News

Ever since Brody Jessee entered the pro ranks his career has taken an upward trajectory.

The rocket right-handed relief pitcher has gone from rookie level to Single-A to High-A in the span of 22 games.

Jessee ended his rookie season with a promotion to the Dayton Dragons of the Midwest League as he continued his rapid rise in the Cincinnati Reds farm system.

The 6-foot-4 hurler was a 10th round draft pick out of Gonzaga University by way of South High in 2022 and pitched two games at the rookie level.

But this year was really his rookie campaign, and the 22-year-old threw the ball well despite missing two months with an injury.

Jessee made 20 appearances and finished with a 1-0 record, three saves and 1.83 ERA. He struck out 55 batters in 34.1 innings.

He pitched in 17 games with the Daytona Tortugas at Single-A, where he enjoyed most of his success.

He spent only two games at the rookie level Arizona Complex League after coming off the DL and then finished the season at High-A Dayton.

The promotion was a tip-of-the-cap to Jessee from the Reds’ organization.

The Joseph T. Craig Post 3 building in Ketchikan was destroyed by fire over the weekend and arson is believed to be the cause, according to the local police department.

The fire started sometime Sunday morning and was contained around 6:30 a.m., but the damage had been done to the 104-year-old structure.

“This is a devastating lost for both the community, state and the American Legion,” said Kelly Peterson of the American Legion Department of Alaska.”

The Joseph T. Craig Post 3 building opened on Sept. 9, 1919, and was the oldest American Legion post in Alaska.

“The building was a main stay in the community being used by many organizations for meetings and functions,” said Peterson. “It had a longtime history and many artifacts that were lost.”

By Sunday night, Ketchikan police had made an arrest and charged a 28-year-old man with first-degree arson and reckless endangerment.

The building was more than just a structure – it was the heart of the community.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to the American Legion family in Ketchikan,” Peterson said. “The Department of Alaska and many Post are there to support Ketchikan Post in their rebuilding of their home post.”

Dimond, Palmer and Wasilla are each in need of a volunteer post manager.

Can you help?

Preferred candidate would have head coaching experience or 3 years as an assistant coach. Experienced with high school age athletes. Must be able to work with the program’s business agent. Must follow and comply with all rules and policies of the American Legion, Anchorage School District and ASAA.

The person selected must promote good sportsmanship, mentorship and understand their role in guiding the student athlete. Will be required to make in-state travel and potential regional tournament in Lower 48.

Must have NFHS Certificates for completing the following courses:
Fundamentals of Coaching
Concussion in Sports
Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Current First Aid Training Certificate

Wasilla Post 35
If you are interested, contact Jim Pisa
907-723-2964
j.e.pisa@hotmail.com

Post 21 Dimond
If you are interested, contact Russ Baker
russ.aklegion@gmail.com

Post 15 Palmer
If you are interested, contact Russ Baker
russ.aklegion@gmail.com

A couple of Legion standouts from Anchorage have proven to be effective football players, too.

South's Landon Drumm and West's Sam Zieserl both made big plays over the weekend in the Cook Inlet Conference.

Drumm, a wide receiver in football and outfielder in baseball, made six catches for 157 yards and a touchdown in a 42-14 loss to East.

Drumm hauled in an 88-yard score in highlight-reel fashion as quarterback Cole Yarrington threw the ball from near his own goal line and hit Drumm in stride at the 30. That’s when Drumm turned on the jets to leave the East defensive back in his dust.

Drumm was responsible for the lion’s share of Yarrington’s 185 passing yards.

For West, Zieserl played plays on special teams and defense.

He returned the second half's opening kickoff 31 yards to kick start a scoring drive that put the Eagles up three scores en route to a 34-20 win over Lathrop.

Zieserl, an outfielder on the baseball field, tracked down an interception, one of five for West defense.

Zieserl also broke up a fourth-down pass in the end zone to save a TD.

Brody Jessee had to work for his first professional save.

The 22-year-old right-hander from Anchorage needed 49 pitches to get through two innings for the Daytona Tortugas and nail down Friday’s 3-1 victory over the Jupiter Hammerheads in the Single-A Florida State League.

Jessee scattered a hit and three walks while striking out two and wigging out of two-on jams in both innings.

He lowered his ERA to 1.83 in 24.1 innings across 16 appearances this year. He has 38 strikeouts.

Jessee, of South High fame, is in his second season of pro ball after being a 10th-round draft pick in 2022 out of Gonzaga University.

He is the 14th Alaskan to record a save in a pro game – the first since 2018 when Juneau’s Dylan Baker registered eight saves for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers.

Soldotna’s Chris Mabeus is Alaska’s all-time leader with 34 saves from 2001 to 2005.

The state’s single-season record is held by Juneau’s Chad Bentz, who had 16 saves for the Double-A Harrisburg Senators in 2003. That same year Mabeus had 13 saves for the Double-A Midland Rockhounds.

For a team marred by heartbreaking defeats, this one was especially gut wrenching.

A two-out error cost the Service Cougars in Tuesday’s title game of the Northwest Class A Regional Tournament as Redmond, Oregon, capitalized on the fielding mistake to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning and win 8-6 at American Legion Field in Havre, Montana.

Redmond tacked on an insurance run on a wild pitch, but the damage had been done as the Oregonians won their fifth straight tournament game and beat Service for the second time in as many days, both times fighting back from a four-run deficit.

It was a stinging setback for the Cougars, who had tied it 6-6 with two outs in the top of the sixth and were gunning for Alaska’s first regional championship at the Legion level.

They had dusted themselves off after losing the state tournament title game 1-0 two weeks ago on a no-hitter and charged into the NWCART title game, only to lose on a gut punch.

In a matter of moments, the Cougars went from on top of the world, after left field Trevor Maltby threw out the tying run at the plate for the second out of the inning, to feeling the weight of the world, after the error came two batters later.

Service had shifted its shortstop directly behind the bag, so when the batter smacked a grounder right to him, it looked like genius coaching. But the ball took a bad hop on the dirt field, bounced off his glove and ricocheted into the outfield to allow the go-ahead run to score.

There’s plenty of blame to go around when a team blows a 5-1 lead. However, the loss shouldn’t take the shine off the team’s sparkling effort at a regional tournament that has long haunted teams from The Last Frontier.

From 1998 to 2008, Alaska teams didn’t win a game at the NWCART. In 2009, the Fairbanks 49ers became the first Alaska team to make the tournament’s final four. In 2019, the Wasilla Road Warriors became the first Alaska team to advance to the title game, losing 6-0 to Layton, Utah.

This time, Alaska put up a half dozen runs and tied the game 6-6 in the sixth inning on Hunter Christian’s two-out RBI.

Since 2015, Alaska teams have earned 10 wins at the NWCART against Lower 48 teams compared to six wins from 1998 to 2014. Progress comes slowly and is usually grueling.

SWEET SIXTEEN
NWCART wins for Alaska coaches vs. Lower 48
5 – Willie Paul, Service
4 – Ken Ottinger, Wasilla
2 – Vic Aure, Fairbanks
2 – Russ Baker, South
2 – Andy Macauley, Juneau
1 – Chris Williams, South

Service (28-10) tied the game 1-1 in the second inning on Landon Martindale’s sac fly and took a seemingly comfortable 5-1 lead on Martindale’s two-out, two-run single in the third.

The four-run rally by the Cougars in the third inning was kickstarted by Kolby Jensen, the only Service player to hit safely in all five NWAC games. He finished 9-for-18.

Another player instrumental in Service’s tournament run was Martindale, an outfielder turned catcher who filled in behind the plate for the first time since Little League. Not only did he not allow a stolen base in the title game, but he also knocked in three runs.

Christian, the state tournament MVP, also stood tall. He pitched five innings in the title game, leaving the mound down 6-5 but then delivering the game-tying hit to even up the score.

In the end, Redmond did what it had done the entire tournament – come from behind. In the early game Tuesday, Redmond rallied from a 7-1 deficit to beat Coeur d’Alene 12-7 to reach the final.

In the title game, the Oregonians scored seven of their eight runs with two outs in support of a pitching staff that started with Tatum Aeschliman and finished with Aiden Gebhard.

Aeschliman went the first five innings, scattering five hits and five walks. He retired the final seven batters he faced. Gebhard, a hard-throwing lefty, struck out five batters in his two innings out of the bullpen.

With the Cougars trailing 6-5 with two outs in the sixth, Jake Rafferty fought off a high fastball to flare a single to right field. The big man struggled offensively in the tournament, finishing 2-for-14, but he came through when it mattered.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound first baseman also scored the tying run after booking it from second on Christian’s single. As he rounded third, he had a look of determination like he would have charged through a wall to score. It was a big moment for the Alaskans as their dugout erupted in celebration.

The loss dropped Service to 5-6 at the NWCART under head coach Willie Paul, who has posted a state-best 187 Legion victories since 2014.

Service 014 001 0 – 6 7 2
Redmond 101 042 x – 8 11 3
Service – Christian, A.Hickman (6) and Martindale. Redmond – Aeschliman, Gebhard (6) and C. Horner, Aeschliman (6). W – Gebhard. L – A.Hickman. 2B – Gebhard (R), W. Horner (R), Pupo (R). 3B – None. HR – None.

It’s a good thing this game didn’t matter for the Service Cougars.

With the previously undefeated Cougars already guaranteed a spot in the Northwest Class A Region Tournament final, they could afford to take their foot off the gas pedal for Monday night’s game against Redmond, Oregon.

Redmond, on the other hand, was a one-loss team playing to keep its championship hopes alive and it showed as the Oregonians fought back for a 13-6 victory under the lights in Havre, Montana.

This was the second-highest scoring contest among the 13 games played at this year’s NWCART, thanks largely to a big first inning that featured nine combined runs. That set the tone.

Service (28-9) saved its pitching for Tuesday’s title game that will take place 30 minutes after Redmond and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, square off at 10 a.m. ADT. The winner of that game will play the Cougars for all the marbles around 12:30 p.m.

This will be the second time an Alaska team has reached the title game of this regional tournament, the first coming in 2019, when Wasilla lost 6-0 to Layton, Utah.

Service built leads of 4-0 and 6-5 early against Redmond starting pitcher Aiden Cooley, who took a lickin’ and kept on tickin.’

The lefty faced 10 batters in the first inning and seven more in the second inning before flipping the script and throwing five scoreless frames en route to a 99-pitch CG.

Meanwhile, Service needed four pitchers to get through six innings and kicked the ball around a little defensively with three errors. It was their worst effort in nine postseason games dating back to the state tournament.

To be fair, the game was meaningless for the Cougars, so that probably played a factor in the letdown after winning their first three tournament games by a 14-5 margin.

The Alaskans came out swinging as they produced four singles and a line-drive out eight batters into the game to power a 4-0 lead. Outfielder Andrew Hickman got an RBI single for his first hit in eight tournament at-bats and outfielder Hunter Huelskoetter singled in another run in his first plate appearance of the NWCART.

It felt like everybody was going to hit as Service’s offense started to flex its muscle. In the second, Hickman had another RBI single and Michael Sculley drove in a run on a sac fly for his first RBI of the tournament as Service went ahead 6-5.

The lead didn’t last.

The Oregonians scored seven runs in the third after putting the first six batters on base. They got it done with bunts and a blast.

They laid down three picture-perfect bunts in the same spot up the third-base line. They were so good that two of them didn’t even draw a throw from the defense.

With the bases juiced, Redmond went to work and pieced together a go-ahead rally. The Oregon champions cracked double figures on Aiden Gebhard’s three-run triple. Earlier in the game he ripped a 350-foot foul ball home run.

Service relief pitchers Hickman and Huelskoetter held Redmond off the scoreboard for the final 2.2 innings.

Defensively there were a few forgettable plays by the Cougars, but there were also two web gems.

In the second, first baseman Kolby Jensen picked a one-hopper and gunned down a runner at the plate. In the fifth, Redmond’s Eli Pupo ripped a groundball that bounced off Service shortstop Chase Mascelli, but second baseman Hunter Christian backed him up, collected the carom and threw out the runner for a 6-4-3 putout.

Speaking of web gems, Redmond center fielder Gebhart robbed Hickman of extra bases in the seventh with a great catch. Hickman finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Jensen stayed scorching hot, going 3-for-4 to raise his team-leading tournament batting average to .571 on 8-for-14 hitting.

Fournier went 1-for-3 with a walk, making him 6-for-15 (.400) in the tournament. He also leads the team with five RBIs; Hickman and Mascelli are second with three.

Jensen and Fournier are the only two Service players to have a hit in each of the team’s four NWCART games.

Service 420 000 0 – 6 9 3
Redmond 507 100 x – 13 11 3
Service – Trey Maltby, Trevor Maltby (3), A.Hickman (4), Huelskoetter (6) and Fournier. Redmond – Cooley and Aeschliman. W – Cooley. L – Trey Maltby. 2B – Altizer (R). 3B – Gebhard (R). HR – None.

The Service Cougars are all smiles are clinching a berth in the NWCART title game in Havre, Montana.

Their pitching and defense seem to be there every night, but when the Service Cougars get into a groove offensively, they are a team you don’t want to mess with.

The Powell Pioneers of Wyoming found out on Sunday night.

Service scored in each of the first five innings and put 16 batters on base en route to building an eight-run lead and winning 8-4 in a battle of unbeatens on Day 3 of the Northwest Class A Regional Tournament in Havre, Montana.

Kolby Jensen pitched five shutout innings to pick up the win, Chase Mascelli and Sebastian Fournier stayed hot at the plate, and Jake Rafferty broke out of his mini slump as the Cougars (28-8) moved to 3-0 in the tournament and guaranteed a spot in Tuesday’s title game.

But there are no off days for the Alaskans, who play Monday night against one-loss Redmond (OR) at 5 p.m. ADT.

Whatever happens, they are assured to play for a regional championship trophy on Tuesday, something that has happened only once in Alaska Legion history (Wasilla advanced to the NWCART final in 2019).

Service joined that Wasilla squad as the only two Alaska teams all-time to win three games at a regional tournament.

Northwest Class A Regional Tournament
@ Havre, Montana
SUNDAY
Loser’s Bracket
Redmond (OR) 8, Belgrade (MT) 6
Coeur d’Alene (ID) 15, Havre (MT) 8
Winner’s Bracket
Service (AK) 8, Powell (WY) 4
MONDAY
2pm ADT Coeur d’Alene (ID) vs. Powell (WY)
5pm ADT Redmond (OR) vs. Service (AK)
TUESDAY
Championship Game
Service (AK) vs. TBD

Service came into Sunday’s game having scored a combined six runs in two tournament games but equaled that total by the third inning against Powell, which needed three pitchers to get nine outs.

Mascelli, the team’s leadoff hitter, laid down another beautiful bunt for a single to get the party started. After Carson Maltby’s sac bunt, Jake Rafferty rocked an RBI double to the right center gap, snapping an 0-for-7 skid.

Three batters later, Fournier knocked in two runs with a two-out base knock as Service’s lead swelled to 3-0 in the first.

In the second, Landon Martindale slapped a leadoff double down the left-field line and came home on Mascelli’s RBI single. In the third, Mascelli’s sac fly pushed the lead to 6-0.

Meanwhile, Jensen was putting goose eggs up on the scoreboard. The wiry, 5-foot-11 right-hander pitched a 1-2-3 first, worked around a bases-loaded jam in the second and got an 8-3-2 relay to chop down a runner at the plate in the third.

Powell opened the third with back-to-back singles, a recipe for a rally. But Jensen buckled down, getting two infield pop ups before the play at the plate.

Wyoming’s Dalton Worstel singled up the middle and it looked like the Pioneers would cash in on a little two-out magic, but Service’s defense had other ideas.

Center fielder Carson Maltby fired the ball to the cutoff man, first baseman Rafferty, who rifled the relay to catcher Martindale, who tagged out Brock Johnson just before he slid into home.

Bing, bang, boom. The play was poetry in motion.

Martindale, who is playing behind the plate for the first time since Little League as Service is down to its emergency backstop, caught a 1-hitter on Day 1, threw out a baserunner on Day 2 and made a play at the plate on Day 3. No big deal.

Jensen retired six of the final seven batters he faced in the fourth and fifth. His RBI single in the fourth pushed the lead to 8-0 as Service was on the verge of becoming the first Alaska team since 2003 to beat a Lower 48 team by the run-rule at the NWCART.

Jensen has been huge for Service in the regional, racking up a save and win on the mound and going 5-for-10 at the plate. It should come as no surprise given the rising senior is the grandson of Tony Wylie, an iconic Alaska baseball scout and coach who led East to four consecutive Legion state titles from 2003 to 2006.

It was a big night for legacy kids.

Fournier, whose dad Chris is a former UAA and Alaska Aces hockey player, finished the night with three RBIs. The second baseman is batting 5-for-12 in the tournament and leads the team with five RBIs.

Mascelli, whose dad Danny is a former Bartlett standout and current assistant coach for defending state champion South High, went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. He has reached base five times in the tournament.

And then there’s the Maltbys. Carson, Trey and Trevor are sons of Anchorage Bucs general manager Shawn Maltby and all three have chipped in at the NWCART. Carson and Trevor have started every game in the outfield, and both have reached base in all three games, while Trey picked up the save tonight.

He probably didn’t think he’d pitch when the Cougars were up 8-0 entering the seventh inning. But things happen, like six consecutive batters reaching base to turn a laugher into a nailbiter.

Service needed Michael Sculley, Fournier and Trey Maltby to get out of the final frame. Maltby came in with two outs and the tying run at the plate, but the Class of 2026 relief pitcher didn’t flinch.

Strike. Strike. Flyout.

Ball game.

Fist pump.

Powell 000 000 4 – 4 6 2
Service 312 220 x – 8 8 0
Powell – Queen, Greenwald (2), Welch (3), Loera (5) and Schwahn. Service – Jensen, Sculley (6), Fournier (7), Trey Maltby (7) and Martindale. W – Jensen. L – Queen. SV – Trey Maltby. 2B – Rafferty (S), Martindale (S). 3B – None. HR – None.

Playing under the lights in Big Sky country and getting another lights-out performance from ace Jake Rafferty, the Service Cougars on Saturday night rallied in the seventh inning to beat Belgrade (MT) 2-1 at the Northwest Class A Regional Tournament.

The Alaskans improved to 2-0 in the double-elimination tournament in Havre, Montana, where they are one win away from clinching a spot in the title game.

Rafferty reached 75 strikeouts on the season after recording seven punchouts in 6.2 innings. He carried a shutout into the fifth inning and gave up three hits, two walks and one run.

The only thing that slowed down the 6-foot-4 rocket right-hander was the pitch count as he came out after 108, striking out the final batter he faced.

Kolby Jensen closed it out for the save, working around a two-out double to end it on a groundball to third baseman Hunter Christian.

