All good things eventually come to an end. Such was the case with the Mariners winning streak on Thursday. Tied at 4 heading the seventh, Mendocino took a slim one run lead and held off Marin who took their first loss since February 27th at Santa Rosa Junior College.
The Eagles drew first blood with two runs in the top of the second off of Mariners' starter Jason Wutsch. A leadoff error by the Mariners followed by a sacrifice bunt put a runner in scoring position for Mendocino with one away. Another error allowed the runner to score and put another on second. After a groundout and a hit by pitch an RBI single increased the Mendocino lead to 2-0.
Marin failed to score in the first two innings, but after a scoreless top of the third, the Mariners got down to business in the bottom half. With two outs, Jake Munoz walked and Alex Davis followed with a double to put runners at second and third. MacLean Meyn followed with a two run double of his own to tie the game up at 2-2.
After both teams failed to score in the fourth, Mendocino fired back in the top of the fifth. The Eagles put two men on with two outs before a run scoring double gave the visitors a 4-2 advantage. Marin did not trail for long as with two outs in the bottom half, Meyn launched a solo shot to bring the Mariners within one at 4-3. Adam Hussain followed with a single and stole second before scoring on a single by James Harwell to retie the game at 4-4.
Both teams were unable to score in the sixth, but the seventh proved to be the deciding inning in the game. Mendocino put two to start the inning and a sacrifice bunt pushed the runners to second and third with one down. A groundout to deep short plated the go ahead run as Mendocino led 5-4.
The Mariners went down in order in the bottom of the seventh but threatened mightily in the eighth. With one out Harwell walked and stole second, after a ground out Davis Barkocy walked but Randy Fernandez struck out with two on.
Marin had an excellent chance in the last of the ninth but could not pull it all together. Christian Merriwether was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Jake Munoz walked, but Alex Davis hit into a double play and Meyn grounded out to end the game.
Meyn was the offensive hero with three hits including a home run and three RBI. Adam Hussain also had three hits and scored a run while James Harwell had two hits and an RBI on the day. Owen Hamilton took the loss in relief of Wutsch, while Michael Bentz pitched the final two innings of the game allowing just one walk and striking out a pair.
The Mariners dropped their first game in Bay Valley Conference competition, but still sit in first place with a record of 10-1. They will travel to Mendocino College on Sunday, April 8th for the rubber match of the series.