May 20 - 27, 2005: Written by Phil Mugavero

(St. Petersburg, FL) WILDWOOD PARK- The Fossil Park Mariners capped off a successful season this year by placing 2nd in the St. Petersburg Dizzy Dean City Tournament. The Mariners went into the championship game as the only undefeated team in the tournament. The M’s needed only 1 more win to secure the championship, but lost a squeaker to the Pinellas Park 1 team 7-6 in game 1. Game 2 was played immediately after where Pinellas Park kept pounding out the hits putting pressure on the Mariners defense to come up big. Unfortunately, the Mariners could not stop the big bats of the Pinellas Park Reds. Uncharacteristic and untimely mistakes ultimately did in the Mariners as the Reds easily trounced our Mariners 12-1 in game 2 to snatch the championship from the Mariners.

2005 Fossil Park Minor/Major Mariners (Click Photo for a better view)

Game 1:

Mariners 15 Wildwood 1

Wildwood Park: The Mariners opened the tournament with a drubbing of one of the 2 Wildwood host teams. After Wildwood stole a run in the first, the Mariners responded with 15 unanswered runs. Leading the way for the Mariners was Mike Wiley and Jake Kevorkian with both players smacking a double and triple. Hayden Peiker had 3 hits and scored 3 runs. The Mariners also got outstanding pitching from Zack Martz. Zack pitched 3 innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits while striking out 3 in his victory. 

Game 2:

Mariners 18 Yankees 8 

Game 2 of the tournament featured a mighty clash of the top two Fossil Park teams. The Yankees may have won the Fossil Park league championship this season, but it would be the Mariners knocking the Yanks out of the tournament. The Mariners great hitting continued as they pounded out 16 more hits. Leading the way was Zack Roegiers with 4 hits including a double, 3 singles and 2 runs scored. 

Jason Mugavero at bat during the 2005 10 & Under Top Team Tournaments hosted by Wildwood (Click Photo for a better view)

Mike Wiley, Hayden Peiker, Jake Kevorkian, Chris Henry and Zack Martz each collected 2 hits in the impressive win. The Mariners got strong relief pitching from Hayden Peiker, Jake Kevorkian and Mike Wiley as they combine to hold the powerhouse Yankee lineup to 1 run on 2 hits during the final 4.1 innings. A Defensive gem was made by Hudson White who threw out a Yankees base runner at the plate to stifle a major Yankee rally.

Mike Wiley and Jason Mugavero Pose with the Mariner's Second Place Trophy

Game 3:

Mariners 9 Seminole Rays 7

Game 3 featured the Mariners in a game against a very strong Seminole team. An unexpected illness to one of the Mariners star players forced Manager Jim Wiley to shuffle the lineup around. The Mariner fans and coaching staff were unsure how the team would handle the bad news that they would be without a key player. The Mariners responded and kept the hits coming by adding 9 more to there impressive tournament total. Mike Wiley had 2 hits which included a dramatic inside the park home run. Wiley also had 4 RBI in the game. Hudson White and rookie Jason Mugavero each added 2 hits with Mugavero knocking in the go-ahead runs in the bottom of the fifth. After a shaky first inning, the Mariners pitching and defense settled down to hold on for the exciting, spirited victory.  

Game 4: 

Pinellas Park Reds 7 Mariners 6

The Mariners needed just one more victory to secure the city championship. After an exciting win against Seminole, everyone was waiting to see if the kids had anything left to bring Fossil Park the title. The Mariners got a big boost as one of there star players returned to the lineup after missing the previous game due to illness. This was an unbelievable game with emotions running high for both teams. The Mariners smacked 11 hits but it wasn’t enough as a hard hitting Pinellas Park team made the big plays when they needed to. Mike Wiley again led the hit parade collecting 3 more hits which included a single, double and triple. Hayden Peiker, Hudson White and Zack Martz added 2 hits a piece while Jason Mugavero singled in 2 to tie the game in the 5th. A controversial call on a play at the plate kept a run off the board which wound up being the difference in game. The Mariners kept it interesting in the 6th when Chris Henry singled in a run to close the gap to 7-6, but aggressive base running ended the game. 

Game 5:

Pinellas Park Reds 12 Mariners 1

After pounding out the hits for four straight tournament games, it was expected that it would just continue. But the Mariner bats finally went dry. The Mariners managed only 2 hits in an uncharacteristic and devastating loss. The Pinellas Park Reds pounded out 11 hits in 4 innings that kept the Mariners on their toes. The Mariners just didn’t have anything left to answer the Reds run total. The Reds seemed to just gobble up any ball that was put in play by the Mariners. The loss was tough for the kids to swallow only because they were just one win away from the championship. But like the champs they are, our Mariners congratulated the Reds on a great tournament and gracefully and proudly accepted the 2nd place trophy. When addressing his disappointed team after the game, Coach Wiley commended the team for having had such a fantastic season. He told them that they should all be proud of what they had accomplished and should leave the field with there head held high. Wiley went on to say that everyone contributed during the season and the tournament, which is why they had the season they did. In one final note, Mike Wiley took home the offensive MVP award and Hayden Peiker grabbed the honor of defensive MVP in the city tournament. It was a great year Mariners, you should all be proud.