Jensen also kickstarted Service’s go-ahead rally in the top of the seventh with a leadoff single. He also scored the game-winning run on Chase Mascelli’s RBI for the Cougars (27-8).

NWCART @ Havre, Montana
SATURDAY
Loser’s Bracket
Coeur d’Alene (ID) 6, Idaho Falls (ID) 0
Redmond (OR) 12, Ridgeline (UT) 2
Winner’s Bracket
Service (AK) 2, Belgrade (MT) 1
Powell (WY) 4, Havre (MT) 3
SUNDAY
Loser’s Bracket
Redmond (OR) vs. Belgrade (MT)
Coeur d’Alene (ID) vs. Havre (MT)
Winner’s Bracket
Service (AK) vs. Powell (WY) 5pm ADT

Jensen atoned for a tough fielding night at first base in the fifth and sixth innings by playing hero in the seventh. He let a chopper down the line play him in the fifth that led to Belgrade’s only run and made a fielding error in the sixth.

The best thing about baseball is there’s always a second chance around the corner. The next day, the next play.

Jensen immediately made it right, leading off the seventh with an infield single after hustling out of the box. Then he avoided being doubled up between first and second base on a bunt that was almost caught but wasn’t. Then he scampered home from third base on Mascelli’s groundball to shortstop for the winning run.

The Montana shortstop was going to come home with the throw, but he couldn’t make the play cleanly. Credit Jensen’s hustle for putting pressure on the fielder and causing him to rush.

Jensen also gets a tip of the cap for securing Rafferty’s win after getting the final out with the tying run in scoring position.

With the victory, Service became the sixth Alaska team in 25 years to win at least two games at the NWCART. In 2019, Wasilla won three games and advanced to the title game – the first time a team from Alaska played for a regional championship at the Legion level.

WINNER’S CIRCLE
NWCART victories for Alaska coaches vs. Outside teams
4 – Willie Paul, Service
4 – Ken Ottinger, Wasilla
2 – Andy Macauley, Juneau
2 – Vic Aure, Fairbanks
2 – Russ Baker, South
1 – Chris Williams, South

Saturday’s game started four hours later than scheduled as rain pushed back the day’s schedule on the grass field with a dirt mound.

By the time the first pitch was thrown at 8:03 p.m. local time, it was dusk. By the second inning the lights were on, a rarity for a team from the Land of the Midnight Sun.

The Cougars sparkled under the lights.

Rafferty struck out five of the first 10 batters he faced. In the third, Mascelli made a full extension diving catch in left field from his shortstop position. In the fifth, catcher Landon Martindale threw out a runner trying to steal second base.

Service went ahead 1-0 in the third after Christian doubled and went to third after tagging on a flyout, barely beating the throw. He scored on Sebastian Fournier’s RBI single.

Belgrade pulled even in the fifth after Diego Casas doubled and scored on Keenan Kraft’s RBI base hit, a high chopper that bounced right on the line. Jensen, the starting right fielder who plays first when Rafferty pitches, didn’t attack the ball.

The play wasn’t easy, but nothing is in the postseason.

It was only the second run Service has allowed in its last 29 innings; the other run came on a passed ball in the state title game in a 1-0 loss.

Rafferty improved to 6-2 in nine starts this season, lowering his ERA to 1.15 and giving him 75 strikeouts in 48.1 innings pitched.

Mascelli not only drove in the winning run, dropped down a sac bunt and drew a walk, the all-star made six assists on defense. He robbed two hits, the final one coming on a leaping grab to end the sixth.

The Cougars beat Montana state tournament MVP Collin Delph, who struck out eight in 6.2 innings and took a hard-luck loss with only one of his two runs being earned.

The Bandits (33-11) turned two double plays and center fielder Aidan Kulbeck robbed Christian of extra bases with a nice running grab in the sixth, provoking Christian to tip his helmet in a sign of respect and sportsmanship.

Service 000 100 1 – 2 5 2
Belgrade 000 010 0 – 1 4 2
Service – Rafferty, Jensen (7) and Martindale. Belgrade – Delph, Arrants (7) and Casas. W – Rafferty. L – Delph. SV – Jensen. 2B – Christian (S), Casas 2 (B). 3B – None. HR – None.

Missing three starters didn’t disrupt the rhythm of the Service Cougars on Day 1 of the Northwest Class A Regional Tournament.

Neither did having to use its emergency catcher.

Service leaned on its trademark pitching as Hunter Christian and Jake Rafferty combined for a 1-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts in Friday’s 4-0 win over Couer d’Alene (ID) in Havre, Montana.

This was the second straight year the Cougars threw a shutout in the first game of the NWCART. Last year, Rafferty and two relievers beat Vernal (UT) 7-0.

This time Rafferty got the save, sealing the win for Christian, last week’s state tournament MVP, who improved to 3-0 in the postseason.

The 5-foot-11 right-hander struck out 10 in 5.1 innings and allowed one hit and two walks. The only hit came in the fourth inning, when Idaho’s Mark Holecek hit a sharp groundball under the glove of Rafferty at first base.

Christian struck out five straight near the end before coming out after 80 pitches. He was replaced by Rafferty, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound right-hander, who struck out the first two batters he faced to end the sixth inning with a runner on base.

He threw a 1-2-3 seventh to close out head coach Willie Paul’s third career NWCART victory against a Lower 48 team.

VICTORY LANE
NWCART wins for Alaska coaches vs. Outside teams
4 – Ken Ottinger, Wasilla
3 – Willie Paul, Service
2 – Andy Macauley, Juneau
2 – Vic Aure, Fairbanks
2 – Russ Baker, South
1 – Chris Williams, South

The Cougars (26-8) advanced in the winner’s bracket and will play Saturday against Belgrade (MT), a 5-0 winner over Idaho Falls (ID).

Service played without starters Coen and Rilen Niclai, who did not make the trip, and Owen Hickman, who is out with a broken thumb. Coen Niclai is the starting catcher and Hickman is the backup backstop; their absence forced Service to ask for volunteers and outfielder Landon Martindale begged for the job, Paul said.

The unsung hero of this victory, Martindale had not played behind the plate since Little League – and it showed as he froze after a few strikeouts, unsure which base to throw to for a traditional post-K around-the-horn. He even retrieved a ball that got to the backstop with nobody on base, rather than just asking the umpire for a new ball.

The 5-foot-9, 145-pounder stood tall during his on-the-job training. He caught a 1-hitter, allowed one passed ball and zero stolen bases as Couer d’Alene didn’t test him.

Then again, the Lumbermen (23-16) put only three runners on base.

Christian and Rafferty were that good. No surprise. They’ve been lights out all season.

DEALING ACES
Christian | 6-1 | 1.36ERA | 45K | 36IP
Rafferty | 5-2 | 1.18ERA | 68K | 41.2IP

Service’s victory was the 14th for an Alaska team over Outside competition at the NWCART since 1998, which is believed to be the first year the tournament included the state runner-up from The Last Frontier. By comparison, Alaska state champions have recorded 16 wins since 1954 at the Northwest Regional.

The difference in competition is massive as teams in the Northwest Regional draw from three and four high schools whereas teams in the NWCART draw from one high school like in Alaska.

The playing field is balanced in the NWCART, which is why you see Alaska teams fare so much better. In 2019, the Wasilla Road Warriors reached the title game, and four other teams have advanced to the final four – Fairbanks in 2009, South in 2013, Juneau in 2014 and Wasilla in 2021.

On Friday, Service struck for the game’s first run in the third inning after Rafferty led off with a walk and came around to score on Andrew Hickman’s sac fly.

Couer d’Alene left-handed pitcher Charlie Dixon racked up eight strikeouts through four innings and ended each frame with a punchout. At one point he fanned seven of 10 batters, five looking.

In the fifth, Service scored two runs as its lead swelled to 3-0. Carson Maltby reached on a hit by pitch and scored on an error and Sebastian Fournier banged out a two-out RBI single.

The Alaskans made it 4-0 in the sixth after Trevor Maltby singled, stole second base, went to third on Chase Mascelli’s beautiful bunt single and scored on Carson Maltby’s RBI groundout.

Mascelli, a Gold Glove shortstop, made a great play going to his left and making a strong throw to get the first out of the seventh inning and set the table for a clean inning.

Service 001 021 0 – 4 6 1
Couer d’Alene 000 000 0 – 0 1 3
Service – Christian, Rafferty (6) and Martindale. Couer d’Alene – Dixon, Kramer (6) and Franklin. W – Christian. L – Dixson. SV – Rafferty. 2B – None. 3B – None. HR – None.

The Eagle River Wolves were eliminated from the Northwest Regional on Thursday, but at least they went out swinging.

Shut out for the first 11 innings of the tournament, the Wolves finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth inning only to see Bellevue (WA) score three of its own in the bottom half to seal a 13-3 mercy-rule victory in the loser’s bracket in Gillette, Wyoming.

Gunner Mountcastle’s RBI double produced Eagle River's first run and Alex Mullen followed up with a two-run home run – the first long ball for an Alaska player at the Northwest Regional since Juneau's Kasey Watts in 2018 and only the second since East’s Juan Buck in 2003.

Mullen was one of the few bright spots for the Wolves, the reigning three-time Alaska state champs who finished the season 29-10.

He reached base in four of six plate appearances, the first three on walks.

Mullen, an all-state third baseman, did not hit a home run in 28 games during the regular season. But his bat has come alive in the postseason as he launched nukes at each of the state and regional tournaments.

Other than that, the Wolves’ offense was nothing to write home about.

They got five hits today after getting just three in Wednesday’s 7-0 loss to the Rocky Mountain Lobos of Ft. Collins, Colorado.

Dallin Roberts stayed hot, lining a single off the shortstop’s glove in the fourth inning. The infielder stretched out and almost made the catch but Roberts got just enough of it.

Roberts, a catcher, finished 3-for-6 in the tournament.

Right fielder Jack Molloy had another productive at-bat, beating out an infield single in the second inning on a groundball to the first baseman. Molloy, hustling the whole way, outraced the pitcher to the bag.

Bellevue starting pitcher Blake Peterson took the air out of Eagle River’s offense. A 6-foot-1 right-hander with good pop on his fastball and a beautiful curveball, he allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out five in 3.1 innings.

He needed just 42 pitches to get 10 outs.

Meanwhile, Eagle River ace Liam Lierman got knocked around for the first time this season. Bellevue jumped on the left-hander early, with the second batter of the game singling to snap Lierman’s 10-inning no-hit streak dating back to the state tournament.

When three-hole hitter Bryan Sfanos laced a double to left field to make it 1-0, it was just the seventh earned run Lierman had given up in 32 innings (1.53 ERA).

Lierman, a 6-foot Class of 2025 all-star, was untouchable in Alaska this year and pitched two no-hitters – one in high school and one in the Legion state championship game. When he’s on, he’s next level.

But the southpaw was never in sync against Bellevue.

Five of the first eight batters he faced reached base. He was called for two balks, hit a batter and walked three in 1.2 innings.

When the dust settled, the Wolves were down 6-0 and Lierman was out of the game. None of the other Eagle River pitchers fared any better.

The Washington state champs banged out 12 hits in five innings, including three doubles and a triple.

Eagle River 000 03 – 3 5 0
Bellevue 243 13 – 13 12 1
Eagle River – Lierman, Wallace (2), Mountcastle (4), Rose (5) and Roberts. Bellevue – Peterson, Clarke (4) and Varga. W – Clarke. L – Lierman. 2B – Sfanos (B), Dubreuil (B), Gullard (B), Freer (B). Mountcastle (ER). 3B – Freer (B). HR – A.Mullen (ER).

Rocky Mountain Lobos’ pitching silenced the Eagle River bats on Day 1 of the Northwest Regional as the Colorado state champions cruised to a 6-0 victory Wednesday in Gillette, Wyoming.

Starter Ross Frank and reliever Eric Berquist combined for a 3-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts as the Fort Collins club snapped the Wolves’ 13-game winning streak.

Frank, a 6-foot-2 right-hander, struck out seven of the first 11 batters he faced and got Landon Hudson to pop up to wiggle out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning.

Frank was effective, not electric; he used a funky three-quarters delivery to confuse and frustrate the Eagle River batters on his way to racking up nine strikeouts. He also worked quickly and dictated the tempo on most plate appearances.

He struck out the side on 12 pitches in the first inning and struck out two batters in each of the second, third and fifth innings. He picked up the win in 4.2 innings and was pulled after 77 pitches.

Eagle River’s luck didn’t change against Berquist, a 6-2 right-hander, who threw the final 2.1 innings.

Landon Hudson hammered a double on the first pitch he saw from Berquist, but the Alaskans stranded him after Liam Lierman’s line drive flyout to center field ended the inning.

The Wolves left six on base, including three in scoring position.

With the loss, Eagle River (26-9) slipped into the consolation bracket and will play Thursday against the loser between Bellevue (WA) and Gillette (WY).

Last year, Eagle River beat this same team 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning on Dalton Smith’s walk-off single that scored Jack Molloy with the winning run.

Molloy was back and this time he was on the mound. He pitched a 1-2-3 first inning and got a 6-4-3 double play and a strikeout in the second inning.

He also had one of his team’s best plate appearances of the day, earning a two-out walk in the second inning after winning a 9-pitch battle against Frank.

Molloy, a 5-foot-11 left-hander, ran into trouble at pitcher in the third inning as the Lobos used a double and three singles to take a 3-0 lead.

Those runs were the first given up in 12 innings by Eagle River pitching since the semifinals of the Alaska state tournament last month.

Tommy Molloy replaced his big bro on the mound and threw a 1-2-3 fourth frame. After getting the first two outs in the fifth, he issued back-to-back walks before Phoenix West ripped a ground-rule double that made it 4-0. Molloy struck out three-hole hitter Christian Wood to get out of it with runners at second and third.

The Lobos tacked on a pair of runs in the sixth, highlighted by a 390-foot triple by Brady Hall, who launched a laser over the center fielder’s head.

Eagle River’s Dallin Roberts finished 2-for-3 and Alex Mullen walked twice. Both guys got as far as third base.

In the second, Mullen walked, went to second on Roberts’ single and to third on Molloy’s walk. In the seventh, Roberts led off with a single, went to second on a wild pitch and stole third base.

Eagle River 000 000 0 – 0 3 0
Fort Collins 003 012 x – 6 8 0
Eagle River – J.Molloy, T.Molloy (4), Johannes (7), Rose (7) and Roberts. Fort Collins – Frank, Berquist (5) and Nelson. W – Frank. L – J.Molloy. SV – Berquist. 2B – Nelson (FC), Hudson (ER), West (FC), Lawing (FC). 3B – Hall (FC). HR – None.

Anchorage’s Brody Jessee probably doesn’t want July to end because he’s been marvelous this month.

The 22-year-old right-handed pitcher owns an outstanding 1.08 ERA in July and earned his first career win this week for the Daytona Tortugas of the Single-A Florida State League.

Jessee moved to 1-0 on the season after earning the decision in a 5-2 victory Sunday over the Jupiter Hammerheads following his 2.2 innings of work. He allowed two hits and one walk while striking out three.

The 6-foot-4 reliever from South High was summoned from the bullpen in the third inning with his team trailing 2-1. He retired the first batter he faced with a runner in scoring position to end the threat.

Jessee got out of the next two innings with a little help from his friends.

In the fourth, catcher Juan Garcia erased a runner with a caught stealing. In the fifth, second baseman Johnny Ascanio chopped down a runner at the plate.

Jessee was back on the mound last night in an 8-2 loss to the Lakeland Flying Tigers, giving up a run in his only inning of action to snap his 8.0-inning scoreless streak.

That’s the longest stretch he’s gone without giving up a run, bettering his 6.2-inning run earlier this year.

The 2022 10th round draft pick out of Gonzaga had missed two months of the season due to a stint on the DL before returning to the Cincinnati Reds’ farm system June 6.

Since then, the second-year pro has made 11 appearances and posted a 2.12 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 17 innings. Opponents are batting .196 against him.

Jessee became the 18th Alaska pitcher all-time to pick up a win at the pro level, the first to do so for an MLB affiliated team since 2018, when Juneau’s Dylan Baker secured a win for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers.

In May, during the high school season, Eagle River pitcher Liam Lierman threw a no-hitter in a 1-0 loss and it probably felt like he was under a black cloud.

Fast forward 10 weeks to Tuesday night at Mulcahy Stadium, where the hard-throwing left-hander tossed another no-hitter but this time his team prevailed 1-0 in the Alaska Legion state tournament championship game that had to put him on Cloud 9.

Lierman not only threw a no-no, but he also scored the game’s only run in the third inning on a passed ball as the Wolves held off Service by one run in the title game for the second consecutive season. Last year they walked off for a 4-3 win.

This time they did it with a no-hitter, securing Eagle River’s record 12th straight postseason victory and third straight state title as the Wolves joined West (1960s), East (2000s) and Juneau (2010s) as the only teams in the tournament’s 71-year history to three-peat.

Lierman sliced through a Service lineup that came into the final hitting .362 as a team and boasting two of the state’s most productive offensive stars in Jake Rafferty and Coen Niclai.

The southpaw silenced the Service bats, with Niclai being the only batter who had any success. He walked twice and barreled up one ball, lofting a high flyball to center field. It was the only flyout Lierman allowed. Otherwise, it was a steady diet of groundballs and strikeouts as the Wolves’ ace was in total shutdown mode.

Lierman struck out six and got four more outs on squibbers back to the mound, a sign of how difficult his pitchers were to square up.

This was the first no-hitter at the state tournament since 1992, when East’s Trajan Langdon, Sean Snowball and Ryan Hiller combined for a no-no in an 8-1 win over Kodiak.

For the last solo no-hitter, you must go all the way back to 1985, when Kodiak’s Bobby Blair fired a no-hitter in a 10-1 win over East. 

In other words, it was a historic performance by Lierman.

If there was a debate about who the best pitcher in Alaska was before this game, there isn’t any more. Lierman put that discussion to rest after throwing a no-hitter when it mattered most. He finished the tournament with a 2-0 record and did not give up a hit in 10 innings across two appearances to win the Top Pitcher Award.

Three times Service got the leadoff batter on base with a walk or hit by pitch, and all three times the Cougars executed a sac bunt to move the runner into scoring position. Get ‘em on, get ‘em over and get ‘em in is their MO, but they could never get the run home. 

In the third, Landon Martindale was stranded on third base. In the sixth, Rafferty was thrown out at third by Eagle River catcher Dallin Roberts after trying to advance on a pitch that skipped away. In the seventh, Rilen Niclai was doubled up at second after Kolby Jensen’s line drive was caught and flipped to the shortstop covering for a game-ending double play.

It was a brutal defeat for Rafferty, who lost on a passed ball. The rocket right-hander allowed four hits and three walks while striking out five. He allowed just three runners to reach second base.

