Mission Valley 6, Deer Lodge 1

Justin Evertz pitched a gem as the Mission Valley Mariners A team (24-15) won their first game of the Firecracker Tournament in Polson. Evertz went seven innings for a complete game, two-hitter with 11 strikeouts in a 6-1 victory over Deer Lodge.

Throwing 85 pitches, 59 of them for strikes, Evertz blanked the Wranglers for the first five innings of the game. For a time, he was actually outscoring Deer Lodge himself, after he singled on a 1-0 pitch to drive home Austin Von Tom in the bottom of the third.

For the game, Evertz finished 3-for-4.

The Mariners added to that lead in the bottom of the fourth. Robbie Gauthier tripled with a full count, then Jake Young bunted on the first pitch he saw to bring home the Ronan quarterback. After Josh Rustad advanced Young over to third base on a sac bunt, Kevin Hagedorn singled to drive him home and push Mission Valley's lead to 3-0.

Gauthier, or rather "Big Hit Bob" went two-for-three with a triple and a double.

Evertz came back in the top of the fifth with a nine-pitch frame, striking out one batter looking and getting two quick fly outs.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Mariners continued to add to their lead thanks to a double by Gauthier that drove home Von Tom and Evertz. After Young moved Gauthier over to third with a sacrifice bunt, a passed ball allowed him to score. That gave the Mariners a 6-1 advantage going into the top of the sixth.

Deer Lodge was able to get a lead-off walk and then a steal by Evertz answered back with a strike out. The next batter singled to advance the base-runner to third and then a ground out drove home the Wrangler's lone run.

Evertz struck out a Deer Lodge batter to end the inning. It proved to be his longest inning, as he threw 21 pitches.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Mariners went a quick three-up, three-down but they again turned to their starting pitcher who recorded two strikeouts and a groundout in the top of the seventh to shut the door and end the game.

GAME NOTES - In his last outing, Evertz went seven innings with nine strikeouts against Strathmore Reds in the Libby Big Bucks tournament. Mission Valley won their home tournament last season. Mission Valley was flawless in the field, not committing a single error while Deer Lodge committed two. The Mariners also had 10 team hits in the game. Six players had hits, four drove in runs for the M's. On Friday at 4:00 p.m., the MV Mariners B team plays the Missoula Pioneers and then at 6:30 p.m., the MV Mariners A team takes on the Glacier Twins.

DEER LODGE - 000 - 001 - 0 - 1
MISSION VALLEY - 001 - 230 - x - 6

Deer Lodge - 2 hits, 2 errors. Mission Valley - 10 hits, 0 errors.

Mariners Batting - Jack Humphreys 0-3, Austin Von Tom 1-2, Justin Evertz 3-4, Chris Clary 0-3, Robbie Gauthier 2-3, Jacob Young 1-3, Josh Rustad 1-3, Kevin Hagedorn 2-2, Dalton Mohlzon 0-1.

Doubles - Von Tom, Gauthier. Triple - Gauthier. RBIs - Evertz, Gauthier 2, Young, Hagedorn.

M Pitching - Evertz (7 IP, 11 K, 85 Pitches)

Here are photos from the game, click on "read more" to see the full gallery...