M's Shuffle the Cards. Deal a Big Win.

The Mariners got their season off to a rousing start with a come-from-behind, 17-7 victory over the Cardinals. The game started off slow as Adam Gilbert was pitching very well for the Cards and put them ahead 4-1.

But these Mariners know how to put runs on the board! Every Mariner got on base and nearly every Mariner had a hit in the game. Patch Miller and Nate Calderon had the loudest hits as they both smashed the ball past the outfielders and had hits on multiple at bats. Matt Condrin had some very important hits to lead the comeback. His hit into left field gave the M's the lead for good in the 5th inning. Ryan Maves hit in the last inning was his first since getting hit in the face with a pitch a week ago. That was a great sign for his season to come.

Tyler Nelson had a big game on his birthday to earn "M of the Game" honors. He had two hits and scored three runs. He also made a nice basket catch on a pop up in the 6th inning.

Ted Giberson put on an impressive pitching display, needing only 31 pitches to get 8 outs. Jack Kotal pitched a scoreless 6th inning for the Save. There were also some great defensive plays. Peter Edelmayer made a super play to end a bases loaded rally in the first by charging a ball that Nate had knocked down in front of second base and throwing to first to end the inning. Jacob Nelson made a perfect play on a grounder to end the game.

Next up are the Yankees right after Opening Day Ceremonies!

Better Know a Mariner - Peter Edelmayer

"Pistol Pete" Edelmayer is a 10 year old, 4th grader at Del Dayo. This will be his second season in minors having played with T-Bone Nelson on the Giants last year before Scott Boras was able to negotiate an Arden Little League record free agent bubble gum and snow cone contract with the Mariners for the pair.

With his future set, Peter can hardly wait for the start of the season. He enjoys team sports of all kinds and the chance to hang out with his buddies. He is a real team player, always willing to pitch in at any position to help out. Off the field, when he's not devoting himself to his studies, you can find Peter staking out a fishing hole behind Rio, hucking big air in the terrain park at Northstar, or enjoying a healthy debate with his his older, 6th grade brother Alec. Downtime usually involves spending time with his two dogs Knuckles and Roxy and his corn snake Scales.

March Mariner Madness

There are a lot of dates and events to remember this month as the baseball season stars to gain steam. No two days are the same! Here's a list of how to spend your baseball time this month.

Wed, March 11th - Practice pushed back to 6:00. (Thank you Daylight Savings Time!) Practice ends at 7:00. Coach John will be throwing some batting practice at the batting cage at 5:30, so if you want to drop off early for some extra swings, please do.

Sat, March 14th - 8:00 - Field work day. Arden Little League has the best fields around and that is from the efforts of our parent volunteers. Whether you can spare 30 minutes or 3 hours, any time you can spare would be much appreciated.

Sat, March 14th - 2:00 - Regular practice that ends at 3:00. I'll be there at 1:30 throwing some batting practice in the batting cage to anyone who shows early.

Tues, March 17th - No formal Mariner events, but take some time out of your day to toast our own Patrick O'Miller.

Wed, March 18th - 5:30 - Scrimmage with the Yankees. The plan is to play two simultaneous 2 inning games. Then hold practice after the scrimmage until 7:00.

Sat, March 21 - 5:00 - Pre-Season game against the Cubs. Please be at the field at 4:30 so the kids can warm up.

Tues, March 24 - 5:00 - First game of the season! Please be at the field at 4:30 so the kids can warm up.

Thurs, March 26 - 6:00 - Practice at Mariemont Elementary until 7:00. We will try to practice at the backstop nearest the Fitch Way entrance to the school.

Sat, March 28 - 10:00 - Opening Ceremonies on the White Field.

Sat, March 28 - 11:30 - Right after the Ceremonies, we play on the blue field against the Yankees. We're sure to have a large crowd of post ceremony revelers anxious to watch some baseball!

Tues, March 31 - 5:15 - Game against the Cubs. Have your Mariner to the field by 4:45 so he can warm up.

Sounds like a lot of time at Valley Oak! Stu will be sending out information regarding field preparation duties, snack bar shifts and the all important snack tickets next week.

Go M's!

Better Know A Mariner - Tyler Nelson

This will be Tyler's second year in the Minor divison. He was on the Giants last year. T-Bone is an energetic boy and I expect his enthusiasm will be contagious. He is a very fast runner and makes excellent contact on the ball when hitting.

Away from the field, Tyler plays Arden Park soccer and will hopefully be a member of the fledgling Mariemont Flag Football team in the fall. (Check with Coach Mike for more info!) Also, his cute little mug has led him to bit of a modeling career appearing in national ads for Clorox and Sprint. "Tylander" and both his siblings have modeled in the past. Ty's favorite sports are football (he's a big Charger fan) and baseball. He is an accomplished dirt bike rider and has been shredding up dirt tracks in Nor Cal since he was 4 years old. Tyler is a Blue Belt in Karate, an animal lover and a phenomenal reader. Tyler is not shy. He is very social and will often strike up long conversations with adults. He loves making new frineds with kids of all ages.

His younger brother Blake (1st grade) is playing T-Ball this spring on the Scrappers. His older sister, Lauren (7th grade) is an excellent musician winning Mr. Teague's band scholarship last year and is nearing her black belt in Kenpo Karate.

Tyler's dad is breaking the glass ceiling for us dads by being the team parent this year. Stuart will be getting out information soon regarding the parent participation that is required for the league. He has broken down barriers to allow me to be the team parent for Ryan's brother's major division team this year. Walk tall, brother Stu.

Better Know A Mariner - Patch Miller

Born in San Francisco, raised inNashville and now back in California to rescue the state's economy by having his parents buy more and more legos and Wii games, Patrick Miller (you can call him "Patch") is excited to be a Mariner (although he's not quite sure what a "Mariner" is).

Patch and his family moved from Nashville (after his career in country music failed) to the Del Dayo area in the Summer of '07. He played for the Nixon/Edwards/Moebs Indians last Spring. He had a great time with that team and is looking forward to facing them (now the Red Sox) this year to show them what a Mariner can do (whatever it is that a Mariner does). While living in Nashville, he played baseball for several seasons, as well as a little soccer, flag football, and basketball.

He's in fourth grade at Del Dayo and his favorite subject is Recess. He's starting to take guitar lessons (the real guitar, not Guitar Hero) and has some of the best "knock knock" and "yo mama" jokes around. When it comes to dance-moves, this kid can do "the worm" like he was born to do it. Patch loves his dog (Stella), although he's not a huge fan of picking up her, well, "duty". His older brother, Danny (now in the Majors), played last year against Patch and was kind enough to bean him with a fastball. While Patch could have charged the mound, he refrained and gladly took first base without further incident (until the boys got home).

Patch is looking forward to a fun and respect-filled season with the Mariners.