In the third, Lierman drew a leadoff walk, went to second on Ryan Mullen’s sac bunt and advanced to third on Gunner Mountcastle’s groundball to second. 

Rafferty threw a fastball off the plate to cleanup hitter Alex Mullen that catcher Coen Niclai couldn't handle as it deflected off his glove, allowing Lierman to scoot home. Rafferty got Mullen to ground out on the very next pitch.

The Service pitcher threw three scoreless frames to end the game and finished the tournament with a 1-1 record and 0.68 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 10.1 innings.

Mullen was named the tournament’s Big Stick Award winner after hitting .333 with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs. In the awards ceremony, it was revealed that the Big Stick Award will be named after Tony Wylie, an iconic coach and scout in Alaska who passed away last year. 

Service’s Hunter Christian won the Ron LaPorte Most Valuable Player Award, a rarity for a player from a losing team. But he was overall the most dominant player in the six-day tournament.

The infielder had a 1.000 fielding percentage on 11 defensive chances. He batted .375 on 6-for-16 hitting with a tournament-best seven RBIs. At pitcher he went 2-0 with a 1.27 ERA in 11 innings and threw his team's first shutout at the state tournament in 25 years.

Service shortstop Chase Mascelli won the Gold Glove Award; his dad Danny was a Gold Glove infielder for Bartlett in the 1990s.

Eagle River head coach Bill Lierman captured his ninth career Legion title, having won three as a player at Chugiak, three as a coach at Chugiak and now three as a coach for the Wolves.

Lierman will lead Eagle River (26-8) back to the Northwest Regional in Gillette, Wyoming, where last year the Wolves became the 16th Alaska team since 1954 to pick up a win in the tournament that serves as a qualifier for the Legion World Series.

LEGION POSTSEASON
Alaska Wins @ Northwest Regional Since 1954
1973 – Fairbanks 10-6 Sheridan (WY)
1975 – Fairbanks 9-8 Great Falls (MT)
1976 – East 9-8 Billings (MT)
1980 – East 5-3 Billings (MT)
1981 – Bartlett 10-7 Casper (WY)
1983 – Juneau 6-5 Laramie (WY)
1983 – Juneau 15-7 Idaho (ID)
1986 – Dimond 2-1 Idaho Falls (ID)
1996 – Chugiak 17-7 Casper (WY)
1997 – Service 7-3 Sheridan (WY)
1998 – Chugiak 4-3 Missoula (MT)
2001 – Service 11-3 Sheridan (WY)
2003 – East 9-6 Whitefish (MT)
2009 – South 5-4 Cheyenne (WY)
2018 – Juneau 13-9 Missoula (MT)
2022 – Eagle River 3-2 Fort Collins (CO)

Alaska is one of four states that has never sent a team to the World Series, with the others being Vermont, New Mexico and Wyoming.

Service (25-8) will represent Alaska at the Northwest Class A Regional Tournament in Havre, Montana.

At last year’s NWCART, Rafferty and two relievers combined for a shutout as Service beat host Vernal, Utah, 7-0 on Day 1. It was the first shutout for an Alaska team at a regional tournament since 2014. That win coupled with Eagle River's victory in Wyoming was the first time since Alaska started sending teams to both Legion tournaments in 1998 that the state had two teams victorious at different regionals.

Service 000 000 0 – 0 0 1
Eagle River 001 000 x – 1 4 0
Service – Rafferty and C.Niclai. Eagle River – Lierman and Roberts. W – Lierman. L – Rafferty. 2B – None. 3B – None. HR – None.

It figured Wasilla's Pedro Camacho would be in the middle of the action in Tuesday's championship game of the Matson Invitational.

In 2021, he won the tournament's Big Stick Award. In 2022, he won the Gold Glove Award. And this year he was named Most Valuable Player.

Camacho singled on the first pitch of the game - snapping Juneau's 19-inning hitless streak - scored the first run and pitched 6.1 innings to lead the Road Warriors to a 4-2 victory over the Midnight Suns at Mulcahy Stadium.

The Class of 2023 right-hander struck out nine and allowed only two hits before giving way to reliever Ramon Guzman, who induced a double play to end the game.

With the win, Wasilla won the Matson for a third straight year and improved to 16-0 all-time in the tournament that celebrated its 10th year this season.

Chase Sivulich went 2-for-3 and won the Big Stick Award after batting .583 on 7-of-12 hitting.

Camacho carried a shutout into the sixth inning. In the fourth, he picked off a runner at third with the bases loaded to end the threat.

Camacho became the third straight Wasilla player to earn MVP honors, joining Jaren Venie (2022) and Nolan Murphy (2021).

Juneau came into the game riding a 19-inning hitless and scoreless streak that were both snapped in the first inning.

In the fourth, Wasilla scored three runs on an error, passed ball and wild pitch to take a 4-0 lead.

Juneau starter Garrison Luben struck out 10 over 6.1 innings. He combined with Landon Simonson on a 4-0 no-hitter over Ketchikan in pool play, racked up 16 strikeouts in two starts across 11 innings and was won the tournament's Top Pitcher Award.

Juneau cut the deficit in half in the sixth on RBIs by Porter Nelson and Madden Mendoza to get within 4-2.

In the seventh, pinch-hitter Noah Lewis drew a leadoff walk to bring the tying run to the plate. With one out, pinch-hitter Jeremiah McCormick hit a line drive to the Wasilla first baseman, who initially caught the ball before it popped out of his glove, and Wasilla got Lewis in a rundown to end the game.

Matson Invitational
Championship Game
Wasilla 4, Juneau 2

WAS 13-14
Pedro Camacho 6.1IP 2H 2ER 9K
Chase Sivulich 2-3
Ramon Guzman 0.2IP 0H 0R 0K

JUN 11-14
Garrison Luben 6.1IP 5H 3ER 10K
Porter Nelson 1-3 RBI
Madden Mendoza 0-2 RBI

Individual Awards
MVP: Pedro Camacho, Wasilla
Big Stick: Chase Sivulich, Wasilla
Top Pitcher: Garrison Luben, Juneau
Gold Glove: Kasen Ludeman, Juneau

Richard Steckel was named the raffle winner of four Alaska Airlines vouchers.
The name was drawn on the field at Tuesday's Legion State Tournament championship game.
His son Jayden sold him the lucky ticket.
All Alliance Baseball League teams had the chance to participate and raise money toward team and individual fees through the raffle, which began in 2017.

They’ve been on a collision course all season and now top seeds Eagle River and Service will meet in the Alaska Legion state championship game after both teams prevailed in Monday’s semifinals at Mulcahy Stadium.

Top-seeded Eagle River extended its state record postseason winning streak to 11 games after dispatching Dimond 3-1, thanks to fifth-year standout Charlie Wallace, who earned the win in relief and scored a run in the sixth inning with an all-effort hustle play that exemplified why the Wolves are so hard to beat.

Second-seeded Service needed a Herculean effort from Hunter Christian, who threw a 4-hit shutout and knocked in the game’s lone run to highlight a 1-0 victory over Kenai.

Christian outdueled Malachi Olson as both pitchers went the distance to produce just the fifth 1-0 final in the 71-year history of the state tournament.

Christian became the first Service pitcher to throw a shutout at state in 25 years. As if that wasn’t enough, he also knocked in Chase Mascelli in the first inning for the winning run.

71st Alaska Legion State Tournament
@ Mulcahy Stadium
Monday
Semifinals
Service 1, Kenai 0
Eagle River 3, Dimond 1
Tuesday
5:30pm Title Game
#2 Service (25-7) vs. #1 Eagle River (25-8)

Christian has been crushing at state. He’s batting .428 on 6-for-14 hitting with a tournament-best seven RBIs as he makes a case for the Big Stick Award. Or Top Pitcher as he improved to 2-0 with a 1.27 ERA in 11 innings.

He carried Service back to the championship game for the fourth time since 2016 under head coach Willie Paul.

Wallace, a 2022 Eagel River grad who came back for his fifth year of Legion, showcased poise and precision on the mound. He wiggled off the hook with a runner on third and no outs in the fifth. He walked away from a bases-loaded jam unscathed in the sixth. And he won a 10-pitch battle against Dimond's Kenton Cooke in the seventh.

But maybe his best play of the night came when Wallace hustled from second base to score on a wild pitch, which served as a dagger as Eagle River buried another opponent by execution.

Heads up baserunning, pitching, defense and timely hitting – the Wolves needed it all to hold off a hard-charging Dimond team back in the final four for the first time since 2018.

Service 1, Kenai 0
Christian needed 90 pitches to record his team’s 10th shutout of the season – and the first for a Service pitcher in the postseason since Dan Chevallard a quarter of a century ago.

It was deja vu for Service assistant coach Tim Rumfelt, who coached the Cougars in 1997 when Chevallard tossed a four-hitter to highlight a 10-0 win in nine innings over Kenai. Service won the title that year.

Rumfelt for years has preached about not letting the other team's star player beat you and that's what Christian did, winning all three battles with Kenai slugger Charlie Chamberlain, the state's RBI leader.

To be fair, Christian was tough on all the Kenai batters. He struck out two Twins in each of the first three innings, with half of them looking.

In both the second and third innings Kenai got the leadoff runner on base and both times used a sac bunt to move him into scoring position. Both times Christian struck out the next two batters to avert trouble.

He pitched a 1-2-3 fourth and then gave up a hustle pop-up double to Derrick Jones. Braden Smith smashed a line drive, but Mascelli made a leaping catch to save a run.

The 5-foot-9 Service shortstop stretched every bit of his body to make the grab. (Like father, like son; his dad Danny was a Gold Glove infielder for Bartlett in the 1990s).

Christian pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the sixth and in the seventh worked around a single by Jace Crall before ending the game on a pop up behind the plate.

Kenai’s Malachi Olson was the hard luck loser – if you could even call him that. He pitched like a winner and gave his team every chance to get back to the state title game for the first time since 2016.

Olson pitched all six innings, scattering six hits and three walks while striking out three. He retired eight in a row in one stretch.

He also took care of business against arguably the offensive player of the year in Jake Rafferty, who came into the game hitting .522 with a state-best six home runs. Olson retired the lethal leadoff hitter all three times on just four pitches.

In the fourth inning, Olson wiggled out of a second-and-third, one-out jam. In the fifth, the Twins turned a 6-4-3 double play. And in the sixth, they turned a 9-2 double play after right fielder Atticus Gibson caught a fly ball and threw out the base runner at the plate by a country mile.

Kenai’s performance would have been good enough to win on nine out of 10 days. But Christian was a one-man wrecking crew.

It was redemption day for Christian, who a year ago suffered the loss in the eighth inning of a 4-3 walk-off defeat to Eagle River in the 2022 state title game.

Kenai 000 000 0 – 0 4 0
Service 100 000 x – 1 6 1
Kenai – Olson and Stuyesant. Service – Christian and C.Niclai. W – Christian. L – Olson. 2B – Jones. 3B – None. HR – None.

Eagle River 3, Dimond 1

Starting pitcher Gunner Mountcastle and Wallace held Dimond to three hits while combining for 11 strikeouts and getting a pair of double plays behind them.

Mountcastle struck out six of the first seven batters he faced and finished with nine punchouts in 4.1 innings. He worked around runners in scoring position in each of the second and third innings but couldn’t escape unscathed in the fourth.

Carson Engstrom drew a walk, stole second and scored on Ryan Swanstrom’s two-out single – the only hit Mountcastle surrendered – to tie the game 1-1.

Mountcastle left in the fifth and was replaced by Wallace, who came on with one out and a runner on second. He threw a wild pitch on his first delivery, increasing the chances of Dimond taking its first lead.

But it didn’t happen.

Wallace induced a groundball to first baseman Liam Lierman, who touched the bag and fired a missile to catcher Dallin Roberts to chop down the runner for an inning-ending double play.

Lierman scored the go-ahead run in the sixth after drawing a leadoff walk, moving to second on Roberts’ sac bunt, stealing third and coming home on Jack Molloy’s sac fly for a 2-1 lead.

With two outs, Wallace singled, went to second on a wild pitch and came around to score on a third-strike wild pitch. Wallace never stopped running as the catcher threw down to first base to complete the out; but the throw was late, and nobody covered home, which allowed Wallace to score without a throw.

It was a heartbreaking ending for a Dimond team that had played flawless baseball for five-plus innings. Eli Lipinski pitched beautifully, working a trio of 1-2-3 innings and stranding four runners in scoring position.

In the third, the Lynx turned a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play. Engstrom also saved a run in the first by leaping to his left to catch an erratic pitch with a runner on third.

Lipinski finished with seven strikeouts in 5.2 innings. He ended the fourth and fifth innings with punchouts, both looking.

In the end, though, Eagle River’s constant pressure finally broke Dimond in the sixth. The Wolves have made a habit of winning close games in big moments.

Last year, Eagle River beat Service with a 4-3 walk-off winner in the eighth inning. When the teams met on the final day of the regular season two weeks ago, Eagle River rallied for a 12-11 walk-off win in eight innings to clinch the No. 1 seed for state.

Dimond 000 100 0 - 1 3 0
Eagle River 001 002 x - 3 5 1
Dimond - Lipinski, Doherty (6), Ray (6) and Engstrom. Eagle River - Mountcastle, Wallace (5) and J.Mullen, Roberts (6). W - Wallace. L - Lipinski. 2B - A.Mullen (ER). 3B - None. HR - None.

Come to the ballpark long enough and you will see just about everything.

But there were a few surprises in Sunday night’s game between South and Palmer.

South’s 4-3 victory at the Alaska Legion state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium saw both teams being taken off the field due to an unruly fan, two players stealing three bases in one trip and Palmer ending the game with eight players on defense.

In the sixth inning, the game was delayed for five minutes after umpires pulled players off the field due to someone climbing the wall in right field. Moments after things resumed, Skylar Sugita stroked a two-out double that put South ahead 4-1 and proved to be the game-winning RBI.

South’s Robert Hughes and Palmer’s Kaesen Buzby each went around-the-world on the base paths as Hughes stole second, third and home in the first inning and Buzby stole second, third and home in the fifth inning.

Buzby was ejected in the bottom of the sixth inning after striking out, forcing the Pioneers to play the seventh with eight players on defense. They used two outfielders and relief pitcher Dylen Crowther threw a scoreless frame, with South never hitting the ball out of the infield.

71st Alaska Legion State Tournament
@ Mulcahy Stadium
Denali Pool
#1 Eagle River 3-0
#3 Kenai 2-1
#8 South 1-2
#6 Palmer 0-3
Alyeska Pool
#2 Service 3-0
#5 Dimond 2-1
#4 Chugiak 1-2
#7 West 0-3
Sunday Day 4 of 6
Chugiak 5, West 4
Eagle River 8, Kenai 4
South 4, Palmer 3
Off Day: Service, Dimond
Monday Day 5 of 6
2:30pm Semifinals
#3 Kenai (21-11) vs. #2 Service (24-7)
5:30pm Semifinals
#5 Dimond (18-10) vs. #1 Eagle River (24-8)
Tuesday Day 6 of 6
5:30pm Championship Game

Palmer has 14 players on its roster and started mostly reserves and then replaced them with starters later in the game. One of those starters who came into the game late was Malachi Mukaabya, who suffered a hand injury after tagging a runner in a rundown and left the game.

With no re-entry at the state tournament, Palmer head coach Matt Ketchum was forced to finish with eight players.

South starter Gavin Lawrence picked up the win with 4.1 innings pitched, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out five. Braun Precosky picked up the save with 2.2 innings of relief and six punchouts.

Hughes racked up four stolen bases. He swiped home on the back end of a double steal whereas Buzby stole home on the catcher’s toss back to the pitcher between pitches.

Palmer’s Nate Wilson got his team within 4-3 in the sixth with a two-run single that scored Bryant Marks and Landon Guggenmos, who both singled to lead off the inning.

South 101 011 0 – 4 7 2
Palmer 000 012 0 – 3 4 1
South – Lawrence, Precosky (5) and Bonin. Palmer – Buzby, Crowther (6) and Satterly, Br.Marks (5). W – Lawrence. L – Buzby. SV – Precosky. 2B – Sugita (S). 3B – None. HR – None.

Eagle River 8, Kenai 4
Alex Mullen mashed a two-run home run in the fifth inning to create some separation for the Wolves, who doubled up the Twins to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Denali Pool.

With Eagle River nursing a 4-3 cushion, Gunner Mountcastle reached base on a 10-pitch walk before Mullen crushed a no-doubt dinger over the left-field wall.

With the victory, the Wolves became the first team in Alaska Legion history to win 10 consecutive games at the state tournament. They were also the first team to win nine in a row.

Mullen and Mountcastle each finished with two RBIs. Mountcastle had a two-run, two-out double in the second inning to stake Eagle River to a 4-0 lead.

Kenai pulled within 4-3 in the third inning on RBIs from Charlie Chamberlain, Gabe Smith and Levi Mickelson. Chamberlain’s RBI was his state-leading 38th of the summer.

Enter Ryan Mullen, who came in relief and stopped the bleeding. He earned a strikeout to end the Kenai threat in the third and pitched a 1-2-3 frame in the fourth.

Kenai trailed 5-3 in the fifth and nearly tied it when Andrew Pieh pounded a pitch off the top of the wall in left field, missing a home run by a few feet. He settled for an RBI double.

The next inning Alex Mullen hit the ball over the wall in the same place, making a winner out of Ryan Mullen, who struck out six over 4.1 innings.

Kenai 003 010 0 – 4 5 0
Eagle River 131 021 x – 8 6 1
Kenai – Williams, Pieh (4), Jones (5) and Stuyvesant. Eagle River – Johannes, R.Mullen (3) and J.Mullen. W – R.Mullen. L – Williams. 2B – Pieh (K), G.Smith (K), Mountcastle (ER). 3B – None. HR – A.Mullen (ER).

Chugiak 5, West 4
Pinch-hitter Connor Lanehart singled home Blake Yawit with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Mustangs used a walk-off win to end a miserable run at the state tournament.

The win capped a three-run comeback and snapped Chugiak’s nine-game postseason losing streak dating back to 2020.

The Mustangs own a state-best 121 league wins since 2013 but for some reason couldn’t translate that success at state.

Yawit, a first-year Mustangs player, singled to lead off the seventh, stole second base, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Lanehart's one-out base knock.

Yawit finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs. Fischer Sims was 3-for-4 with two runs. Jack Carron, Landon Luebke and Hunter Rau also knocked in runs for Chugiak.

West built a 4-1 lead in the second inning thanks to RBIs from Orion Halliburton and Cyrus Clendaniel, a balk and a double steal that saw Braden Meissner come home from third.

Credit Chugiak relief pitcher Josh Westerman for keeping his team in the game as the right-hander threw five scoreless innings.

