I have been at this job for a year already. It’s been so much fun that the time has gone by very quickly. The end of the Mariner baseball and softball seasons were a couple of the first stories I covered for the Northshore Journal. The Silver Bay baseball quarter-final game was the first game I attended for this gig, driving to Virginia to watch the game against Ely. It was the first time that I met our editor in real life, who was there to cheer on her youngest son, Chase Mallory, who was the lone senior on the team that year.
It was also the first time I met Ward Wallin, head coach of the Silver Bay Mariners baseball team. I had stepped near the dugout to ask if he’d be willing to talk to me for a moment after the team had lost to the Timberwolves.
So, it was a bit of déjà vu, talking to Ward again about being ousted by Ely this season, as well. He remembers that being the case at least twice prior. “The Ely coach and I are very good friends,” he said. “We’ve been competing for years. I was joking with him that it wasn’t going to happen again this year.”
Beating the Timberwolves was one of the team’s goals for the season. “We played Ely 3 times this year, we beat them the first time and they beat us the last 2,” the coach recounted. “I think they outplayed us when it really counted.”
Still, Ward called the competition “good baseball games.” In the 2nd game against Ely, Jake Stadler hit his team-leading 3rd home run of the year.
The Mariners were the 3rd seed going into the playoffs. They were 16-6 overall, a very high winning percentage. In their section, they were 9-4 and 9-1 in the conference. “We did win the Polar League small school portion of the conference and that’s a streak we’ve had going for a number of years so that was pretty exciting,” said Ward.
They also had four players earn All-Conference honors: Jake Stadler, Jacob Carpenter, Tucker Cook, and Andrew Wehrman.
“Tucker led the team in hitting. It was a great year for Tucker. He really did a great job for us,” his coach said. “His confidence was up, and he was really hitting the ball well and having a lot of fun in the ball games.”
Besides beating Ely, the team had their eyes on beating South Ridge, which they were able to do. Their individual goals, which were also set early in the season included having fewer errors. The team did have an improvement in their defense which helped get them into the playoffs.
On Tuesday, May 28th, the team hosted the Ely vs. Northwoods game and took on Ely in the second game when they came out on top. They would best Silver Bay, as well. “We gave up 6 or 7 runs in the first inning and we just couldn’t come back,” admitted the coach. The highlight of the game, however, would be McCoy Williams’ first high school career home run.
The following Thursday, at South Ridge, Silver Bay took on Mountain Iron-Buhl, whom they had beat earlier in the year.
“We played really well. We pitched well. Jacob Carpenter did a great job,” said Ward, mentioning that Jacob Carpenter also had a home run in that game.
Winning against Mountain Iron-Buhl put the team back up against, you guessed it, Ely once again. It was an exciting game.
“We gave up a couple runs early, and we came right back,” said Ward. “We were in control of the game for at least 5 innings.”
At one point the Mariners were up 9-4. In the 6th inning, they were up 12-6. Then, according to the coach, the pitching started to struggle a bit. A few players walked and there were 3 costly errors. Going into the 7th, it was 12-9.
“We struggled on the mound. Our first pitcher in there gave up a hit and walked a couple. Then put another pitcher in and he walked a couple. Then Ely got a timely hit and another walk,” said Ward. “In the last 2 innings we had 8 walks. Walks are free bases, and we talk about that all year. We have to limit the amount of free bases we give.”
Nevertheless, it was an exciting game right to the end. Ely went up 13-12 and the Mariners had last at bats. In the bottom of the 7th, they had 2 runners on, and it looked like the game was going to go into extra innings.
“We hit into a double play to end the game and end the season,” said Ward. “Of course, it was disappointing for the players and the coaches. It was such a good year and we had high hopes.”
The team next season will be a young one. 5 seniors have graduated. Braylen Hoff, Jacob Carpenter, Andrew Wehrman, Tucker Cook, and Jake Stadler will all leave quite a legacy to live up to.
“I think with any high school sport, the seniors have to lead the team on and off the field,” said the coach. “And you also need a good mix of young players that are learning and watching the older kids. They see how they act during adversity and see how they act during excitement.”
Despite the departure of 4 out of 5 top hitters, Ward is optimistic for next season. He explained to me that a bunch of the players will be playing throughout the summer in legion leagues, some in Two Harbors, some in Cook County, and some in Silver Bay. The extra training may be the key to the future success of the team.
“You learn the game during high school because it’s short and compact, but you improve during summer ball. A lot of these kids are playing baseball this summer so that’ll be good for the program,” advised Ward.
Overall, Ward Wallin is happy with the season, including the ability to play 22 games despite the wet spring. “That was a nice advantage,” he said.
I’m not alone in my surprise that the Mariners would not be moving forward, especially after the fantastic season they had. “I fully expected that we would’ve advanced to this week,” Ward agreed, referring to the quarterfinals occurring the week of June 3rd. “I just figured we’d be one of the top 4 but we left a little on the table and ended up a little short.”
Becoming a baseball fan wasn’t really on my radar a little over a year ago. Since getting involved with this newspaper, and especially from watching this season from beginning to end, I have caught the baseball (and softball) bug. Following the local teams, sharing in the wins and losses, cheering them along, and having the great honor of being able to share their stories with our readers has been great and I can’t wait until next season to do it all again.
Congratulations to the Mariners baseball team, coaches, parents, and fans for a phenomenal season!
