Juneau escapes West to advance in Matson Invitational

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Posted by Ronan Klancher | Jul 24, 2022

Matson Invitational

Juneau 5, West 4
Joey Walker had a quality start for West, shutting out the Midnight Suns for 4 innings, until Juneau rallied for 3 in the 5th. 

Oliver Mendoza got the scoring started in the 5th with a deep sacrifice fly, bringing in Madden Mendoza. Kai Schmidt tacked on a much needed insurance RBI double in the bottom of the 6th, which ended up being the deciding run. 

Evan Fitzgerald had 2 RBI for the Eagles, who battled throughout the tournament and made it close in the end, having the tying run on base after scoring two in the seventh inning. 

Juneau will go on to face Ketchikan in a rematch from earlier in the tourney, when Ketchikan scraped by with a 2-0 win. 

The winner of the game tomorrow will face Wasilla in the Matson championship. 

Juneau (15-12)

Porter Nelson 3/4 RBI

Oliver Mendoza 1/4 RBI, 2B

Kai Schmidt 2/4 RBI, 2B

West (8-24)

Gabe Catternichio 2/3, 2R, BB

Joey Walker 4.67IP, 5K

Evan Fitzgerald 2/4, 2RBI

Fairbanks 7, North Pole 4

Shaun Conwell had 2 RBI, and Olav Moeller along with Landon Bicknell-Long allowed 1 earned run as the 49ers ended their season with a win in the Matson Invitational consolation game. 

Both teams were eliminated as of yesterday, and you can tell, they wanted to win, but had fun in the process. 

Familiar with each other from the Golden Heart City, Fairbanks Post 11 and North Pole Post 30 ended the season with smiles; which is what baseball is about. 

Fairbanks (7-19)

Shaun Conwell 2-4 2RBI

Landon Bicknell-Long 1IP, SV

Olav Moeller 6IP, 5K, ER

North Pole (8-21)

John Haas RBI

Ethan Frollo 1-4

Aaron Ziesel 1-2 BB