West starter Liam Gunn went six innings, scattering eight hits and four runs, and getting a 5-4 double play behind him.

West 220 000 0 – 4 5 1
Chugiak 100 021 1 – 5 10 2
West – Gunn, Meissner (7) and Fitzgerald. Chugiak – Morgan, Westerman (3) and H.Rau. W – Westerman. L – Meissner. 2B – Halliburton (W). 3B – None. HR – None.

The Juneau pitching staff is doing something historic at the Matson Invitational.

They have somehow managed to throw 19 innings across three games without giving up a hit.

After his team racked up back-to-back no-hitters in their first two tournament games, left-hander Porter Nelson held Bartlett hitless over five innings in a 12-0 win that ended early because of the mercy rule.

The 10th annual Matson Invitational is a Legion tournament created for the teams that didn’t qualify for state. Juneau finished the regular season in a three-way tie for eighth place in the league but lost a tiebreaker for that final berth.

Rather than pout, the Midnight Suns came out and pitched with unprecedented efficiency.

We’ve never seen anything like this. Not 19 hitless innings.

On Thursday, Juneau pitchers Marcus Mendoza, Liam Hart, Porter Nelson and Bodhi Nelson combined for an unconventional no-hitter in a 9-2 victory over East. The pitchers issued 13 walks and allowed a pair of runs to score. Nonetheless, it will go down as the first no-hitter in the tournament's 10-year history.

On Saturday, Garrison Luben and Landon Simonson combined for a no-no against Southeast rival Ketchikan in a 4-0 victory.

Juneau advanced to Tuesday’s championship game and will carry its 19-inning hitless streak against Wasilla, which is 15-0 all-time in the tournament.

Juneau 12, Bartlett 0

JUN (11-13)
Porter Nelson 5IP 0H 0R 1BB 7K 1-3 3B
Kasen Ludeman 2-3 2B 2RBI 2R
Bodhi Nelson 1-1 2RBI
BAR (5-21)
Nick Brandal 0-1 BB
Riley Roberts 1IP 0H 0R 1K

Wasilla 14, East 11

WAS (12-14)
Pedro Camacho 1-2 2RBI 4SB
Colton Savala 2-5 RBI 4.1IP 6H 3ER
Aidan Perez 0-4 2RBI 2R 2SB
EAST (4-21)
Fredery Carrasco 3-4 2B RBI 2R
Sage Garsha 2-4 3RBI
Dylan Dumas 1-4 2RBI

It took four years for Bill Lierman to turn the Eagle River Wolves into Alaska Legion royalty.

A program that has only been around since 2007, Eagle River was decent before Lierman became head coach in 2020. Since then, though, the Wolves have established themselves as the best of the best in Alaska with a state-high 92 wins, two state titles and a Northwest Regional victory.

They took aim at the record book Saturday as their 3-1 victory over the Palmer Pioneers made Eagle River the first program to win nine straight games at the state tournament.

The Wolves (23-8) built a two-run lead in the second inning and made it stick behind the pitching of Jack Molloy, Gage Rose and Charlie Wallace.

Eagle River’s postseason winning streak started in 2021 and has stretched all the way to this year, which included a 2-1 win over South on Day 1 of the tournament.

STATE-MENT WINS
Most Consecutive Victories at Legion State Tournament
9 – Eagle River 2021-23
8 – Chugiak 1993-95
8 – Dimond 2000-02
8 – East 2004-05

Lierman owns eight Legion titles – three as a player for Chugiak, three as a coach for Chugiak and two as a coach for Eagle River.

In a full circle moment, Lierman was part of the Chugiak team in 1993 to 1995 that shared the previous record of eight with Dimond and East.

Eagle River relied on its trademark pitching and defense to hold off Palmer and get into the record book.

Molloy, Rose and Wallace combined for a 2-hitter with nine strikeouts. They held Palmer scoreless for the final six frames, thanks in part to a 4-3 double play and catcher Dallin Roberts throwing out a base runner trying to steal second base.

Molloy struck out the side in the second inning and fanned two in the third. Rose struck out two in the fifth as Eagle River pitchers stood tall against a good hitting Palmer team that never got on track.

Things looked good early for the Pioneers (13-13) when Bryant Marks reached on a hit by pitch and came around to score on a no-doubt double from Kaesen Buzby, who won his eight-pitch battle against Molloy. It was short lived as they never got another base runner to second against the southpaw starter.

Their luck didn’t improve against Gage, who benefited from a double play in the fourth inning. When Gage got wobbly in the sixth, Lierman summoned Wallace from the bullpen and the lanky right-hander sealed the deal with a five-out save.

71st Alaska Legion State Tournament
@ Mulcahy Stadium
Denali Pool
#1 Eagle River 2-0
#3 Kenai 2-0
#6 Palmer 0-2
#8 South 0-2
Alyeska Pool
#2 Service 3-0
#5 Dimond 2-1
#4 Chugiak 0-2
#7 West 0-2
Saturday Day 3 of 6
Kenai 7, South 0
Eagle River 3, Palmer 1
Service 9, Dimond 7
Off Day: Chugiak, West
Sunday Day 4 of 6
12:00pm West vs. Chugiak
3:00pm Kenai vs. Eagle River
6:00pm South vs. Palmer
Off Day: Service, Dimond

Eagle River’s offense has been erratic but effective. The Wolves have just 10 base hits in two tournament games, but they’ve made ‘em count.

Alex Mullen’s pop-up double in the first inning drove in Josh Thompson and tied the game and Liam Lierman’s RBI single put the Wolves ahead 2-1. They added another run in the second when Molloy singled, stole a bag to get into scoring position and then raced home from second base on a groundball fielder’s choice to shortstop.

Palmer’s Boman Marks pitched five innings, scattering five hits and four walks while striking out five. He won a 12-pitch battle against Gunner Mountcastle in the fifth inning, showing tenacity despite being tired. Boman’s brother and battery mate Bryant Marks threw out two runners on the base paths and scored his team’s lone run.

Palmer 100 000 0 - 1 2 2
Eagle River 210 000 x - 3 5 0
Palmer - Bo.Marks, Crowther (6) and Br.Marks. Eagle River - J.Molloy, Gage (4), Wallace and Roberts. W - Gage. L - Bo.Marks. SV - Wallace. 2B - Buzby (P), A.Mullen (ER). 3B - None. HR - None.

Kenai 7, South 0
Colby Sturman was sensational, carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning and finishing with a 2-hitter as he became the first Twins’ pitcher in 33 years to throw a shutout at the state tournament.

The right-hander struck out 10 and got the final out on his 99th pitch to etch his name alongside some of the all-time greats in Kenai Twins history.

In 1990, Kevin O'Brien threw a 4-hit shutout at state and needed just 97 pitches to complete nine innings in a 6-0 win over East. In 1991, Dennis Machado threw a 2-hitter across six innings in a mercy rule 10-0 win over West, but that wasn't an official shutout.

This was. Sturman got the real thing as he was unhittable early and unflappable late. The rising junior retired 12 of the first 13 batters and didn’t allow a base hit until Chase Dixon smacked a clean single up the middle in the fifth.

Sturman racked up two strikeouts in the first, fifth and sixth innings. Of his 10 punchouts, four were looking.

He faced danger in only two innings, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fifth and wiggling off the hook in a two-on, no-out situation in the seventh.

Cleanup hitter Charlie Chamberlain doubled in a pair of runs for Kenai (21-10) to make it 4-0 in the third inning, giving him a state-best 37 RBIs this season.

Andrew Pieh’s RBI single made it 5-0. Braden Smith’s RBI groundout pushed the lead to 6-0 and Hunter Williams knocked in the final run with an RBI single in the sixth.

Twins’ catcher Jayden Stuyvesant threw out a base runner trying to steal second base in the sixth and in the seventh started a 1-2-5 relay that picked off a runner at third.

This was Kenai's first win over South at the state tournament since 2008, snapping a five-game losing streak.

South 000 000 0 - 0 2 3
Kenai 014 101 x - 7 6 1
South - Peterson, Stanek-Alward (5) and Bonin. Kenai - Sturman and Stuyvesant. W - Sturman. L - Peterson. 2B - Chamberlain. 3B - None. HR - None.

Service 9, Dimond 7
The highest-scoring game of the tournament featured seven lead changes and 11 pitchers. When the dust settled, the Cougars used a three-run rally in the sixth inning to pull out the win that clinched them the No. 1 seed in the Alyeska Pool.

Hunter Christian went 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs and Jake Rafferty was 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and two runs for Service (24-7).

After giving up six runs in the first three innings, the Cougars’ pitching staff settled down over the final four frames behind relievers Trey Maltby, Zachary Schaffer and Rilen Niclai. Maltby was the only pitcher on either team to throw two scoreless frames and Nicali nailed down the save after stranding the tying runs on base.

Christian banged out a two-run double in the first inning and a two-run single in the second, giving him six RBIs for the tournament; that total is tied for No. 1 with Dimond’s Carson Engstrom, who went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Engstrom’s two-out RBI single in the second inning gave the Lynx a 4-3 lead. His sac fly in the sixth inning pushed Dimond ahead 7-6.

The lead didn’t last. Coen Niclai reached base on a throwing error to open the sixth inning and scored on his brother Rilen’s RBI double. Service scored its next two runs thanks to a baserunning clinic, which allowed the Cougars to pull away.

At times, the game looked like a 'NextGen Showcase' as both coaches emptied their rosters and allowed younger players to play on the big stage.

Dimond (18-10) used two players who haven’t even reached high school yet in Class of 2027 standouts Jaden Estgo and Shane Flannery. Estgo started and batted leadoff, reaching twice and scoring both times. Flannery pitched a scoreless sixth, thanks to a 6-4-3 double play.

For Service, Maltby and Rilen Niclai are both Class of 2026 standouts. Maltby settled Service down with back-to-back scoreless innings and Nicali drove in the tying run, scored the go-ahead run and earned the save.

Dimond 222 001 0 - 7 5 3
Service 321 003 x - 9 8 0
Dimond - Estgo, Doherty (1), Ray (3), Flannery (5), Gaither (6), Mathews (6) and K.Cooke. Service - A.Hickman, Sculley (2), Trey Maltby (4), Schaffer (6), R.Niclai (7) and C.Niclai. W - Schaffer. L - Gaither. SV - R.Niclai. 2B - Montanga (D), K.Cooke (D), Rafferty (S), Christian (S), R.Niclai (S).

Throwing back-to-back no-hitters is something out of a dream; not even in a video game would you consider it.

But it happened at the Matson Invitational.

The Juneau Midnight Suns of Auke Bay on Saturday threw their second consecutive no-hitter after Garrison Luben and Landon Simonson combined for a no-no against Southeast rival Ketchikan in a 4-0 win at Bartlett High School.

Two days earlier, four Juneau pitchers - Marcus Mendoza, Liam Hart, Porter Nelson and Bodhi Nelson – had combined for an unconventional no-hitter in a 9-2 victory over East. It was an ugly no-no, with the Midnight Suns walking 13 batters and giving up two runs.

No-hitters are supposed to be clean – but they all count the same. And no-hitters are supposed to go seven innings, which both games did.

There were no shortcuts to the record book as Juneau became the first team in Matson Invitational tournament history dating back a decade to throw back-to-back no-hitters.

Luben started and pitched the first 3.2 innings, allowing three walks while striking out six. Simonson closed it out with 3.3 innings, hitting two batters, striking out four and getting a 6-4-3 double play behind him.

Meanwhile, Juneau played error-free defense and scored three runs in the first inning, thanks in part to RBI singles by Bodhi Nelson and Simonson. Nelson added a sac fly in the fifth to push the lead to 4-0.

Ketchikan got runners to third base twice, once in the first inning and again in the sixth but could never score.

Simonson struck out the side to seal the deal and help Juneau beat Ketchikan 2-1 in the season series.

Matson Invitational

Juneau 4, Ketchikan 0

JUN 10-13, 2-0 Pool

Garrison Luben 3.2IP 0H 0R 3BB 6K

Landon Simonson 3.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 4K

Bodhi Nelson 1-2 2RBI

Kasen Ludeman 1-3 3B

KET 5-18, 0-2 Pool

Thomas Kroscavage  6IP 4H 2ER 6BB 2K

Matson Invitational

Wasilla 6, AK Wild 4

Long live the streak. Wasilla improved to 14-0 all-time in the tournament after rallying from an early three-run deficit.

Last year’s Matson MVP Jaren Venie went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs while Chase Sivulich went 2-for-3 with two doubles and a run.

Colton Savala went 2-for-4 with an RBI and pitched 3.1 innings of scoreless relief.

Trailing 3-0, Wasilla tied the game with three runs in the fourth inning and went ahead 6-3 with a three-pack in the sixth.

The AK Wild had two players go 3-for-3 in Jorge Pagan and Jackson Taylor. Pagan singled to lead off the seventh and came around to score on a wild pitch as the Fairbanks team pulled within two runs.

Wasilla’s Pedro Camacho earned the save after ending the game on a groundout with the bases loaded.

WAS 11-14, 2-0 Pool

Jaren Venie 2-4 2B 3RBI 2SB

Colton Savala 2-4 RBI 3.1IP 4H 0R

Chase Sivulich 2-3 2(2B) SB

WILD 10-21, 0-2 Pool

Jackson Taylor 3-3 RBI

Jorge Pagan 3-3 2R

Bryson Roon 3.1IP 5H 3R 4K

The aces were dealing winning hands Friday at Mulcahy Stadium as pitchers took center stage on Day 2 of the Alaska Legion state tournament.

Dimond’s Ryan Swanstrom allowed just one earned run in 6.2 innings and retired 13 batters in a row to highlight a 4-2 win over West while Service rocket right-hander Jake Rafferty threw 4.1 scoreless frames with nine strikeouts in a 7-2 victory over Chugiak in the Alyeska Pool.

You expected this kind of takeover performance from Rafferty, who posted a 4-1 record and 1.41 ERA in the regular season with a state-best 54 strikeouts in 29.2 innings.

Not so much for Swanstrom, a right-hander who owned a 3.50 ERA in his last three appearances and hadn’t pitched into the sixth inning all season, let alone the seventh.

But Swanstrom sizzled on the mound, brushing off some early mistakes to settle down nicely and get within one out of a complete game. In his 6.2 innings he tossed four 1-2-3 frames and retired 13 batters in a row. He needed just four pitches in the second inning.

Swanstrom allowed only three hits and one walk, with one of the two runs he surrendered being unearned. He struck out two, both looking.

Meanwhile, Dimond’s bats stayed hot with a 12-hit attack that included a 3-for-3 effort by Kenton Cooke. Eli Lipinski, Pama Brito, Peyton Montagna and Chase Mathews each had two base knocks.

71st Alaska Legion State Tournament 
@ Mulcahy Stadium
Denali Pool
#1 Eagle River 1-0
#3 Kenai 1-0
#6 Palmer 0-1
#8 South 0-1
Alyeska Pool
#2 Service 2-0
#5 Dimond 2-0
#4 Chugiak 0-2
#7 West 0-2
Friday Day 2 of 6
Dimond 4, West 2
Service 7, Chugiak 2
Off Day: Eagle River, Kenai, Palmer, South
Saturday Day 3 of 6
12:00pm South vs. Kenai
3:00pm Palmer vs. Eagle River
6:00pm Dimond vs. Service
Off Day: Chugiak, West

Montagna tripled with two outs in the first inning and came around to score on Carson Engstrom’s single; it was Engstrom’s tournament-high fourth RBI. He later scored on Mathews’ RBI single to put Dimond ahead for good as the Lynx (18-9) extended their winning streak to seven games.

In the second inning, nine-hole hitter Colin Doherty walked, went from first to third on Lipinski’s single and scored on Brito’s RBI single to make it 3-1.

All three runs came with two outs, helping to fuel Dimond’s first 2-0 start at state since 2011.

West (14-15) wasted no time getting on the scoreboard after leadoff hitter Braden Meissner doubled on the second pitch of the game, took second on a wild pitch and scored on another wild pitch. The Eagles wouldn’t get another base runner until the fifth inning.

Swanstrom found his groove and got a web gem behind him from center fielder Eli Lipinski, who made a remarkable running catch in the gap for the first out in the fifth.

West’s Evan Fitzgerald was up next and singled to break up Swanstrom’s streak. After an error moved Fitzgerald into scoring position, he scored on Liam Gunn’s two-out single that pulled the Eagles within 3-2.

Fitzgerald shined defensively at catcher by twice throwing out Lipinski trying to steal second base; once in the first and again in the second. Lipinski has 22 stolen bases this season, so he’s no easy mark.

West lived on the knife’s edge early as Dimond had 11 of its first 18 batters to reach base against starter Paul Dittrich, who got an assist from his battery mate in the first and second innings, and escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam unscathed in the third. Reliever Makai Baylous was effective in his three innings, allowing four hits, no walks and no earned runs while striking out four.

West 100 010 0 - 2 3 3
Dimond 210 001 x 4 12 1
West - Dittrich, Baylous (4) and Fitzgerald. Dimond - Swanstrom, Ray (7) and Engstrom. W - Swanstrom. L - Dittrich. SV - Ray. 2B - Meissner (W). 3B - Montagna (D). HR - None.

Service 7, Dimond 2
For the second time in as many days, the Cougars exploded for five runs in the fourth inning to carry them to victory as they cruised to a 7-2 triumph in the Alyeska Pool.

Rafferty rocked and rolled on the bump, striking out five of the first six batters and keeping the Mustangs off the base paths. They never got as far as third and were probably glad to see him leave after reaching his 80-pitch limit.

Rafferty improved to 5-1, lowered his ERA to 1.23 and increased his strikeout total to 63 in 34 innings. His only loss of the season came against Lower Columbia (WA).

Pitching has carried Service (23-7) all season as the staff has combined for nine shutouts. The Cougars lost a bid for their tenth clean sheet in the seventh inning against Chugiak, which made some noise with five consecutive singles before reliever Kolby Jensen came in and shut it down.

On paper, the game looked to be a pitcher’s duel in the making between Rafferty and Chugiak ace Preston Rau, who was 5-1. But Chugiak’s defense let down Rau with four errors, prolonging innings, and exerting pain on the all-star right-hander.

Rau scattered 10 hits and three walks over 5.2 innings. He played with fire by allowing the leadoff runner to reach base in each of the first three innings but didn’t get burned as the game remained scoreless through three innings.

Things changed in the fourth inning. Just like yesterday.

Service’s Hunter Christian and Rilen Niclai got the party started with back-to-back singles. Sebastian Fournier drove in one run and two more scored on a two-run throwing error. Nine-hole hitter Carson Maltby provided the dagger, driving in two runs with a single and scoring on a wild pitch to make it 5-0.

Niclai went 4-for-4 at the plate and seven different Service players scored.

