-run rule.

Meanwhile, Kasey Bridgewater pitched a complete game and struck out nine.

"He pitched a whale of a game and our defense backed him up," Anderson said.

He was named the team's MVP for the game, which was a high honor considering all the top performing players at the plate.

Eight different players had multi-hit games with newcomer Eric Milner and Ryan Anderson leading the way. Both had two hits, a triple and multiple RBIs.

"We had a lot of big hits," Anderson said.

Bransen Krebes, who was the youngest player on the team at 14 years old, went 3-for-3 with an RBI. Bridgewater also helped his cause by going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

In their third game of the tournament on Saturday, the Rockies were in a dogfight with the Dillon Cubs, before falling 9-8.

Banks Stocking, who joined the team after Noxon had to disband its Senior Babe Ruth program due to lack of numbers, went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and five RBIs.

He also pitched.

Stocking went five innings and only gave up one run.

"He's one heck of a pitcher," Anderson said. "And he hit a home run at that field which probably is as long as ours in Mission. He cranked it over the left center and there was no

doubt. It went out in the parking lot."

Milner went 4-for-4 at the plate as well.

Dillon took the 1-0 lead in the top of the third but Mission Valley scored three in the bottom of the fourth, and then added a run in the fifth.

However, in the top of the sixth, the Cubs scored seven to take what appeared to be a commanding l8-4 lead.

The Rockies weren't done just yet. They scored one run in the sixth and three in the bottom of the seventh to tie things up.

But in the bottom of the seventh, Dillon drove in the winning run. As a team, Mission Valley had 18 hits.

On Sunday morning, Mission Valley had an early morning game and fell to the Lewiston Redbirds 22-9 after the team got off to a slow start.

The Rockies fell behind 22-1 after four innings but again, they didn't give up.

Mission Valley scored eight in the top of the fifth to show their moxy.

"We had a lot of people compliment us as most teams down 22-1 will just roll over and die," Anderson said.

The Rockies did advance to the consolation game, where they again faced Dillon. The Cubs jumped out to an 11-3 lead through three innings and added two more for insurance.

Anderson had went 1-for-1 in the game with two RBIs and was named the team's MVP. While the Rockies didn't have a pretty record, they certainly showed pop in their bats, and that's something they can carry into the state tournament next week.

"I was very satisfied with the power," Anderson said. "Even the young ones hit the ball really well."

Mission Valley should also get some veteran players back who missed tournament because of the Fourth of July weekend. They also showed that offense isn't something they'll lack in the state tournament.

Anderson said that some practice in between should clean up things on the defensive side.

"I'm really upbeat," he said. "we're going to have a solid team going into state."

B-ROOT 9, MV 1

B - 001 - 026 - 0 - 9

M - 000 - 000 - 1 - 1

MV - 3 hits

Rockies batting - Dakota Matt 0-3, Justin Hoel 0-2, Eric Milner 1-3, Jeremiah Crawford 0-2, Chris Gieber 1-2, Kasey Bridgewater 0-3, Ryan Anderson 1-2, Nick Barners 0-3. Bransen Krebes 0-1. RBIs - Barnes

R Pitching - Jeremiah Crawford (5 IP), Eric Milner

(2 IP)

MV 16, SALMON 3

S - 001 - 02 - 3

M - (10)11 - 4x - 16

MV - 17 hits.

Rockies batting - Dakota Matt 2-2, Justin Hoel 2-4, Eric Milner 2-3, Jeremiah Crawford 2-4, Kasey Bridgewater 2-4, Nick Grogan 2-3, Ryan Anderson 2-2, Warren Wood 0-1, Nick Barnes 0-3, Bransen Krebes 3-3. Doubles - Hoel, Bridgewater, Grogan.

Triples - Milner, Anderson. RBIs - Pope McDonald (2) Hoel 3, Anderson 3, Grogan 2, Milner 2, Bridgewater 2, Crawford, Krebes.

R Pitching - Bridgewater (5 IP, 9K)

DILLON 9, MV 8

MV - 000 - 311 - 3 - 8

D - 001 - 007 - 1 - 9

Mission - 18 hits.

Rockies batting - Dakota Matt 1-3, Justin Hoel 2-4, Eric Milner 4-4, Jeremiah Crawford 1-4, Banks Stocking 2-4, Ryan Anderson 1-4, Warren Wood 2-4, Bransen Krebes 2-4. Doubles - Stocking. Home Runs - Stocking. RBIs - Stocking 5, Wood 2, Anderson.

R Pitching - Stocking (5 IP), Milner (2 IP)

L-TOWN 22, MV 9

M - 100 - 08 - 9

L - 675 - 4x - 22

Mission - 11 hits

Rockies batting - Dakota Matt 2-4, Justin Hoel 2-4, Eric Milner 3-3, Jeremiah Crawford 0-1, Riley Whitworth 1-2, Banks Stocking 1-3, Ryan Anderson 0-3, Warren Wood 0-1, Nick Barners 1-3, Bransen Krebes 2-3. RBIs - Milner 2, Matt, Hoel, Stocking, Anderson, Whitworth, Krebes

R Pitching - Crawford (2 IP), Hoel (1 1/3 IP), Anderson (2/3)

DILLON 13, MV 3

M - 300 - 00 - 3

D - 561 - 1x - 13

Mission - 7 hits

Rockies batting - Dakotah Matt 2-3, Nick Grogan 1-2, Bransen Kreves 0-1, Eric Milner 0-2, Jeremiah Crawford 1-2, Banks Stocking 0-2, Ryan Anderson 1-1, Riley Whitworth 0-1, Warren Woods 1-2, Nick Barnes 1-2. Doubles - Anderson. RBIs - Ryan 2, Crawford.

R Pitching - Banks (1 IP), Grogan (1 IP), Anderson (2 IP)