Mission Valley Mariners B team bounces back from rough Saturday

to sweep Salmon

POLSON - What a difference a day makes.

A day after losing to the Kalispell Lakers in a double header by scores of 21-10 and 14-7 last Saturday, the Mission Valley Mariners B team was able to turn things around last Sunday and sweep the visiting Salmon River Savages.

"Our pitching was a lot better," Mariners' manager Chris Brown said. "A lot of the kids threw first pitch strikes and we didn't walk as many batters."

On Saturday, bad weather combined with second and third game nerves could have combined to plague the Mariners with 11 errors against the Lakers.

"[A team manager] Jami Hansen, [coach] Kyle Bagnell and I told that team that we were two innings away in each game," Brown said. "If we cut those innings out, we stay in those games."

In game one on Saturday, Mission Valley was leading 4-2 when Kalispell scored nine runs in the bottom of the third and added another nine in the bottom of seventh for the 21-10 victory in a game that was closer than it appeared.

Kellen Hoyt went 2-for-2 with two RBIs, and Nick Crawford went 1-for-3 with two RBIs to key the Mariners offensively, but eight errors cost the team dearly. The team wasn't short on getting hits as they collected 10. Crawford also struck out four and pitched two and two-thirds innings in the game.

In the second game, they fell 14-7 but were again trading blows with the Lakers until the top of the third when Kalispell turned a 2-2 game into a 7-2 matchup in their advantage.

Mission Valley showed some gumption by answering back with four runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth, but the Lakers had another big inning in the top of the fifth, scoring six runs and putting the game out of reach.

The B team bounced back on Sunday, winning 3-1 and 8-7 against the visiting Salmon River Savages.

In the first game, Salmon took the early 1-0 lead but couldn't find home plate the rest of the way while the Mariners went to work. Their miscues and Mission Valley's opportunistic nature led to a two-run third and a one-run fourth inning.

That's all the Mariners would need behind the pitching of Zeke Webster-Yaqui, Crawford and Chris Drebes.

Drebes, whose tall stature resembles a rather famous Seattle Mariners pitcher nicknamed "The Big Unit," shut down Salmon River in the bottom of the seventh with two strikeouts.

"He'll probably be one of the kids that stays as one of the pitchers," Brown said.

Drebes was no slouch at the plate either, he also picked up a triple in the second game.

"He is absolutely tattooing the baseball and making good contact," Brown said.

After that tight win over Salmon, they had another thrilling matchup in the second game. Mission Valley started out hot with the bats, taking the 5-1 lead. They added another two in the second and were looking good leading 7-2.

However, Salmon kept the Mariners in check for the next four innings and chipped away at the lead. They scored two in the top of the sixth and two in the top of the seventh.

Thomas "Squishy" Wallace did it all for Mission Valley in the game, making some nice defensive plays, driving in two runs.

"He pitched this week for maybe the first time in his life," Brown said.

After seeing their lead evaporate in the seventh, it was gut-check time for the young Mariners.

"I was kind of wondering how the kids would respond to that," Brown said.

They certainly did. The "Pride of St. Ignatius" Davin Sorrell drew a walk, stole second base and then advanced to third on a passed ball.

"He did a good job manufacturing the run," Brown said. "Then Jared Young came up and that's all we needed as he hit the ball to the right side."

Young had the game-winning walk-off RBI and the Mariners celebrated their second victory of the season.

"I was real happy with the way the kids kept their emotions

in check," Brown said.

Webster-Yaqui finished the game going 1-for-4 with an

RBI.

"He pitched both days for us and he definitely sparked

a couple of rallies," Brown said.

The Mariners B team, which usually gets Brown as their manager sometime already into the season because he still attends college, got their leader early this year, and it could really help the squad.

"This is the first year I've been here all the way through the early season," Brown said. "I'm really happy with where

they're at."

KALI. 21, MVM 10

K - 029 - 010 - 9 - 21

M - 022 - 002 - 4 - 10

Kalispell - 7 hits, 4 errors. MVM - 10 hits, 8 errors.

Mariners batting - Mike Bournstein 1-2, Zeke Webster-Yaqui 1-3, Davin Sorrell 1-3, Bradley Pichler 1-3, David Cleveland 0-2,

Thomas Wallace 1-3, Jared Young 0-2, Brad Cannon 1-1, Kellen Hoyt 2-2, Nick Crawford 1-3, Jerrel Chiefstick 1-1. Doubles - Wallace

RBIs - Bournstein, Pichler, Cannon, Hoyt 2. MVM

Pitching - Webster-Yaqui (2), Bournstein (1/3), Crawford (2 2/3 and 4 Ks), Cleveland (1 2/3), Rasmussen (1/3)

KALI. 14, MVM 7

K - 115 - 061 - 0 - 14

M - 110 - 410 - 0 - 7

Kalispell - 12 hits, 2 errors. MVM - 5 hits, 3 errors.

Mariners batting - Mike Bournstein 0-2, Zeke Webster-Yaqui 2-4, Davin Sorrell 2-4, Bradley Pichler 1-2, David Cleveland 1-4, Chris Drebes 0-3, Drew Fouty 0-1, Kellen Hoyt 0-1, Jerrel Chiefstick 0-1, Aaron Rasmussen 0-1

Doubles - Sorrell RBIs - Pichler, Cleveland. MVM

Pitching - Cannon (2 2/3), Young (2), Wallace (1

1/3), Drebes (1)

MVM 3, SAL. 1

S - 100 - 000 - 0 - 1

M - 002 - 100 - x - 3

Salmon - 3 hits, 4 errors. MVM - 4 hits, 3 errors.

Mariners batting - Mike Bournstein 1-3, Zeke Webster-Yaqui 1-1, Davin Sorrell 0-2, Thomas Wallace 0-3, Bradley Pichler 0-3, Brady Cannon 0-2, David Cleveland 1-1, Jared Young 1-1, Aaron Rasmusson 0-1, Chris Drebes 0-1, Jerrel Chiefstick 0-1. Doubles - Webster-Yaqui, Cleveland

MVM Pitching - Webster-Yaqui (3), Crawford (1 2/3), Drebes (2 1/3)

MVM 8, SAL. 7

S - 111 - 002 - 2 - 7

M - 520 - 000 - 1 - 8

Salmon - 14 hits, 6 errors. MVM - 6 hits, 4 errors.

Mariners batting - Mike Bournstein 0-2, Bradley Pichler 1-4, Zeke Webster-Yaqui 1-4, Davin Sorrell 1-3, Chris Drebes 1-1, Thomas Wallace 1-2, David Cleveland 1-2, Drew Fouty 0-1, Nick Crawford 0-2, Jared Young 1-2, Jarrell Chiefstick 0-1, Brad Cannon 0-1

Triple - Drebes RBIs - Webster-Yaqui, Wallace 2, Young

Pitching - Pichler (2 2/3), Young (3 1/3), Wallace

(2/3), Cannon (1/3)