Rafferty not only dominated on the mound, but he also made a nifty defensive play in the sixth when he dove head first to beat a diving Blake Yawit to the bag for the out.

Yawit’s effort showcased Chugiak’s never-quit spirit. The Mustangs came out swinging down 7-0 in the seventh with consecutive singles by Landon Luebke, Hunter Rau, Owen Dockstader, Andrew Gruszynski and Fischer Sims.

Enter Jensen, who came in and doused the flames with back-to-back strikeouts before ending the game on a groundout.

Chugiak 000 000 2 - 2 8 4
Service 000 502 x - 7 11 0
Chugiak - P.Rau, Westerman (6) and H.Rau. Service - Rafferty, Martindale (5), Jensen (7) and C.Nicali. W - Rafferty. L - P.Rau. 2B - None. 3B - None. HR - None.

As a consolation tournament, the Matson Invitational isn't a dream destination. But once it starts, the Matson can provide teams a chance to end the season with a bang.

See the Bartlett Golden Bears and East Thunderbirds.

Stuck at the bottom of the league standings all season, they are now on the rise after posting Day 2 wins at Bartlett High School.

Led by the powerful 1-2 punch of slugger Carl Colavecchio and pitcher Nick Brandal, Bartlett beat the AK Wild 6-3.

Colavecchio crushed his first home run of the season in the seventh inning to put the finishing touches on his 3-for-4 night at the plate. He also doubled and finished with three RBIs.

Brandal went the distance, throwing all seven innings and scattering seven hits and zero walks while striking out two. He allowed the Wild to only just one run over the final three frames.

Owen Berry, Nick Cunitz and Andy Rust all had RBIs for Bartlett.

For the AK Wild, Hunter Clements was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Jorge Pagan went 2-for-4. Dylan Earl also drove in a run.

East 19, Ketchikan 8
One day after getting no-hit, East broke out for a season-high 19 runs.
The offensive onslaught was keyed by Joge Rodriguez, who was 3-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs. East also got three RBIs from Fredery Carrasco and two apiece from Sage Garsha, Edison Polanco, Eduardo Rodriguez and Yeralvin Ramirez.

Polanco also pitched, striking out seven over four innings before giving way to Dylan Dumas.

The T-birds trailed 5-2 after the first inning and 7-5 through five innings before erupting for 14 runs in the sixth inning. 

Ketchikan's Ben Phillips went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Trevor Sayer was 1-for-2 with a pair of RBIs.  

Matson Invitational
Game 3
East 19, Ketchikan 8

EAST 4-20, 1-1 Pool
Jorge Rodriguez 3-4 4RBI 3R
Fredery Carrasco 2-2 3RBI
Edison Polanco 2-4 2RBI 3R
KET 5-17, 0-1 Pool
Ben Phillips 2-3 2B 2RBI
Trevor Sayer 1-2 2RBI
Jonathan Scobil 0-2 3R

Matson Invitational
Game 4
Bartlett 6, AK Wild 3

BAR (5-20, 1-1 Pool)
Carl Colavecchio 3-4 HR 2B 2RBI 2R
Nick Brandal 7IP 7H 2ER 0BB 2K
Nick Cunitz 1-3 RBI
Andy Rust 1-3 RBI
WILD (10-20, 0-1 Pool)
Hunter Clements 2-3 RBI
Jorge Pagan 2-4 2SB
Kenai Borgen 2-3

Gabe Smith set the table and Derrick Jones cleared it as the Kenai Twins got their fill on Day 1 of the 71st Alaska Legion State Tournament.

Shut down for the first six innings by Palmer ace Landon Guggenmos, the Twins came alive in the bottom of the seventh inning Thursday afternoon to pull out a 2-1 victory at Mulcahy Stadium.

Smith led off with a first-pitch single and Jones ended it on the final pitch, punching a groundball through the left side to score pinch runner Levi Mickelson from second base with the winning run between teams in the Denali Pool.

The No. 3 seed Twins (20-10) had as many base hits in the seventh (two) as they had in the previous six innings against Guggenmos, a right-hander who pitched wonderfully and was in total command.

Guggenmos had retired 13 batters in a row before Smith smacked a clean single to right field to start the seventh inning. The next batter struck out on a ball in the turf, allowing Smith to scoot to second base on a bang-bang play after a strong throw from catcher Bryant Marks.

Enter Mickelson, who ran for Smith and raced home on Jones’ one-out single to give Kenai its first Day 1 victory at state since 2016.

It didn’t come easy against Guggenmos, who finished with a hard-luck loss despite 6.1 incredible innings that featured eight punchouts for the No. 6 seed Pioneers.

71st Alaska Legion State Tournament
@ Mulcahy Stadium
Denali Pool
#1 Eagle River 1-0
#3 Kenai 1-0
#6 Palmer 0-1
#8 South 0-1
Alyeska Pool
#2 Service 1-0
#5 Dimond 1-0
#4 Chugiak 0-1
#7 West 0-1
Thursday
Day 1 of 6
Kenai 2, Palmer 1
Eagle River 2, South 1
Dimond 6, Chugiak 2
Service 8, West 2
Friday
3:00pm West vs. Dimond
6:00pm Chugiak vs. Service
Off Day: Eagle River, Kenai, Palmer, South

 

Moments after the final out, Kenai head coach Robb Quelland hugged Guggenmos as the pitcher walked off the field. Obviously dejected, Guggenmos deserved some love.

Kenai pitchers Malakai Olson and Trenton Ohnemus also stood tall, combining for their own 4-hitter. Olson started and went the first four innings, allowing three hits and one run before giving way to Ohnemus, who pitched the final three and earned the win in relief.

Ohnemus allowed only one hit, a single to Nate Wilson, who got all the way to third base in the sixth inning before Ohnemus ended the frame with a strikeout.

Palmer (13-12) left six runners on base and twice had a runner picked off the base paths. Boman Marks doubled and scored on big bro Bryant’s RBI.

Smith not only set up the game-winning run, but he also had an RBI in the second inning.

Palmer 001 000 0 - 1 4 1
Kenai 010 000 1 - 2 4 1
Palmer - Guggenmos and Br.Marks. Kenai - Olson, Ohnemus (5) and Stuyvesant. W - Ohnemus. L - Guggenmos. 2B – Bo.Marks (P). 3B - None. HR - None.

Eagle River 2, South 1
The top-seeded Wolves escaped a hungry Wolverines team after scoring the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Tommy Molloy singled to lead off the final frame and eventually came around to score on Alex Mullen’s clutch base hit that extended to eight Eagle River’s winning streak at the state tournament dating back to 2021.

The rally made a winner out of relief pitcher Liam Lierman, who struck out seven over his three innings of work.

This wasn’t the same South team that lost 18-1 to Eagle River one week ago. Terry Dannenbring’s ‘Baby Brigade’ played with guts against the two-time defending state champion Wolves.

No. 8 seed South (10-15) cut down a runner at the plate in the first inning on a nice throw from third baseman Robert Hughes to catcher Caleb Bonin. Bonin later threw out a baserunner trying to steal second.

South tied the game in the top of the seventh on the strength of speedy Braun Precosky, who led off with a walk, stole two bases and scored on a wild pitch.

Eagle River (22-8) prevailed in the Denali Pool matchup, thanks to pitching and defense.

Molloy started on the mound and threw four shutout frames with six strikeouts before giving way to Lierman. The two hurlers recorded 13 of 21 outs via the K.

Catcher Jack Mullen threw out a base runner attempting to swipe second. He also executed a sac bunt to move Molloy into scoring position in the seventh.

On a side note, Eagle River's Landon Hudson showed no obvious fracture on X-ray after taking a line drive off his wrist at Tuesday's Legion All-Star Game.

South 000 000 1 - 1 4 0
Eagle River 000 100 1 - 2 5 1
South - Precosky, Lawrence (4), Peterson (6) and Bonin. Eagle River - T.Molloy, Lierman (5) and J.Mullen. W - Lierman. L - Peterson. 2B - Hughes 2 (S), R. Mullen (ER). 3B - None. HR - None.

Dimond 6, Chugiak 2

In another game that was tied 1-1 after four innings, the Lynx broke free in the fifth inning and broke away with four runs in the seventh to beat Chugiak 6-2 in in the Alyeska Pool.

Carson Engstrom had the big hit, lacing a three-run double into the right center gap with the bases loaded to give the Lynx their first win over Chugiak at state since 2018.

Eli Lipinski was lights out across six innings on the mound, allowing three hits and one unearned run while striking out six for No. 3 seed Dimond (17-9).

Lipinski also went 2-for-4 at the plate with a triple and two runs. He kickstarted the seventh-inning rally with a leadoff single; moments later he got to third base on an error and helped Pama Brito reach base after baiting a throw on a fielder’s choice.

With runners at the corners, Peyton Montagna was intentionally walked on a 3-0 count to get to Engstrom, a left-handed hitter who ripped one into the gap for his only hit in four trips to the plate.

Aiden Ray’s sac fly scored Engstrom with the fourth run of the inning as Dimond’s lead swelled to 6-1. Relief pitcher Chase Mathews got the final three outs to seal the deal.

Chugiak center fielder Blake Yawit went 2-for-3 and made a nice diving catch in the sixth to rob Caleb Cooke of a base hit.

Jayden Steckel allowed just four hits and one earned run over 4.1 innings before leaving on a pitch count for the No. 4 seed Mustangs (17-8).

Chugiak fell behind 2-1 on a passed ball before the bullpen let it get away.

Dimond 001 010 4 - 6 8 2
Chugiak 001 000 1 - 2 4 3
Dimond - Lipinski, Mathews (7) and Swanstrom. Chugiak - Steckel, Morgan (5), G.Gruszynski (7), Thomas (7) and H.Rau. W - Lipinski. L - Steckel. 2B - Engstrom (D). 3B - Lipinski (D). HR - None.

Service 8, West 2
The No. 2 seed Cougars crushed three doubles and scored five runs in the fourth inning to pull away for an 8-2 victory in the Alyeska Pool.

Service (22-7) finished with five extra-base hits, getting a pair of doubles from Andrew Hickman and a triple from Carson Maltby. It was more than enough for a pitching staff that faced four or fewer batters in five of the seven innings.

Hunter Christian started and went the first four innings, allowing three hits and two runs while striking out four. Landon Martindale picked it up from there, throwing 2.2 scoreless frames with five punchouts. Trey Maltby got the final out.

Hickman, Coen Niclai and Rilen Niclai each drilled doubles in the fifth inning while Carson Maltby, Jake Rafferty, Chase Mascelli, Hunter Christian and Rilen Niclai had RBIs.

Hickman doubled and scored again in the sixth inning. Mascelli finished 3-for-4 to lead the 13-hit attack as eight of nine starters got a base hit.

No. 7 seed West (14-14) took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning on a two-run pop up double by Evan Fitzgerald. Starter Liam Gunn held Service to just one run over the first three innings as he stranded six runners on base.

West 000 200 0 - 2 5 3
Service 001 520 x - 8 13 0
West - Gunn, Baylous (4), A.Clendaniel (5), Zieserl (6) and Fitzgerald. Service - Christian, Martindale (5), T.Maltby (7) and C.Niclai. 2B - A.Hickman 2 (S), Halliburton (W), Fitzgerald (W), C.Niclai (S), R.Niclai (S). 3B - C.Maltby (S). HR - None.

It will go down as a no-hitter, but there won't be any style points.

Juneau's Marcus Mendoza, Liam Hart, Porter Nelson and Bodhi Nelson combined for an unconventional no-no in a 9-2 victory over East on Day 1 of the Matson Invitational at Bartlett High School.

The pitchers issued 13 walks and allowed a pair of runs to score. Nonetheless, it will go down as the first no-hitter in the tournament's 10-year history.

Mendoza threw 3.2 innings with three strikeouts, Hart got an out, Porter Nelson tossed two innings with three strikeouts and Bohdi Nelson pitched one inning and had one strikeout.

Porter Nelson also went 1-for-2 with a triple and RBI. Kasen Ludeman was 1-for-1 with two RBIs and two runs while Maden Mendoza, Landon Simonson and Tyler Frisby also knocked in runs.

East's Andrew Malone had his team's lone RBI while Alan Contreas and Dylan Dumas scored runs. Malone also pitched 2.2 innings, scattering one hit and five walks while allowing two earned runs.

Wasilla 7, Bartlett 1
The Road Warriors continued their mastery in the Matson Invitational, improving to 13-0 all-time after dispatching the Golden Bears 7-1 on Day 1. 

Pedro Camacho and Ramon Guzman led the pitching staff and Jacob Johnson had two RBIs as Wasilla pulled away in the fifth inning, extending their lead to six runs thanks to a four-run frame.

Camacho pitched 3.1 shutout innings with five strikeouts. He also went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs. Guzman pitched 2.2 hitless frames.

Colton Savala, Chase Sivulich and Aidan Perez also knocked in runs for Wasilla.

Bartlett's Nick Brandal and Andy Rust banged out hits for the Bears. Pitcher nick Cunitz allowed just two earned runs over five innings.

Matson Invitational
Game 1
Juneau 9, East 2

JUN 9-13, 1-0 Pool
Marcus Mendoza 3.2 IP 0H
Liam Hart 0.1IP 0H
Porter Nelson 2IP 0H
Bodhi Nelson 1IP 0H
Kasen Ludeman 1-1 2RBI
EAST 3-20, 0-1 Pool
Andrew Malone 3.2IP 3K 0-1 RBI
Edison Polanco 0-1 3BB

Matson Invitational
Game 2
Wasilla 7, Bartlett 1

WAS 10-14, 1-0 Pool
Pedro Camacho 3.1IP 5K 2-4 2B 2R
Ramon Guzman 2.1IP 3K
Jacob Johnson 0-3 2RBI
Chase Sivulich 2-3 RBI
BAR 4-20, 0-1 Pool
Nick Brandal 1-3
Andy Rust 1-1
Nick Cunitz 5IP 2ER 2K
 

Team Stripes scored five runs and sent nine batters to the plate in the fifth inning to highlight a 5-2 victory over Team Stars under sunny skies Tuesday afternoon in the Alaska Legion All-Star Game at Mulcahy Stadium.

Juneau’s Porter Nelson, Bartlett’s Carl Colavecchio and Ketchikan’s Jonathan Scoblic each had RBIs in the breakaway frame that made a winner out of Service reliever Landon Martindale.

Colavecchio delivered the go-ahead single when he lined a shot off the wrist of Eagle River pitcher Landon Hudson. Off the bat the ball looked like it ricocheted off Hudson’s head, but he blocked the liner with his wrist at the last second.

Bartlett’s Nick Brandal picked up the save after working around a one-out walk and ending the game on a groundball.

West’s Sam Zieserl went 2-for-2 and scored twice for Team Stripes, which was coached by Taylor Nerland and Aaron Miller. Zieserl led off each of the fifth and sixth innings with singles on the first pitch.

Other players with base hits in that piviotal fifth inning included Kenai’s Jace Crall and Service’s Jake Rafferty and Rilen Niclai.

Another Service player, Martindale, picked up the win with a scoreless fifth inning after stranding a runner on third base.

Team Stars, which was coached by Ken Wooster and Donny Kroon, led 2-0 through four innings.

In the second, Eagle River’s Alex Mullen was hit by a pitch, went to second on a base hit by Chugiak’s Andrew Gruszynski and later scored on a sac fly by Palmer’s Kaesen Buzby.

In the fourth, Mullen led off with a walk and later came around to score on an error.

Team Stripes turned two double plays and got a beautiful sliding backhand play by East shortstop Edison Polanco, who showed why he was the CIC Gold Glove Award winner this year.

Stars 010 100 0 – 2 2 2

Stripes 000 041 x – 5 7 3

Stars – Ray, Haas (2), Peterson (3), Marks (4), Hudson (5), Dumas (5), G.Gruszynski (6) and Rau, Clements (4).

Stripes – Luben, Dittrich (2), Guzman (3), Trudeau (4), Martindale (5), Gibson (6), Brandal (7) and Camacho, Clements (4). 

AA League Game
AK Wild 3, Juneau 2
AK WILD (10-18, 5-10)
Bryson Roon 7IP 0ER 4K 1-3 RBI
Jackson Taylor 1-3 RBI
JUN (8-11, 6-8)
Stats not available

AA League Game
Juneau 2, AK Wild 1
JUN (8-10, 6-7)
Stats not available
AK WILD (9-18, 4-10)
John Haas 5IP 0ER 2K

AA League Game
Service 11, Ketchikan 10 
SER (21-6, 14-1)
Jake Rafferty 1-1 HR 3RBI 2R 2BB
Landon Martindale 2-2 2R 2BB
Chase Mascelli 1-4 2R RBI
KET (5-13-1, 5-8)
Cash Larson 1-2 2B 3RBI
Zyrus Manabat 1-3 2RBI
Jonathan Scoblic 2-3 2BB

AA League Game
Dimond 11, Ketchikan 1 
DIM (15-9-1, 10-5)
Eli Lipinski 5IP 1H 0ER 8K 1-3 HR
Carson Engstrom 2-3 2B 2RBI
Pama Brito 2-2 RBI 2BB
KET (5-14-1, 5-9)
Thomas Kroscavage 1-2
Cash Larson 0-1 BB 2SB

AA League Game
Bartlett 8, East 4
BAR (4-19, 2-14)
Carl Colavecchio 3-4 2B 2RBI 2R 2SB
Nick Brandal 2-2 RBI 2R 2SB
Nick Cunitz 5IP 3H 2ER 7K
Owen Berry 1-4 2RBI
EAST (2-19, 1-14)
Sage Garsha 2-2 RBI
Edison Polanco 0-4 RBI

AA League Game
Eagle River 8, Wasilla 3 
ER (20-8, 13-2)
Jack Molloy 6IP 1H 0ER 7K
Liam Lierman 3-4 RBI
Dallin Roberts 3-5 RBI
Kamden Kurtz 1-4 2RBI
WAS (9-14, 6-10)
Colton Savala 1-3
Jaren Venie 1-3
Pedro Camacho 4IP 5H 1R 3K

AA League Game
Palmer 5, South 1

PAL (12-10, 8-6)
Kaesen Buzby 7IP 4H 1R 4K 2-2 3B RBI
Bryant Marks 3-4 2B RBI 2R
Malachi Mukaabya 2-3
SOU (9-14-1, 5-10)
Braun Precosky 4IP 8H 3ER 4K
Skylar Sugita 2IP 1H 1R 0K
Blake Peterson 1-3 RBI

AA League Game
Chugiak 10, Juneau 9

CHU (15-7, 10-4)
Hunter Rau 2-3 3RBI
Fischer Sims 2-4 2RBI
Jack Carron 2-3 2RBI 2R
Blake Yawit 1-5 3B RBI
JUN (7-10, 5-7)
Garrison Luben 4.1IP 8H 2ER 5K
Porter Nelson 2-3 2B 3RBI
Kasen Ludeman 1-3 2RBI

