That's precisely why Homer High coach Lary Kuhns smiles when he thinks about his team's first home stand of the season.

The Mariners, now 6-1, swept a pair of games with Houston on Thursday and Friday and then went on to split a Saturday doubleheader with Colony.

The Mariners made easy work of Houston, winning by tallies of 11-1 on Thursday and 17-7 on Friday.

On the mound in the first game, Ben Kuhns baffled the Houston hitters allowing eight hits and one run in six innings. Adam Crum hit a home run and scored a pair of runs, while Joe Todd was two for three with two RBIs and a run scored.

In Friday's game, Kuhns feasted on the Hawks' pitching, hitting a pair of home runs, a double and drawing a walk in five trips to the plate. David Drake added a couple of doubles, while the Mariners took full advantage of eight walks and 10 errors handed out by Houston.

Colony proved a tougher match-up.

In Saturday's opener, the Mariners overcame a 4-run deficit to pull out a 6-5 victory in extra innings, a triumph Lary Kuhns called "a sweet, sweet win."

David Drake drove in the game-winning RBI with a single in the eighth.

Kuhns credited Josh Fraley, who was spelling Adam Crum at first base, with the game's big defensive play. Fraley's diving stab in the sixth ended a Knight rally and stranded a pair of base runners, both of whom would have likely scored on a screamer that was labeled for the right field corner.

In the nightcap, Colony prevented the sweep with a 5-2 win, though the Mariners managed to bring the tying run to the plate in the seventh.

This weekend the Mariners, who lost out on a State Tournament bid last year when a tie-breaking coin toss went against them, hope to sew up a post-season berth as they close the season at home against Kodiak and Valdez.