MARYSVILLE, CA (MPG) - The Marysville Drakes got off to a hot start as they began their inaugural season in the Pecos League with an outrageous amount of offensive production of 52 runs in their first three games from May 25-27.

Fans were treated to an opening night thriller that lasted nearly four hours on Thursday, May 25 when Marysville laid it on the Dublin Leprechauns 26-6.

The Pecos League is a 16-team independent baseball league that includes eight teams in California to make up the Pacific Division and eight teams than span across Arizona to Oklahoma to make up the Mountain Division.

As players are assembled onto rosters from all around the country, the Drakes are fortunate to have four players that are from the local proximity of the area.

Marysville infielders Erik Mitchell, Earl Johnson Jr., Joe Starick and outfielder Jalen Gordon are the local players and they all had support throughout the opening weekend at Bryant Park.

Mitchell, who is from Live Oak, had the support of the entire freshman baseball team from Sutter High School came out on May 27 to cheer on their coach.

The consistent chatter and loud cheers for Mitchell throughout the evening brought smiles and laughs.

Mitchell played third base for the first two games and played second base last Saturday.

Johnson, who is out of Oroville, told Messenger Publishing Group (MPG) the comfortability of playing close to home and having the opportunity for family and friends to come out and support.

“It brings a different atmosphere knowing loved ones are watching you, it takes the stress out of it and makes it easier to play,” Johnson said. Johnson played for the Gold Sox previously last summer as well.

Starick had a stint with the Lincoln Potters in 2018. Starick expressed to MPG that they are going to progress through the season game by game by giving it all they have on the field.

Mitchell told MPG they have been working collectively as a club for less than two weeks together, but their team chemistry is on point with one another.

“We all gel well together, we have fun with one another and keep the atmosphere fun whether it’s in the dugout or the clubhouse,” Mitchell said.

The chemistry translated into the batter's box as they have crossed the plate 52 times in three games, including three consecutive game of runs in the double-digits and Drakes manager Bill Rogan said there are a lot of guys in the Pecos League that can hit.

Rogan added that the pitching overall from everyone will be better and progress through the season as this is the first time guys are pitching to live hitters.

With Marysville off to a 3-0 start, Rogan told MPG the importance of depositing wins in case of slumps in the future is huge especially with the season big being 50 games.

“You want to accumulate as many deposits as you can, so if we do happen to slump, we can withstand it,” Rogan said.

Some notable first moments in Drakes history include the first run scored by outfielder Drake Ayala along with the first pitching win went to starting pitcher Evan Nakagawa on May 25.

Ayala picked up the first stolen base for Marysville on May 26 against the Martinez Sturgeon.

The first home run for the Drakes happened Saturday, May 27 when Drakes outfielder Lyndon Weaver hit the ball off the left field foul pole. Weaver told MPG that he sat back and put a level swing on the ball to help it lift it for a line drive.

Weaver has a notebook that he writes in after every at-bat of what he liked in the previous set of swings and uses it as a scouting tool for future opponents.

“I’ve been doing it for a little over two years and it helps me get an idea of what I could be seeing at the plate,” Weaver said.

Weaver added that all the guys on the Marysville roster are there to have fun and play baseball.