AA League Game
AK Wild 8, East 5

WILD (9-17, 4-9)
Bryson Roon 3-4 RBI
Bryce Reed 5IP 3ER 4K
Jeremiah Forquer 2IP 1ER 3K
John Haas 2-4 RBI
EAST (2-18, 1-13)
Stats not available

AA League Game
Ketchikan 16, Bartlett 5

KET (5-12-1, 5-7)
Ben Phillips 2-3 RBI 3R
Johnathan Scoblic 1-3 3B 2RBI
Jesse Albecker 2-4 2B RBI 3R
Trevor Sayer 2-3 2B RBI 2R

BAR (3-19, 1-14)
Wyatt Rust 2-3 2B 2RBI
Carl Colavecchio 1-1 2SF 2RBI
Nick Brandal 3-3 2R

LEGION AA GAMES
Friday, July 14
AK Wild vs Juneau 4:30pm K3 (L)  
Juneau vs AK Wild 6:30pm K3 (L)  
Ketchikan vs Service 4:00pm K4 (L)  
Ketchikan vs Dimond 6:30pm K4 (L)  
Eagle River vs Wasilla 6:30pm McMAN (L)  
East vs Bartlett 6:30pm BHS (L) 
 
Saturday, July 15
AK Wild vs South 10:30am TY (L)
Palmer vs Ketchikan 1:00pm K4 (L)
Ketchikan vs East 3:30pm K4 (L)
Dimond vs Palmer 3:30pm K3 (L)
Chugiak vs Juneau 1:00pm OB (L)
Juneau vs Chugiak 3:00pm OB (L)
Service vs Eagle River 1:30pm LF (L)
END REGULAR SEASON

AA League Game
Service 13, Wasilla 0

SER (20-6, 13-1)
Jake Rafferty 6IP 1H 14K 1-3 RBI
Hunter Christian 3-4 (2)2B 3RBI
Kolby Jensen 1-2 2RBI 3R 2BB
Trevor Maltby 1-2 RBI 2R
WAS (9-13, 6-9)
Pedro Camacho 1-2 BB SB
Ramon Guzman 2.2IP 1H 0R 1K

AA League Game
Kenai 8, West 0

KEN (19-10-1, 12-4)
Malakai Olson 7IP 8H 0R 6K
Charlie Chamberlain 1-3 2B 3RBI
Andrew Pieh 2-4 2B RBI
Jayden Stuyvesant 1-2 2RBI
WEST (14-13, 8-8)
Evan Fitzgerald 2-3
Makai Baylous 2-3

AA League Game
Eagle River 18, South 1

ER (19-8, 12-2)
Josh Thompson 2-3 3B 3RBI 2R
Kamden Kurtz 1-1 2B 2RBI
Liam Lierman 4IP 3H 1R 7K 2-2 2RBI
Jack Molloy 2-3 2RBI
Tommy Molloy 1-3 2RBI
SOU (9-13-1, 5-9)
Logan Geuss 2-2 
Mason Theriault 1-2

AA League Game
Dimond 14, Bartlett 3

DIM (14-9-1, 9-5)
Ryan Swanstrom 3-4 (2)2B 3RBI
Chase Mathews 3-3 3RBI 3R
Pama Brito 2-4 2B 2R
Colin Doherty 3IP 0H 0R 3K 2-4 RBI
BAR (3-18, 1-13)
Carl Colavecchio 1-1 2RBI 2BB
Andy Rust 0-1 RBI 2BB
 

AA League Game
Eagle River 5, Kenai 4

ER (18-8, 11-2)
Gunner Mountcastle 3.1IP 1H 0R 4K
Alex Mullen 0-1 RBI 2BB 4IP 4H 2ER
Jack Molloy 2-4 2B SB
Landon Hudson 0-2 RBI
KEN (18-10-1, 11-4)
Simon Grenier 1-3 2RBI SB
Jace Crall 3-5 RBI
Trenton Ohnemus 6IP 5H 3ER 3K

AA League Game
Palmer 8, Kenai 1

PAL (11-10, 7-6)
Boman Marks 6.2IP 7H 1R 4K
Kaesen Buzby 2-3 3B RBI 2R
Landon Guggenmos 2-3 2B 2RBI 2R
Nate Wilson 1-2 RBI
KEN (18-9-1, 11-3)
Atticus Gibson 2-4 2.1IP 3H 1R 3K
Andrew Pieh 2-2 RBI
Hunter Williams 2-4

AA League Game
Chugiak 13, West 3

CHU (14-7, 9-4)
Michael Boudreau 2-4 HR 3RBI 2R
Tyler Cage 2-3 RBI 2R
Five other players with RBI
Josh Westerman 3.1IP 2H 1R 2K
WEST (14-12, 8-7)
Paul Dittrich 2-2 2RBI
Liam Guinn 0-2 RBI
Sam Zieserl 1IP 0H 0R 1-3 SB

AA League Game
Dimond 5, South 3

DIM (13-9-1, 8-5)
Chase Mathews 4.2IP 5H 3R 7K 1-4 RBI
Aiden Ray 2.1IP 0H 0R 6K
Colin Doherty 1-1 RBI 2BB
Caleb Cooke 1-4 RBI
SOU (9-12-1, 5-8)
Mason Theriault 2-3 (2)2B 2RBI
Caleb Bonin 0-2 RBI
Blake Peterson 6IP 5H 3ER 8K

AA League Game
Eagle River 13, Bartlett 1

ER (17-8, 10-2)
Charlie Wallace 1-4 2B 3RBI
Gage Rose 1-4 3RBI
Josh Thompson 3-4 2B RBI 3R
Kamden Kurtz 3-3 2B RBI
BAR (3-16, 1-11)
Carl Colavecchio 1-2 SB

LEGION AA GAMES
Tuesday, July 11
Palmer 8, Kenai 1 (L)  
Eagle River 5, Kenai 4 (L)
Dimond 5, South 3 (L)
Chugiak 13, West 4 (L)
East 15, Bartlett 5 (L)
Wednesday, July 12
Kenai vs West 1:00pm K4 (L)
Bartlett vs Dimond 6:30pm K4 (L)
South vs Eagle River 6:30pm LF (L)
Service vs Wasilla 6:30pm McMAN (L)

AA League Game
West 24, Wasilla 6

WEST (14-11, 8-6)
Evan Fitzgerald 2-4 SF 6RBI
Cyrus Clendaniel 3-4 RBI 6R
Sam Zieserl 3-5 RBI 4R
Makai Baylous 2-4 2RBI 2R
WAS (9-12, 6-7)
Chase Sivulich 2-3 RBI
Pedro Camacho 2-3 3R
Jaren Venie 2-4 RBI

AA League Game
Kenai 2, Chugiak 0

KENAI (18-8-1, 11-2)
Malakai Olson 5IP 2H 0R 0K
Derrick Jones 2IP 0H 0R 3K
Hunter Williams 1-3 R
Charlie Chamberlain 1-3 R
CHU (13-7, 8-4)
Preston Rau 5IP 7H 0ER 7K
Josh Westermann 1IP 1H 0R 2K
Fischer Sims 1-3
Owen Dockstader 1-2

AA League Game
Eagle River 6, Palmer 2

ER (16-8, 9-2)
Tommy Molloy 5IP 3H 0R 3K
Charlie Wallace 2IP 1H 1ER 6K
Josh Thompson 0-2 SF 2RBI
Dallin Roberts 0-2 SF 2RBI
PAL (10-10, 6-6)
Dylen Crowther 7IP 4H 6R 4K
Bryant Marks 2-3
Steven Norkus 1-2 BB
Cauy Trangmoe 1-2

LEGION AA GAMES
Sunday, July 9
Kenai 2, Chugiak 0 (L)
Kenai 10, Chugiak 4 NL
West 24, Wasilla 6 (L)
Eagle River 6, Palmer 2 (L)
Service 15, AK Wild 3 NL
South 13, Ketchikan 4 NL 
Juneau 12, Bartlett 11 NL

AA League Game
Ketchikan 19, South 3

KET (4-11-1, 4-7)
Benjamin Phillips 2-5 HR 3RBI
Jonathan Scoblic 2-3 3B 3RBI 4R
Ridge Summers 3-4 2B 2RBI 3R
Jesse Albecker 1-2 2RBI 3R
SOU (8-11-1, 5-7)
Chase Dixon 3-3
Braun Precosky 2-3 2RBI
Grayson Stanek-Alward 0-3 RBI

AA League Game
South 5, Ketchikan 3

SOU (8-10-1, 5-6)
Gavin Lawrence 6.2IP 1ER 5K 1-3 2RBI
Chase Dixon 3-4 3R
Luke Tovsen 2-4 RBI
KET (3-11-1, 3-7)
Benjamin Phillips 1-1 SF RBI BB
Ridge Summers 5.2IP 7H 3R 7K
Cash Larson 0-1 SF RBI

AA League Game
Palmer 10, Wasilla 4

PAL (10-9, 6-5)
Landon Guggenmos 5.1IP 4H 4R 4K
Bryant Marks 1-4 2RBI 2R
Nate Wilson 1-3 RBI 2R
WAS (9-12, 6-7)
Pedro Camacho 3-4 2B RBI 2R 3.1IP 8K
Colton Savala 1-4 2RBI 2.2IP 0ER

AA League Game
Kenai 7, Dimond 1

KEN (16-8-1, 10-2)
Hunter Williams 3-4 3RBI
Jace Crall 1-3 RBI
Derrick Jones 1-3 2B RBI
Trenton Ohnemus 4IP 3H 0R 3K
DIM (12-9-1, 7-5)
Eli Lipinski 2-3 2.2IP 1ER 3K
Colin Doherty 3.1IP 3H 1R 3K

AA League Game
West 12, East 2

WEST (13-11, 7-6)
Orion Halliburton 1-2 HR 3RBI
Paul Dittrich 3-3 (2)2B 2RBI 2R
Athena Clendaniel 3IP 2H 1ER 1K
EAST (1-17, 0-12)
Alan Contreras 1-1 2BB
Dylan Dumas 0-3 RBI

AA League Game
Service 14, AK Wild 0

SER (18-6, 12-1)
Landon Martindale 2-2 2RBI 3R
Rilen Niclai 1-3 2RBI
Andrew Hickman 1-2 2RBI
Owen Hickman 3IP 2H 0R 2K
WILD (8-16, 3-9)
Jorge Pagan 2-2 BB
Hunter Clements 0-2 BB
John Haas 0-1 BB
Jeremiah Forquer 0-1 BB

AA League Game
Wasilla 13, East 4

WAS (9-11, 6-6)
Jaren Venie 5IP 3H 3R 9K 1-3
O Savala 3-4 2RBI 2SB
Chase Sivulich 3-4 2B
Gabriel Wheeler 2-4 RBI 2R
EAST (1-16, 0-11)
Dylan Dumas 5IP 9H 3ER 4K 1-2 RBI
Carrasco 1-4 RBI
Edison Polanco 1-2 2BB

AA League Game
Kenai 15, Wasilla 4

KEN (13-8, 7-2)
Charlie Chamberlain 3-3 2B 4RBI
Atticus Gibson 1-3 2RBI
Hunter Williams 2-4 2B RBI
Malakai Olson 1-3 2RBI 2R
WAS (8-11, 5-6)
Pedro Camacho 2-4
Whalen Halverson 1-3 RBI
Jaren Venie 1-1 2B RBI

AA League Game
Eagle River 14, Dimond 1

ER (15-8, 8-2)
Alex Mullen 1-1 3RBI
Dallin Roberts 2-3 2RBI
Liam Lierman 1-2 2BB 4R
Ryan Mullen 1-3 RBI 2R
Gage Rose 4IP 0H 1R 4K
DIM (12-8, 7-4)
Pama Brito 1-3
Peyton Montagna 0-1 SB
Ryan Swanstrom 0-1 HBP

AA League Game
Service 3, West 1

SER (16-6, 10-1)
Coen Nicali 1-2 2B SF RBI
Anrew Hickman 2-3 2B 
Kolby Jensen 0-1 SF RBI
Rilen Niclai 4IP 1H 0R 1K
WEST (12-11, 6-6)
Makai Baylous 5IP 4H 3R 0K
Sam Zieserl 1-3 RBI
Cyrus Clendaniel 1-3

AA League Game
Chugiak 6, Palmer 3

CHU (12-6, 7-3)
Preston Rau 4IP 8H 3R 4K
Tyler Cage 1-3 2BB 2RBI
Michael Boudreau 1-3 2B RBI 2R
Tyson Morgan 3IP SV 2H 0R 3K
PAL (9-8, 5-4)
Bowman Marks 2-3 RBI 3.2IP 4H 3ER 3K
Kaesen Buzby 2-3 RBI
Bryant Marks 2-3

AA League Game
Chugiak 11, Palmer 1

CHU (13-6, 8-3)
Tyler Cage 3-3 2B 2RBI
Fischer Sims 2-3 3B RBI
Landon Luebke 2-3 3B 2R
Jayden Steckel 4.2IP 2H 1ER 4K
PAL (9-9, 5-5)
Malachi Mukaabya 1-1 HBP SB
Cauy Trangmoe 1-2
Reed Craner 0-1 RBI

AA League Game
Dimond 8, East 3

DIM (12-7, 7-3)
Pama Brito 3-4 (3)2B 5RBI
Rowan Leathard 1-3 RBI
Caleb Cooke 0-1 4R 2IP 0H 0ER
Ryan Swanstrom 3IP 2H 0R 5K
EAST (1-13, 0-8)
Dylan Dumas 5IP 5H 4ER 2K 1-3
Juan Franco 0-2 2RBI
Edison Polanco 1-4
Jorge Rodriguez 1-4

AA League Game
West 11, South 1

WEST (12-10, 6-5)
Cyrus Clendaniel 3-3 2RBI 3R
Evan Fitzgerald 3-4 2RBI
Makai Baylous 3-4 RBI 2R
Orion Halliburton 2-2 3RBI
Paul Dittrich 5IP 5H 0ER 6K
SOUTH (7-10, 4-6)
Mason Theriault 2-2 2B RBI
Blake Peterson 2-3
Robert Hughes 1-3

AA League Game

Palmer 5, Service 4

PAL (9-7, 5-3)

Kaesen Buzby 2-4 HR 3RBI

Dylen Crowther 7IP 2H 0ER 2K

Bowman Marks 1-3 RBI 2R

Bryant Marks 1-3 RBI

SER (14-6, 8-1)

Owen Hickman 1-2 RBI

Jake Rafferty 5.2IP 4H 2R 10K

Kolby Jensen 1-3

AA League Game

Service 14, East 4

SER (15-6, 9-1)

Rilen Niclai 2-2 2B 4RBI

Owen Hickman 2-3 2B 3RBI

Hunter Christian 2-2 2B RBI 3R

Kolby Jensen 1-4 2RBI

EAST (1-12, 0-7)

Edison Polanco 2-3 HR 2RBI

Y Ramirez 0-1 RBI

Caleb White 0-3 RBI

AA League Game

South 2, Wasilla 1

SOU (7-9, 4-5)

Gavin Lawrence 7IP 5H 1R 7K

Blake Peterson 1-2 RBI

Mason Theriault 1-3 RBI

WAS (9-10, 5-5)

Pedro Camacho 6IP 4H 1ER 5K 1-3 2B

Jaren Venie 1-4 2B RBI

Whalen Halverson 1-1 HBP SB

Lance Coz Wood Bat Tournament

@ Kenai

Lower Columbia (WA) 4, Kenai 3

LC (18-5)

Easton Marshall 3-5 HR RBI 2R

Kolten Lindstrom 4IP 2H 1R 5K

Talon McCrorty 2IP 1H 0ER 1K

Team: Finished 9-3 in Alaska

KEN (11-8)

Malakai Olson 3IP 2H 0R 4K

Braden Smith 3IP 2H 0R 2K

Hunter Williams 2-4

Jace Crall 0-2 RBI

Papa's Pizza Invitational

@ Eugene

Day 4 of 4

Eagle River 9, Boys of Summer (OR) 8

ER (14-8)

Kamden Kurtz 1-1 2RBI

Landon Hudson 1-4 RBI

Gunner Mountcastle 0-3 RBI

Alex Mullen 0-1 RBI

Liam Lierman 2-4

Ryan Mullen 5IP 5H 2ER6K

BOYS

E Auxter 1-1 2RBI

L Engles 1-2 RBI

I Auxter1-4 RBI

AA League Game

West 3, Wasilla 2 (9 innings)

WEST (11-10, 5-5)

Makai Baylous 4.2IP 5H 1R 3K

Liam Gunn 4.1IP 4H 1R 5K

Jack Boots 2-5 RBI

WAS (8-9, 5-4)

Pedro Camacho 4-4 2B RBI 3SB

Ramon Guzman 5IP 4H 0ER 5K

Jaren Venie 3.2 4H 0ER 4K

AA League Game

Chugiak 12, AK Wild 0

CHU (9-6, 5-3)

Preston Rau 5IP 8H 0R 5K

Blake Yawit 2-2 2B 3RBI 3R

Tyler Cage 2-4 2RBI

Owen Dockstader 2-3 RBI

AK WILD (7-12, 3-6)

Remy Daravivanh 2-3

John Haas 2-3

AA League Game

Chugiak 6, AK Wild 2

CHU (10-6, 6-3)

Jayden Steckel 6IP 3H 2R 6K

Hunter Rau 1-2 2RBI

Michael Boudreau 2-4 RBI

Jack Carron 2-4 2R

AK WILD (7-13, 3-7)

John Haas 6IP 8H 2ER 1-3 RBI

Jackson Taylor 1-3 2B RBI

Hunter Clements 1-3 SB

AA League Game

Service 21, Ketchikan 0

SER (13-5, 7-0)

Owen Hickman 2-2 (2)2B 5RBI

Andrew Hickman 3-4 2B 3RBI 2R

Landon Martindale 3-3 RBI 3IP 0H 6K

Zach Schaffer 2-2 RBI

Jake Rafferty Immaculate inning (9 pitches, 3K)

KET (2-8, 2-4)

Ridge Summers 1-1

Ayden Manabat 0-0 1BB

AA League Game

Service 11, Ketchikan 1

SER (14-5, 8-0)

Jake Rafferty 2-3 HR 2B 2RBI

Coen Niclai 3-3 2B 2R

Hunter Christian 1-2 2B 2RBI

Kolby Jensen 2.1IP 0H 0R

KET (2-9, 2-5)

Ben Phillips 2-2 2B 1R

Hayden Trudeau 1-3 2B RBI

Ridge Summers 1-3 2IP 2R

AA League Game

Dimond 7, Juneau 1

DIM (11-7, 6-3)

