The Mariners have gone 2-2 in their last four games and are now in the midst of a long stretch of home games. There are games at “The Mont” on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday coming up.
On Saturday, the Mariners made the short trip to Lima to take on the Locos. Lawson Blackmore of Miami (Ohio) made just his second appearance on the mound this year and did great. He allowed just one earned run on two hits in his six innings. Unfortunately, the one run that Lima scored in the second inning would be the difference – they won 1-0 in a game that took just two hours and five minutes. Brandon Green and Ryan Davis each had a couple of hits for Grand Lake.
The Mariners hosted Jet Box for an afternoon Independence Day game. Jet Box broke through with a run in the third, but the Mariners would answer in the bottom half. Noah Thigpen’s single scored Ryan Davis, and an Ethan Whitley single would score Garrett Felix and Thigpen – making the score 3-1. There was no more scoring for the next four innings. Beau Nichols would pitch five innings and gave up just one earned run on three hits. Kade Benavidez threw three innings after that, giving up no earned runs on three hits. Jet Box scored an unearned run in the top of the eighth, and Thigpen had another single that scored Preston Jones this time. The Mariners won it 4-2, and Zach Boyer earned the save. Kids got to join the players during the National Anthem before the game and got autographs from the players after the game.
The Mariners were on the road Tuesday to play the Michigan Monarchs. The Monarchs had a 3-2 lead through four, but things would change in the fifth. Marcus Ernst had a single and Brayden Morrow and Taj Porter each had walked to load the bases. Then Joe Jimenez came up to the plate and hit a grand slam on his first pitch! He now has three home runs this season. Sam Seeker had a double later in the inning that scored Benavidez, and the Mariners had a 7-3 lead. They would get a couple more in the ninth with Green’s sacrifice fly and Gabriel Torres scoring on a wild pitch. It ended up being a 9-4 victory with the Mariners combining for 16 hits. Keegan Gavin got the win – allowing two earned runs in 5.2 innings. Boyer got another save – not giving up any earned runs and just one hit in 3.1 innings.
Wednesday was Celina Insurance Group night and the Graders were the opponent. Ryan Davis and Jones scored in the third. The game would get delayed in the top of the fifth due to lightning, however. It was around 8:25 when the game got delayed, and play would not resume until about 10:15. Ian Yunker’s day was done once the game was delayed. He gave up just one earned run on two hits in 4.1. The Graders added four runs in the seventh and advanced the lead to 6-2. In the bottom of the ninth, the Mariners loaded the bases to make a comeback effort. Jones then hit a single that scored Benavidez and Ryan Davis. The rally would end there, however, and the game ended at 11:44 pm with a 6-4 win for Galion.
Tonight (7/8) we take on the Sandusky Bay Ice Haulers at 7:05. We will see you at Montgomery Field then!
