It took extra innings, but the Mariners extended their winning streak to 13 straight with a 4-3 win against the Mendocino College Eagles. Marin took a 2-1 lead into the eighth, but the Eagles tied the game in the bottom half. In the 10th inning Adam Hussain went deep for his second time in the game, propelling the Mariners to victory.
Both teams were held scoreless until the third inning when Dominic Burke singled to lead off he moved to second with two outs and scored on an RBI single by Jake Munoz. Munoz moved to third on a wild pitch and Alex Davis walked but Maclean Meyn grounded out to end the threat.
Adam Hussain homered to begin the fourth to double the Mariners advantage to 2-0. James Harwell followed with a double but was picked off for the second out. Burked doubled and Will Langan singled but the Mariners stranded runners on the corners as Merriwether could not bring them home.
Mendocino responded with an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth. A runner reached on an error followed by a walk to put two on with two out. A singled plated one before the potential tying run was thrown out at the plate.
Chris Allen started for Marin and was effective at getting out of jams, as he allowed eight hits and three walks in seven and a third innings on the mound.
He ran into trouble in the eighth as he yielded a one out single and walk. Nick Roth relieved Allen and induced a grounder to short, but it was mishandled and allowed the tying run to score. Roth kept the game tied with a strikeout and a ground out but the Mariners chance to win in regulation was put down as they failed to score in the ninth.
Roth remained on the hill in the bottom of the ninth as it got dicey in a hurry. The leadoff hitter reached on an error and Mendocino loaded the bases with a walk and a hit by pitch. A hard smash to third turned into a 5-2-3 double play to keep the game alive before a fly out sent the game to extras.
Davis walked to leadoff and with one out, Adam Hussain launched a homer to give the Mariners a 4-2 lead. In the bottom half, Roth remained on the hill and allowed the first to Mendocino batters to reach. A sacrifice bunt put runners at second and third, before a ground out scored one. After a walk to put runners at the corners, a grounder to short ended the game for Marin.
Hussain was 4 for 5 with three RBIs and two home runs while Dominic Burke had two hits and scored once. Allen started but received a no decision while Nick Roth earned the victory with 2.2 innings of relief work.
Next up for the Mariners is a home game against Mendocino at Sonoma State on Thursday, April 5th.