Chase Mathews 6IP 4H 1R 5K 2-3 2RBI

Peyton Montagna 2-4 2B 2RBI 2R

Colin Doherty 1-3 2B RBI

JUN (3-7, 2-5)

Bodhi Nelson 2-4 (2)2B RBI

Kai Schmidt 6IP 9H 5ER 3K

Papa's Pizza Invitational

@ Eugene

Day 3 of 4

Keizer (OR) 7, Eagle River 4

KEIZER

E Kleinschmit 2-4 HR 3RBI

S Enderie 2-4 RBI

Team: 3 runs in B6

ER (13-8)

Gunner Mountcastle 3-3 2B

Kamden Kurtz 1-3 2RBI

Liam Lierman 4IP 5H 1ER 5K

Jack Molloy 0-1 SF RBI

Tommy Molloy 1-3 RBI

AA League Game
South 6, Juneau 5

SOU (6-9, 3-5)
Braun Precosky 7IP 5H 3ER 4K
Mason Theriault 1-2 2RBI
Logan Geuss 2-3
Robert Hughes 1-3 RBI
JUN (3-5, 2-3)
Bodhi Nelson 2-4 RBI
Garrison Luben 6IP 4H 5R 9K
Kasen Ludeman 2-4 2B 2R

AA League Game
Palmer 7, Ketchikan 0
PAL (8-7, 4-3)
Landon Guggenmos 6IP 3H 0R 11K
Kaesen Buzby 1-2 3B 3RBI 1IP 1K
Nate Wilson 2-4 2R
KET (2-7, 2-3)
Thomas Kroscavage 1-1 2BB
Cash Larson 1-3
Benjamin Phillips 1-3

Papa's Pizza Invitational 
@ Eugene
Day 2 of 4

Untouchables (OR) 15, Eagle River 14

UNTOUCHABLES
D Decarlo 1-4 2RBI 1IP 0R
B Larson 2-4 2RBI
ER (13-6)
Kamden Kurtz 3-4 3B 3RBI 2R
Ryan Mullen 3-4 3RBI 2R
Liam Lierman 3-4 3RBI
Landon Hudson 3-4 RBI
Dallin Roberts 1-3 2RBI

Eugene (OR) 11, Eagle River 1

EUGENE (27-2)
Eli Crist 2-4 2RBI
Dillon Butler 2-3 2RBI
ER (13-7)
Liam Lierman 2-3
Alex Mullen 2-3
Jack Mullen 0-2 RBI
Gunner Mountcastle 1-1
Landon Hudson 4.2IP 5H 0ER

Lance Coz Wood Bat Tournament
@ Kenai Fields

Lower Columbia (WA) 12, Bartlett 4
Lower Columbia (WA) 2, Kenai 1
No stats available

AA League Game
Service 4, West 0

SER (12-5, 6-0)
Rilen Niclai 1-3 HR 2RBI 3IP 0H 0R 4K
Jake Rafferty 2-4 HR RBI
Owen Hickman 2-3 RBI 1IP 0H 0R
Andrew Hickman 2IP 1H 0R 2K
Team: 7th shutout
WEST (10-10, 4-5)
Braden Meissner 1-2
Evan Fitzgerald 5IP 8H 4R 1K
Joey Walker 2IP 0H 0R 2K

AA League Game
Dimond 12, South 7

DIM (9-7, 4-3)
Chase Mathews 3-4 3RBI 2R 1.1IP 0R
Pama Brito 3-4 2R 2SB
Carson Engstrom 1-4 2RBI 2R
Aiden Ray 1-4 2RBI
SOU (5-9, 2-5)
Robert Hughes 2-4 SB 2IP
Mason Theriault 1-3 RBI 2R
Braun Precosky 1-2 RBI

Papa's Pizza Invitational 
@ Eugene
Day 1 of 4

Mid-Valley (OR) 12, Eagle River 7

MV
A Metzger 4-4 3RBI
M Woodward 2-4 2RBI
Johnson 1-4 RBI
ER (13-5)
Liam Lierman 2-4 RBI
Alex Mullen 1-3 2RBI
Dallin Roberts 3-4 RBI
Tommy Molloy 3-4 RBI
Jack Molloy 2-4 RBI

Todd Ryan Memorial Tournament
Title Game

Eugene (OR) 11, Lower Columbia (WA) 0

EUGENE (26-2)
Collin Hernandez 6IP 4H 0R 6K
Kaden Starr 2-4 3B 3RBI
Eli Crist 2-3 RBI 2R
LC (15-5)
Kolten Lindstrom 4IP 7H 0ER 2K
Kaeden Lyster 1-1
Trenton Lamb 1-1 BB

Third Place

Palmer 8, Wasilla 5

PAL (7-7)
Boman Marks 5.1IP 2H 0R 6K 1-2 RBI
Nate Wilson 2-3 3RBI
Kaeden Buzby 0-3 RBI 2R
WAS (8-8)
Jaren Venie 1-4 RBI
Jacob Johnson 1-1 RBI 2BB 1.2IP
Ramon Guzman 0-1 RBI

NON-TOURNAMENT GAMES

AA League Game
West 12, South 6

WEST (10-9, 4-4)
Orion Halliburton 1-4 2RBI
Cyrus Clendaniel 1-3 2BB RBI
Paul Dittrich 4.1IP 5H 1K 1-4 RBI
Makai Baylous 2.2IP 1H 0R
SOUTH (5-8, 2-4)
Blake Peterson 3-3 RBI
Skylar Sugita 2-4 RBI
Braun Precosky 2-3 2B RBI

AA League Game
Chugiak 11, Dimond 9

CHU (7-6, 4-3)
Fischer Sims 3-3 2B 2R 2SB
Tyler Cage 1-4 2RBI
Eli Blaum 2RBI
Preston Rau 2.2IP 4H 0ER 2K
DIM (8-7, 3-3)
Peyton Montagna 2-3 3B RBI
Caleb Cooke 2-3 2RBI
Kenton Cooke 2-3 2R RBI
Colin Doherty 2.1IP 2H 0ER 3K

Todd Ryan Memorial Tournament
Day 2 of 3

Lower Columbia (WA) 11, Wasilla 1

LC (15-4, 3-0)
Conor Wesemann 1-2 HR 3RBI
Talon McGrorty 4IP 1H 1R 4K
Kaeden Lyster 1-2 2RBI 2R
Kolten Lindstrom 1-1 2BB 2R RBI
WAS (8-7, 1-2)
Gerardo Palomares 1-2
Landon Boland 0-0 2BB 1R

Lower Columbia (WA) 7, Palmer 5

LC (14-4, 2-0)
Mitchell Lindsey 5IP 6H 3R 1K
Jake Lindstrom 3-4 (2)2B 2RBI
Talon McGrorty 2-3 2RBI 2R
PAL (6-7, 0-3)
Boman Marks 4-4 3B 2RBI
Dylen Crowther 1-4 RBI
Bryant Marks 2-2 RBI 2R
Reed Craner 1-2 BB 2R

Eugene (OR) 12, Palmer 1

EUGENE (25-2, 2-1)
Eli Crist 3-3 2B 5RBI
Peyton Tyner 3-4 2RBI 2R
Adam Elliott 2-4 2RBI
PAL (6-6, 0-2)
Boman Marks 1-2 BB 1R
Kaeson Buzby 1-1 BB
Nate Wilson 0-1 SF RBI
Malachi Mukaabya 2IP 1H 1R 1K

NON-TOURNAMENT GAMES

AA League Game
Eagle River 6, West 2

ER (13-4, 7-2)
Charlie Wallace 6IP 5H 2R 2K
Jack Molloy 2-4 RBI
Landon Hudson 2-4 RBI
Kamden Kurtz 2-4 RBI
WEST (9-9 3-4)
Sam Zieserl 1-2
Evan Fitzgerald 1-2
Liam Gunn 5IP 2K

Todd Ryan Memorial Tournament
Day 2 of 3

Lower Columbia (WA) 11, Wasilla 1

LC (15-4, 3-0)
Conor Wesemann 1-2 HR 3RBI
Talon McGrorty 4IP 1H 1R 4K
Kaeden Lyster 1-2 2RBI 2R
Kolten Lindstrom 1-1 2BB 2R RBI
WAS (8-7, 1-2)
Gerardo Palomares 1-2
Landon Boland 0-0 2BB 1R

Lower Columbia (WA) 7, Palmer 5

LC (14-4, 2-0)
Mitchell Lindsey 5IP 6H 3R 1K
Jake Lindstrom 3-4 (2)2B 2RBI
Talon McGrorty 2-3 2RBI 2R
PAL (6-7, 0-3)
Boman Marks 4-4 3B 2RBI
Dylen Crowther 1-4 RBI
Bryant Marks 2-2 RBI 2R
Reed Craner 1-2 BB 2R

Eugene (OR) 12, Palmer 1

EUGENE (25-2, 2-1)
Eli Crist 3-3 2B 5RBI
Peyton Tyner 3-4 2RBI 2R
Adam Elliott 2-4 2RBI
PAL (6-6, 0-2)
Boman Marks 1-2 BB 1R
Kaeson Buzby 1-1 BB
Nate Wilson 0-1 SF RBI
Malachi Mukaabya 2IP 1H 1R 1K

NON-TOURNAMENT GAMES

AA League Game
Eagle River 6, West 2

ER (13-4, 7-2)
Charlie Wallace 6IP 5H 2R 2K
Jack Molloy 2-4 RBI
Landon Hudson 2-4 RBI
Kamden Kurtz 2-4 RBI
WEST (9-9 3-4)
Sam Zieserl 1-2
Evan Fitzgerald 1-2
Liam Gunn 5IP 2K

Todd Ryan Memorial Tournament
Day 1 of 3

Wasilla 8, Palmer 2
WAS (8-5, 1-0)
Gabriel Wheeler 1-3 2RBI
Ramon Guzman 6IP 7H1ER 4K
Whalen Halverson 2-3 RBI
Chase Sivulich 1-3 2R RBI
Gerardo Palomares 1-2 RBI
PAL (6-5, 0-1)
Bryant Marks 2-4
Dylen Crowther 2-3 RBI
Kaeson Buzby 1-3 RBI

Lower Columbia (WA) 11, Eugene (OR) 1
LC (13-4, 1-0) 
Camden Wheatley 5.1IP 2H 0ER 3K
Deker Bartell 1-3 2B 3RBI
Easton McDonald 3-3 3R SB
Trenton Lamb 2-5 RBI
Conor Wesemann 1-2 2B 2RBI
EUGENE (23-2, 0-1)
Peyton Tyner 1-3 2B
Aiden Hazen 1-3 2B

Eugene (OR) 15, Wasilla 5
EUGENE (24-2, 1-1)
Brock Johnson 1-3 3RBI 3R
Kaden Starr 2-4 RBI
Nate Cook 3.1IP 2H 0R 4K
WAS (8-6, 1-1)
Gabriel Wheeler 2-3 2B 3RBI
Gerardo Palomares 1-3 RBI 3IP 2H 2ER
A Perez 1-1 1IP 1H 0R

Alaska 529 Midseason Classic
@ Mulcahy Stadium

Title Game
Eugene (OR) 4, Eagle River 1

Carter Greene went the distance and the Challengers became the first team from Oregon to win the Alaska 529 Midseason Classic title. Greene allowed one run in the second inning before shutting it down with five consecutive scoreless frames to earn the win and help Eugene extend to 23 its winning streak, which includes a 7-0 record in Alaska. The Challengers went 5-0 in the tournament, outscoring opponents 45-5. Both games against Eagle River were close, with the Challengers winning 1-0 on Collin Hernandez's no-hitter and 4-1 in the championship game behind Greene. Pitching carried Eugene during the week as the Challengers carved up batters with a tidy 1.13 ERA in 31 innings. The title game was no different. Greene didn't allow a runner to reach second base in each of the final five frames, retiring the final eight batters. Eugene (23-1) took command of the game in the third inning to break a 1-1 tie. Nate Cook delivered the big hit with a two-out, two-run single. Meanwhile, a 4-1 deficit seemed like a steep hill to climb for the Wolves, who plated a run in the second inning to snap an 11.2-inning scoreless streak against Eugene dating back to last year. These teams have faced off three times since last summer with the Challengers taking all three: 8-7, 1-0 and 4-1. Eugene's Peyton Tyner and Brock Johnson each banged out three hits. Eagle River pitchers scattered 10 hits and one walk. Starter Liam Lierman went 4.2 innings and allowed all four runs with seven strikeouts and reliver Charlie Wallace pitched the final 1.1 innings. Alex Mullen went 1-for-3 and scored his team's lone run on a wild pitch for the Wolves (12-4). First baseman Tommy Molloy saved a run in the second inning when he picked a low throw to end the inning with a runner on third.

EUGENE (24-1)
Carter Greene 7IP 2H 1R 4K
Brock Johnson 3-4 RBI
Eli Crist 1-3 2B RBI
Nate Cook 1-2 2RBI
Peyton Tyner 3-3

ER (12-4)
Liam Lierman 4.2IP 7H 4R 7K
Charlie Wallace 1.1IP 3H 0R 2K
Alex Mullen 1-3
Jack Molloy 1-3

Individual Awards
MVP - Eli Crist, Eugene Challengers
On a roster stacked with big-time players, this guy made the biggest impact. He batted .333 with five RBIs, including one tonight to get the party started in the first inning. He was big in the box and on the bump. When his team needed him to close out a 5-2 win over Dimond, he did just that, sealing the deal with a 6-out save.

Big Stick - Alex Mullen, Eagle River Wolves
Hitting in the cleanup spot, his job is to drive in runs and that’s exactly what he did this weekend, batting .385 and matching the tournament lead with 7 RBIs. He was consistent, too, knocking in a run or scoring a run in four of five games.

Top Pitcher - Collin Hernandez, Eugene Challengers
This smooth southpaw sure knows how to make a first impression in Alaska. He made a historic performance on Day 2 after throwing the third no-hitter in the tournament’s 27-year history. And he did it with style points, racking up 12 strikeouts. 

Gold Glove - Dallin Roberts, Eagle River Wolves
A workhorse behind the plate, he is more fundamental than flash, but that’s what you want in a catcher. He also played second base and left field. He did the little things - and the big things like zero errors in 33 innings. 

Semifinals
Eugene (OR) 13, Lower Columbia (WA) 1
Kaden Starr sparkled, and the Challengers used an 11-run fourth inning to trigger the mercy rule in this five-inning victory in the first semifinal to punch their ticket to the title game. Starr faced runners at second and third two batters into the game after a single, walk and passed ball. Kolten Lindstrom then grounded out to drive in a run and that was really the extent of the damage as Starr immediately stopped the bleeding. He struck out seven and ended the game by inducing a 4-6-3 double play. The right-hander is bound for the University of Portland, where he will be teammates with Anchorage's Curtis Hebert. In the third inning, Adam Elliott tripled and came on Brock Johnson's RBI single to make it 2-1 and it looked like we'd have a good game. The fourth inning changed that. That's when the Challengers sent 16 batters to the plate, banged out seven hits and three doubles, hit a sac fly and drew three walks in addition to benefiting from a balk, two errors and a catcher's interference call. Lower Columbia used four pitchers to get through the nightmare inning. Deker Bartell went 2-for-3 for his team's only two hits and scored its only run; he was also summoned to the mound to end the fourth. Eugene extended to 22 its winning streak and improved to 6-0 on its Alaska road trip. This was just the second loss for Lower Columbia in 11 games. These teams will meet again tomorrow in the first round of the 3-day Todd Ryan Memorial Tournament that will conclude Wednesday in Wasilla.

EUGENE (23-1)
Kaden Starr 5IP 2H 1R 7K
Jaxon Kister 1-1 2B 2RBI
Aiden Hazen 1-2 2B 2RBI
Easton McDonald 1-2 2RBI
Adam Elliott 2-3 3B 2R

LC (11-4)
Deker Bartell 2-3
Kolten Lindstrom 0-1 RBI BB

Semifinals
Eagle River 11, Chugiak 1
Ryan Mullen set the tone after leading off the game with a single, stealing second and scoring on Liam Lierman's RBI base knock that got the Wolves rolling in the right direction in winning the semifinal game in five innings over archrivals. Eagle River scored twice in the first inning and added another in the second to build a quick 3-0 lead. Gunner Mountcastle made it stick with three scoreless frames on his way to making a quality 4-inning, 1-run start. He picked off a runner in the first inning and ended each of the second and third innings with groundballs to second. Mountcastle also went 2-for-2, leading off the second with a triple and knocking in a run during the Wolves' seven-run fifth inning that triggered the mercy rule. Ryan Mullen finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two stolen bases, while Alex Mullen rapped out a two-run double in the fifth. Tommy Molloy closed it out with a scoreless inning. Chugiak's Landon Luebke went 2-for-3 and Hunter Rau drove in the lone run. Twice the Mustangs got a runner to third base without scoring. On the flip side, they did turn two double plays on a liner to second baseman Gabe Gruszynski in the third and a 6-4-3 to end the fourth.

ER (12-3)
Gunner Mountcastle 2-2 3B RBI 2R 4IP 3H 1R 5K
Alex Mullen 1-3 2B 2RBI
Ryan Mullen 2-4 2R 2SB
Jack Molloy 1-3 2R 3SB

CHU (6-6)
Landon Luebke 2-3 2B
Hunter Rau 0-1 RBI
Connor Lanehart 1-2

Fifth-Place Game
Service 4, West 0
Landon Martindale, Sebastian Fournier and Zach Schaffer combined on a 5-hit shutout as the Cougars won the fifth-place game to finish the tournament with a 2-2 record. Martindale started and pitched the first four innings, allowing two hits and striking out five. Fournier pitched two innings and Schaffer threw a single frame to give Service its sixth shutout in 16 games this year. Owen Hickman went 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs. He had a two-out RBI in the first inning and added a two-run triple as part of a three-run sixth inning. He also threw out a baserunner behind the plate; his second in two days. Trevor Maltby went 2-for-2 with a walk and RBI. The Service lineup featured three Maltby bros on the field together for the first time this season, with Trevor at shortstop, Trey at first base and Carson in center field. West's Jack Boots got the rare start and did well, pitching 4.1 innings and holding Service to just two hits and one run while striking out four. Cyrus Clendaniel went 2-for-3 with a stolen base.

