PLATTSBURGH — Sunday didn’t end the way the Clinton County Senior Mariners and coach John Flynn would have liked.
The Mariners, after recording a 10-8 victory over the Tri-County Eagles earlier in the day, dropped a 16-10 contest to the Saratoga Stampede in the finals of the American Legion District 4 baseball tournament at Lefty Wilson Field.
Clinton County (27-11) would have needed two wins over the Stampede to win the title but lost to Saratoga for the second day in a row.
The game also marked the final contest for Flynn as coach of the Mariners after five years at the helm.
“I’m announcing my retirement as coach of the Mariners,” Flynn said. “I’ve been coaching my son, Will, since he was a 7-year-old all-star, and all good things have to come to an end.
“It was a great experience to coach the Mariners and I want to thank all the players who played for me. I’m not always the easiest to get along with because I’m old school.”
The Mariners remained alive in the double-elimination tournament by outslugging Tri-County in their first game of the day.
The Mariners trailed, 4-1, before rallying for a 10-4 lead. The Eagles got two runs back in the eighth and two more in the ninth.
Chris Roenbeck and Will Flynn led the Mariners offensive with a single, double and home run each.
Brian Latulipe, who had eight hits on the day, rapped out three singles and a triple, while Ben Weightman added a double and triple, and C.J. Worley two singles.
Kasey Favreau started on the mound for the Mariners, but was hit in the leg by a line drive and forced to leave. Brandon Rabideau took over in the third inning and went the rest of the way for the win.
“We bounced back from last night’s loss and played well,” Flynn said. “We battled back after being down, 4-1. It was a huge win for us.
“Brandon held suit for us. We were able to score some runs for him and he really stepped up, like he has done recently.”
Nick McKinney paced the Eagles with two doubles and a home run. Mitch Fearis and Zach Parsons added a double and single apiece.
The Mariners, who scored a combined 20 runs and 29 hits on the day, continued to hit the ball well against the Stampede.
Unfortunately, for the Mariners, they couldn’t keep the Stampede off the board.
“We ran out of pitching,” Flynn said. “Our pitching just didn’t get it done in this game.
“But we still battled all the way and that’s all I can ask from my players. It’s disappointing not to win, but we made it to the finals and made a good run at it. The players didn’t roll over.”
Latulipe added four more hits for the Mariners, while Joe Tolosky added three. Weightman and Flynn chipped in with two apiece. Jake Richards homered and Tom Curran had a double.
However, the Mariners used six pitchers as some of them struggled with their control.
Rabideau was a workhorse on the weekend as he took over in the fifth when the Mariners used four pitchers in Saratoga’s seven-run uprising that resulted in a 13-7 advantage.
“Brandon reached his 12-inning limit for the weekend and we had to take him out in the sixth inning,” Flynn said. “He did a great job.”
The Mariners scored three runs in the sixth to cut it to 13-10. But the Stampede regained the upper hand with three unearned runs in the eighth to go back up by six
Alex Lushkevich and Dale Long led the Stampede with a double and single each. Dylan Anderson pitched into the seventh inning for the win.
“All in all, we played pretty well over the weekend, except for in Saturday’s loss to Saratoga,” Flynn said.
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Mariners 10, Tri-County 8
Mariners 100 130 320 — 10 14 2
Tri-County 112 000 022 — 8 13 3
Favreau, Rabideau (3) and Worley. Peltz, Fearis (7) and Farrier. WP- Rabideau. LP- Peltz. 2B- Weightman (M), Roenbeck (M), Flynn (M), McKinney (T) 2, Peltz (T), Farrier (T), Fearis (T), Parsons (T). 3B- Weightman (M). Latulipe (M). HR- Roenbeck (M), Flynn (M), McKinney (T).
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Stampede 16, Mariners 10
Mariners 112 213 000 — 10 15 2
Stampede 004 270 03x — 16 13 1
Weightman, Richards (4), Recor (5), Russell (5), Rabideau (5), Worley (6) and Worley, Roenbeck (6). Anderson, Merriman (7), Carr (9) and Forbes. WP- Anderson. LP- Richards. 2B- Curran (M), Lushkevich (S), Long (S), Gereau (S). HR- Richards (M).
