The boys are back in town

The last year was a tough one for Tony Perez.

Perez was set to take over as manager for the Grand Lake Mariners for the 2020 season after being an assistant coach the previous season.

Then COVID-19 struck and shut down everything.

"I'm from Texas, so everything was shut down. We couldn't do anything," said Perez. "Lot of home time. I coach at the high school level, so our season was canceled and school was canceled except for online. So it was definitely an adjustment."

When the call came for him to come back this season to coach the Mariners, Perez couldn't wait.

"To actually have kids on the field, it's nice that these kids could travel from Texas, Louisiana, all over Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee," said Perez. "We have a good mixture. It's fun to see them interact. They're nice kids that want to play baseball. They live it, love it and want to do it hour after hour. That's expected because it was taken away for a year. They're not taking it for granted."

The Mariners, although the full team is not together yet, came into town over the Memorial Day weekend and had a couple of practices heading into tonight's 7 p.m. exhibition game against the Portland Rockets at Montgomery Field.

Perez hopes to see the team gel quickly for the 42-game season spanning June and July.

"Being they're from different programs and do things different, we hope they communicate and bond as a team," said Perez. "Even though they're together for just two months, if they can bond early, that goes a long way for the season because teams that bond usually win."

The Mariners return four players from the 2019 with Versailles graduate Noah Richard joined by Donnie Stone, Jordan Bekier and Noah Thigpen.

Coldwater grad Grant Meyer is the lone Mercer County-area player and will look to get pitching time.

While Perez is happy with what he sees with hitting and defense, he feels the pitching will be a major factor for the team to do well.

"Offensively and defensively, it will be fun to watch," said Perez. "Truthfully, we lost some arms because they were shut down or injured. When it comes to this level, kids get injured. You have to be flexible and connections to make calls day in and day out just to get healthy guys to Celina so we can move forward and play."

The 2021 Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League season gets underway Friday night as the Mariners travel to Lima to face the rival Locos. The home schedule starts this weekend with a home game Saturday with the Galion Graders and followed by a Sunday afternoon game with the Muskegon Clippers.

The league has 14 teams this season split between North and South divisions with teams playing all their games within the division. New to the North Division this season are the Sandusky Ice Haulers and Jet Box out of Michigan. Also in Michigan, Royal Oak returns after playing several seasons ago as the Irish Hills Leprechauns.

Home game admission is $5 with preschool children admitted free. "The Galley" beer garden will be open along the first base line serving up beer from local breweries.

MEET THE MARINERS NIGHT - The Mariners will have a meet the team event for all fans on Thursday at Brew Nation from 6-8 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

2021 Mariners Schedule:
June

4  at Lima

5  Galion

6  Muskegon (4 p.m.)

8  at Jet Box

9  at Sandusky

10  at Lima

11  at Galion

12  Sandusky

13  Royal Oak (4 p.m.)

15  at Michigan Monarchs

16  at Lima

17  at Muskegon (6 p.m.)

18  at Galion

19  at Sandusky

20  at Jet Box (4 p.m.)

22  Royal Oak

23  Lima

24  Galion

25  Michigan

26  at Sandusky

27  at Muskegon (4 p.m.)

29  at Royal Oak

30  Lima
July

1  Galion

2  Sandusky

3  at Lima

4  Jet Box (4 p.m.)

6  at Michigan Monarchs

7  Galion

8  Sandusky

9  Lima

10  Galion

11  Jet Box (4 p.m.)

13  Muskegon (6 p.m.)

14  at Sandusky

15  Lima

16  at Galion

17  Sandusky

18  Michigan Monarchs (4 p.m.)

22  at Royal Oak

23  at Galion

24  at Lima

Games begin at 7 p.m.
unless indicated.
Home games at Montgomery Field.