Game 1: March 31, 2026
The Mariners baseball team kicked off their series with the Mendocino College Eagles in Kentfield on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. The Mariners won the contest 12-8, but getting there was anything but easy. The Eagles would jump out to an early 6-0 lead on multiple hits and a two-out error. Following the error, the game was paused for a rain delay that lasted almost 45 minutes.
When the game resumed, the Mariners responded in their half of the second on a solo homerun by Patrick Kozielec. The score would remain 6-1 in favor of the Eagles for the middle innings of the game, but the Mariners' offense woke up again in the sixth. After two walks and a single from Dante Caiati brought in one run, Gilbert Roth launched a three-run home run to cut the deficit to one, 6-5.
The Mariner bullpen held the Eagles scoreless from the third inning through the seventh.
After two quick outs in the seventh, there was a John Bullock walk. Caiati delivered the big blow, a double into the right-centerfield gap to tie the game at six.
In the top of the eighth, Mendocino was able to scratch two runs across on two singles and two walks, making it 8-6 Eagles.
Roth led off the bottom half of the eighth with a solo homer that instantly cut the lead in half, 8-7. Kozielec followed that at-bat by getting hit by a pitch. With the Mariners in desperate need of offense, Andrew Gamble stepped into the box. Gamble deposited the second pitch he saw halfway up the net in left field to put the Mariners up 9-8 with still no outs in the eighth. After two walks and a pitching change, the Mariners added two more three more on a Caiati sac fly and a Ben Sebastiani two-rbi single. After it was all said and done, the score was 12-8. Head Coach Steve Berringer handed the ball to closer Sam Schnitzer to finish it off.
Game 2: April 2, 2026
The Mariners traveled up to Ukiah for game two of the series with Mendocino, where they lost 6-1. Sebastian Elsner threw the last five innings for the Mariners, striking out four while surrendering two unearned runs.
This game was decided by a four-run third inning by Mendocino. The inning started with three infield singles to load the bases. After a single, a sac fly, and an error, the score was 4-0 Eagles.
In the fifth inning, the Mariners would score their lone run of the day on a solo home run by Adrian Ruiz, but this game was a sloppy one. Four of the six Mendocino runs were unearned, and there were five combined errors between the two squads.
Game 3: April 3, 2026
Marin once again found themselves chasing two runs against Mendocino in the second inning. In their half of the inning, they responded well with four runs of their own, making it 4-2 after two full innings. A John Bullock two-RBI double finished the scoring in the second after two walks and a single from Gaetano Polizzotti.
Mendocino would add one more in the seventh inning, but in the bottom of the eighth, the Mariners scored three to put the game out of reach for good.
The story of this game was the pitching. Anthony Del Prete threw well into the seventh inning, going 6.2 innings, striking out three, and walking zero. The Mariner pitching staff walked one on the day. The bullpen did its job, holding the Eagles' offense down for the final three innings: Toby Richards, Eli Fogelman, Weston Phillips, and Sam Schnitzer combined for the final eight outs. The Mariners won the series 2-1.
The Mariners go on the road twice this week to take on the defending Bay Valley Conference co-champion, the Laney College Eagles.