The Central Hardball League's Marsh Landscape Mariners placed third in the Mission River Rush baseball tournament held over the May long weekend.
Game one of Saturday's double header saw the Mariners up against the Ridge Meadows Braves.
The Mariners won the game in seven innings with great early and middle inning pitching from Dominic Acciarolli and Graydon Benner. Nick Mercer closed out the seventh with a perfect inning to finish the game.
Game two was another hard fought battle with the Chilliwack Ritalin Rangers. Connor Weatherston put on a masterful batting performance by hitting for the cycle and bringing three RBIs for the game. Zach Richardson made a game-saving catch in the sixth inning to help the Mariners win 7-4.
On Sunday afternoon the Mariners faced the Mission Orioles to determine top spot in pool A for Monday's semifinals.
By the fourth inning the Mariners were up by one run on flawless hitting by Andrew Marsh, Connor and Willie Rewcastle. A good last three-inning performance by the Orioles' closer silenced the Mariners' bats and saw the Orioles go on to win a close game 11-10.
Sunday's semifinal play had the Mariners up against the Cloverdale Yankees. The Yankees, undefeated in the tournament, proved to be strong opposition and won the game 11-0 in four innings.
The battle for third and fourth spot in the tournament fittingly had the Mariners once again up against the Orioles.
Graydon pitched the first two innings, holding the Orioles to just one run. The Mariners' bats started off a bit slow, but they woke up in the third when Nick Mercer belted a three-run homer to tie the game at 6-6.
Good pitching by Kevin Bates and Acciarolli held the Orioles off the score sheet for the games last three innings. The Mariners scored two more runs in the sixth inning to finally get the win and ultimately third place overall in the tournament.