SER (11-5)
Landon Martindale 4IP 2H 5K
Sebastian Fournier 2IP 2H
Zach Schaffer 1IP 1H
Owen Hickman 2-3 3B 3RBI
Trevor Maltby 2-2 RBI 2SB

WEST (9-8) 
Jack Boots 4.1IP 2H 1R 4K
Cyrus Clendaniel 2-3 SB

Alaska 529 Midseason Classic
@ Mulcahy Stadium

Game 8 of 16
Chugiak 7, Lower Columbia (WA) 5
Owen Dockstader's two-out, two-run single in the third inning provided the Mustangs a two-run cushion that starter Preston Rau and reliver Gabe Gruszynski made stand. With the win, Chugiak improved to 2-1 in Pool B and advanced to Sunday's semifinals. Rau pitched 5.2 innings to earn the win while Gruszynski closed it out, getting all four outs on strikeouts. Gruszynski also had a nice day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double that kickstarted a two-run second inning, and in the field, throwing out a runner from his knees at second base. The Mustangs scored in each of the first four innings after putting the leadoff runner on base. All 12 runs were scored in the first four innings before the pitchers got serious and shut it down. Lower Columbia reliever Talon McGrorty threw 4.2 innings, allowing four hits and one run while striking out six. Teammate Kolten Lindstrom singled to give his team a 4-3 lead, walked, got down a sac bunt and made five assists at third base. He was also part of a 7-5-2 relay that chopped down a runner at the plate. Chugiak's Tyler Cage drove in a run, his tournament-best seventh RBI.

CHU (6-5, 2-1 Pool B)
Preston Rau 5.2IP W 7H 4ER
Gabe Gruszynski 1.1IP SV 1H 0R 2-4 RBI
Owen Dockstader 2-3 2RBI
Andrew Gruszynski 2-3 RBI
Hunter Rau 1-3 RBI
Tyler Cage 1-4 RBI

LC (10-3, 1-1 Pool B)
Talon McGrorty 4.2IP 4H 1R 6K
Kolten Lindstrom 1-2 2RBI
Logan Bodily 1-4 RBI
Jake Lindstrom 0-2 RBI
Tyson McGrorty 2-3

Game 9 of 16
Lower Columbia (WA) 3, Service 1
Logan Barker and Kolten Lindstrom anchored a four-man pitching staff that threw a combined 1-hitter to help Lower Columbia rally past Service and advance to Sunday's semifinals. Barker threw four innings to earn the win and Lindstrom racked up the save, serving as the opener and closer. Lindstrom started the game and pitched a scoreless first frame before coming back for the seventh and recording another scoreless frame. Barker gave up one hit while also striking out three. Lower Columbia catcher Tyson McGrorty threw out two runners on the bases and left fielder Logan Dorland saved a run with nice catch along the foul line in the sixth. The game was scoreless through five, keyed by pitching. Service starter Jake Rafferty threw five innings and held the Washington team to two hits while striking out seven. He got out of a two-on, none-out jam in the third thanks to back-to-back Ks and a groundout. He retired Easton Marshall in an 11-pitch battle in the fifth but lost a 9-pitch battle to Jackson Rohl in the sixth. Rohl, a pinch-hitter, fouled off three straight pitches with a full count before earning a walk with the bases loaded to plate the tying run. Talon McGrorty was up next, and he too earned a bases-loaded walk to put Lower Columbia ahead 2-1. Rafferty led off the sixth with a walk and came around to score when Sebastian Fournier drew a bases-loaded walk for the game's first run. The lead didn't last, though. The Cougars will play in Sunday's fifth-place game.

LC (11-3, 2-1 Pool B)
Logan Barker 4IP W 1H 0R 3K
Kolten Lindstrom 2IP SV 0H 0R 2K
Jackson Rohl 0-0 RBI
Talon McGrorty 1-2 RBI
Tyson McGrorty 2CS

SER (10-5, 1-2 Pool B)
Jake Rafferty 5IP 2H 3R 7K
Sebastian Fournier 1-2 RBI
Carson Maltby 0-0 SB
Hunter Christian 1IP 0H

Game 10 of 16
Eugene (OR) 5, Dimond 2

Kyle Miller and Eli Crist combined for six straight shutout frames and the Challengers got just enough offense to hold off the Lynx and extend their winning streak to 20 games. Miller started and settled down nicely after giving up two runs with two outs in the first inning. He worked around a leadoff walk in the second and a leadoff double in the fourth. He scattered five hits and three walks in his five innings while striking out four. Eugene tied the game in the second inning on RBIs by Crist and Kaden Starr. Dillon Butler's single and Crist's double got the party started. In the third, the Challengers took the lead for good after Adam Elliott drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on an error. The lead swelled to 5-2 in the fourth after another Lynx error led to another run and Aiden Hazen scored on the back end of a double steal. Meanwhile, Dimond pitcher Eli Lipinski was dealing and deserved a better fate. The right-hander threw all six innings, limiting the dangerous Oregon team to just three hits while working around seven walks. Lipinski pitched 1-2-3 frames in the first and seventh and got some glove love behind him in the sixth when shortstop Pama Brito turned a 6-3 double play and ended the inning by catching a foul ball against the fence in left field.

EUGENE (21-1, 2-0 Pool A)
Kyle Miller 5IP W 5H 2R 4K
Eli Crist 2IP SV 1-3 2B RBI
Kaden Starr 0-3 RBI
Adam Elliott 0-1 2BB
Aiden Hazen 1-2 2B

DIM (8-6, 0-3 Pool A)
Eli Lipinski 6IP 3H 3ER 3K
Ryan Swanstrom 2-3 2B RBI
Chase Mathews 1-3 RBI
Peyton Montagna 1-3 2B

Game 11 of 16
Eugene (OR) 22, West 1
The only drama in this one was whether the Emerald Challengers would get the tournament record for most runs in a game. They fell short although it hardly mattered as they extended their winning streak to 21 games and advanced to Sunday's semifinals. The Challengers put this one to bed early, with 11 of the first 12 batters reaching base en route to posting a 9-0 lead after the first inning. In the third, they scored seven straight runs before making the first out as the lead swelled to 20-1. Sixteen players saw action in some form and 15 of them scored a run. The only one who didn't, Drew Wooten, did drive in a run so literally everyone produced up and down the lineup. This was the most runs in the tournament since 2010, when West Warrick (RI) pounded South 23-1. The tournament record is held by Excelsior (MN), which whipped West 27-1 in 2007. On this night, Eugene’s Dillon Butler doubled twice and knocked in four runs. Tyler Mikel had three RBIs and Peyton Tyner, Eli Crist and Adam Elliott had a pair of RBIs. Aiden Hazen picked up the win after pitching four of the five innings. He allowed four runs and one run while striking out three. West's Sam Zieserl went 2-for-3 and Braden Meissner drove in his team's lone run.

EUGENE (22-1, 3-0 Pool A)
Aiden Hazen 4IP 4h 1R 3K
Tyler Mikel 1-3 3RBI
Dillon Butler 2-3 (2)2B 4RBI
Peyton Tyner 2-2 2RBI 2R SB
Eli Crist 2-4 2RBI
Adam Elliott 1-3 2RBI 2R SB

WEST (9-6, 1-1 Pool A)
Sam Zieserl 2-3
Braden Meissner 0-1 RBI
Makai Baylous 1-2 1R

Game 12 of 16
Eagle River 9, West 4
Alex Mullen came out of the bullpen to settle down the Wolves, who fell behind early before scoring the final seven runs unanswered to win the game and advance to the tournament semifinals. Mullen threw 4.2 innings, allowing just one hit and no runs while striking out five. He was a steady hand at a time when Eagle River looked shaky after the previous two pitchers had put the team in an early 4-2 hole. Mullen got back-to-back strikeouts with the bases loaded to end the third inning and was lights out the rest of the way. He also went 2-for-4 and scored a run. His brothers also got into the act. Alex Mullen went 2-for-3 with a triple, sac fly and three RBIs and Jack Mullen threw out a baserunner from behind the plate. Alex Mullen's two-out, two-run triple tied the score 4-4 in the third inning. Gage Rose knocked in the next three runs, first with an RBI single in the fourth and then adding a two-run single in the fifth. West came out swinging as seven of the first 10 batters reached base. Jack Boots was the man, going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. He also scored the first run on a wild pitch. Later, his two-run single gave the Eagles a 4-2 lead. In the first inning, both teams turned double plays. Eagle River first baseman Liam Lierman snagged a liner and doubled up the runner at second and West center fielder Beckett Stolp threw out a baserunner at the plate to complete an 8-2 twin killing. The Eagles will play in the fifth-place game.​​​​​​​
ER (11-3, 2-1 Pool A)
Ryan Mullen 4.2IP 1H 0R 5K
Gage Rose 2-3 3RBI 1.1IP
Alex Mullen 2-3 3B SF 3RBI
Landon Hudson 2-4 RBI
Gunner Mountcastle 2-4 2SB 2R

WEST (9-7, 1-2 Pool A)
Jack Boots 2-4 2RBI
Makai Baylous 2-4
Beckett Stolp 1-3 2B RBI
Paul Dittrich 1-3 4IP 3K
Cyrus Clendaniel 0-1 3BB

AA League Game
Kenai 16, AK Wild 4

KEN (9-5, 5-2)
Hunter Williams 2-4 2B 2R 2IP 0H
Braden Smith 3-5 3RBI
Atticus Gibson 3-4 2R RBI

WILD (5-10, 2-5)
Hunter Clements 2-3 2RBI
Remy Daravivanh 1-2
John Haas 0-3 RBI 3.1IP

AA League Game
Kenai 13, Bartlett 2

KEN (10-5, 6-2)
Braden Smith 5IP 7H 2R 6K 3-4 3R
Charlie Chamberlain 1-3 RBI
Hunter Williams 0-3 3R 2SB
Malakai Olson 2-2 2B 3R 2RBI
 
BAR (2-9, 1-7)
Owen Berry 2-3 RBI 1IP 0R
Mason Harrison 1-3 RBI
Carl Colavecchio 1-3

Alaska 529 Midseason Classic
@ Mulcahy Stadium

Game 4 of 16
West 13, Dimond 2
The Eagles had 13 hits and the Lynx made six errors, adding up to a five-inning mercy rule victory. West banged out five base knocks and sent 11 batters to the plate in the second inning, when the Eagles took a commanding 7-0 lead. Paul Dittrich's RBI double got the party started, Jack Boots had an RBI single and Liam Gunn added a two-run single. They got back to work in the fourth with four more runs, keyed by RBIs by Makai Baylous, Dittrich and Braden Meissner. Sam Zieserl put the game out of reach in the fifth after he knocked in a run with an RBI single and then scored after back-to-back errors. Baylous was lights out in relief, pitching three hitless frames and picking off a runner in the third. His catcher Evan Fitzgerald helped him out with a nice catch on a pop up the elevator shaft directly behind home plate. Dimond's Chase Mathews stayed hot with a two-run single in the third, making him 4-for-6 in the tournament. He also threw four innings of relief, striking out seven batters.

WEST (9-5, 1-0 Pool A)
Makai Baylous 3IP W 0H 0R 0-2 RBI
Sam Zieserl 2-3 3R RBI 2SB
Liam Gunn 1-2 2RBI
Paul Dittrich 1-3 2B 2RBI 2R
Braden Meissner 1-2 2RBI

DIM (8-5, 0-2 Pool A)
Chase Mathews 1-3 2RBI 4IP 3ER 7K
Eli Lipinski 1-2 3SB
Caleb Cooke 1-2

Game 5 of 16
Chugiak 12, Service 2
Tyler Cage went 4-for-4 and flirted with history as the Mustangs bounced back in a big way, crushing the Cougars in five innings to win by mercy rule and create a three-way tie in Pool B at 1-1. Cage drove in six runs to miss matching the tournament record of seven RBIs, which has been accomplished by three players, most recently in 2016. One of them is Matt Geurts from 2007. Cage had a two-run single in the first inning, a RBI triple in the third, a RBI single in the fourth and a two-run double in the fifth. He pitched yesterday and did not look good. He took out his frustration out on Service pitching, doing damage against three different hurlers. Landon Luebke went 2-for-3 with a triple, three RBIs and three runs. The Mustangs also got a big effort from Blake Yawitt, who had a sac bunt, RBI single, 9-pitch walk and was hit by a pitch. Lost in the offensive outburst was the pitching of Jayden Steckel, who went four innings without recording a strikeout. After falling behind five batters into the game, Steckel settled down to retire 10 of the final 12 batters he faced. Service got RBI base knocks from Owen Hickman and Rilen Niclai in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead before the wheels fell off.

CHU (5-5, 1-1 Pool B)
Tyler Cage 4-4 2B 3B 6RBI
Landon Luebke 2-3 3B 3RBI 3R
Jayden Steckel 4IP 5H 2R
Blake Yawit 1-1 2R RBI BB HBP
Connor Lanehart 1-1 RBI 2R
Josh Westerman 1IP 0R

SER 10-5, 1-1 Pool B)
Owen Hickman 2-3 RBI
Rilen Niclai 1-2 RBI
Hunter Christian 2-3
Coen Niclai 2-3
Chase Mascelli 1-1

Game 6 of 16
Lower Columbia (WA) 12, South 4
Lower Columbia banged out 10 hits and scored in five of seven innings to triple up the Wolverines in its Alaska debut. The win was the 10th in a row for the team out of Southwest Washington. Logan Dorland, Talon McGroty and Logan Barker each drove in two RBIs and Logan Bodily scored three runs. It was a good night to be named Logan. Even South's Logan Geuss got in on the act, going 2-for-4 and making five assists in the field. Barker's two-out, two-run single gave Lower Columbia a 5-1 edge, but the Wolverines clawed back behind five singles and RBIs from Blake Peterson, Luke Tovsen and Grayson Stanek-Alward to get within 5-4. In a tournament defined by blowouts, it looked like this one would be close. Think again. Lower Columbia finished the game with seven unanswered runs, getting production up and down the lineup. No. 9 hitter Camden Wheatley was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Catcher Trenton Lamb drove in a run and threw out a baserunner. South's Robert Hughes went 2-for-4 and had his streak of reaching base snapped at seven consecutive plate appearances. Right fielder Chase Dixon made a spectacular catch along the left-field line, robbing Lamb of extra bases in the third.

LC (10-2, 1-0 Pool B)
Logan Dorland 2-3 2RBI 2IP 2H 0R
Logan Barker 2-4 2RBI
Camden Wheatley 2-4 RBI
Talon McGroty 1-3 2RBI
Jackson Rohl 2IP 0H 0R
Logan Bodily 3R

SOU (5-7, 1-2 Pool B)
Blake Peterson 3-4 2B RBI
Robert Hughes 2-4
Logan Geuss 2-4
Grayson Stanek-Alward 2-3 2RBI

Game 7 of 16
Eugene (OR) 1, Eagle River 0
Pitcher Collin Hernandez threw the third no-hitter in tournament history and matched the third-highest strikeout total with a dozen, including seven in a row, as he outdueled fellow left-hander Jack Molloy in a game for the ages. The win was the 19th in a row for the Challengers. Hernandez, a rising junior, threw 91 pitches and faced only 22 batters, one above the minimum. He struck out 10 of the first 13 batters and twice snuffed out Eagle River rallies after the two-time defending state champion had put a runner in scoring position. Gunner Mountcastle reached on a two-out error and stole second base but was stranded while Gage Rose walked, stole second and moved to third on a sac bunt and was erased after a failed squeeze bunt. Eagle River had to try something because Hernandez was shoving. He struck out two batters in each of the first two innings before striking out the side in the third and fourth innings. He ended six of seven innings with a K. Among his 12 strikeouts, half were looking. This was the first no-hitter at the Midseason Classic since 2015, when Chugiak's Jared McPhearson, Brady Lindberg and Jimmy Lanier combined for a no-no in a 7-1 win over Eagle River. In 2014, Chris Crosby of Team Avenue (CA) threw a no-no against South. The game was scoreless until the top of the sixth when Eugene's Brock Johnson reached on a throwing error and went to second on Peyton Tyner's drag bunt single. With one out, Eli Crist hit a chopper back to Molloy, who spun to second to attempt an inning-ending double play. The twin killing didn't happen and Johnson never broke stride to score from second, just beating the relay home.

EUGENE (20-1, 1-0 Pool A)
Collin Hernandez No-Hitter 7IP 0H 0R 1BB 12K
91 pitches, Faced 22 batters, 1 above minimum
Brock Johnson 1-4 R
Easton McDonald 2-2 BB
Dillon Butler 1-3 2B

ER (10-3, 0-1 Pool A)
Jack Molloy 5.2IP 5H 1R 2BB 4K
Charlie Wallace 1.1 1H 0R 1K
Gage Rose 0-1 BB SB
Kamden Kurtz 0-1 sac

Alaska 529 Midseason Classic @ Mulcahy Stadium

Game 1 of 16
Eagle River 10, Dimond 2
The Wolves scored in five of their six at-bats and got seven strong innings from starter Alex Mullen and reliever Jack Molloy. They took the lead for good on Liam Lierman's RBI single and kept tacking on more and more runs. A wild pitch made it 3-1. Ryan Mullen's safety squeeze made it 4-1 in the fourth and Alex Mullen's sac fly pushed the lead to 5-1 in the fifth. Mullen pitched the first 5.2 innings to pick up the win, striking out six batters and getting two caught stealing by his catcher Dallin Roberts. Jack Molloy threw the final 1.1 innings and got the save; yes the save, after he entered the game with the bases loaded and Eagle River holding a 5-1 lead. Dimond third baseman Carson Engstrom went 1-for-3 with an RBI and made a beautiful defensive web gem with a diving stop and rocket throw in the third inning. Right fielder Chase Mathews went 3-for-3 and threw out a runner at the plate. Eagle River sealed the deal with a five-run bottom of the sixth.

ER (10-2, 1-0 Pool A)
Alex Mullen 5.2IP W 2R 6K 1-3 2RBI
Liam Lierman 1-3 2RBI 3SB
Landon Hudson 2BB 3R 3SB
Jack Mullen 1-3 2R
Jack Molloy 1.1 0R SV
Tommy Molloy 1-2 2B 2BB

DIM (8-4, 0-1 Pool A)
Peyton Montagna 2-3 RBI
Carson Engstrom 1-3 RBI
Chase Mathews 3-3
Aiden Ray 3IP 4K
Eli Lipinski 0-2 3SB
AJ Mathiason 1-1

Game 2 of 16
Service 9, South 0
Coen Niclai blasted a 2-run bomb while starter Owen Hickman and reliever Landon Martindale combined for a 4-hit shutout as Service ran its shutout streak to 14 innings over the Wolverines this summer. Niclai crushed one over the left-field wall in the first inning for a no-doubt dinger to stake Service to an early 2-0 lead. He added a sac fly in the third inning for this third RBI of the game. Sebastian Fournier doubled in a run to make it 5-0 in the fourth inning. Fournier scored three runs and stole four bases. Hunter Christian's RBI double pushed the lead to 6-0. In the seventh, pinch-hitter Zach Schaffer had a sac fly and Jake Rafferty laced a two-run double. The Cougars made several nice defensive plays. Right fielder Chase Mascelli made a head-first diving catch to end the third. They turned an 8-2 double play to cut down a run at the plate in the fourth. In the fifth, South's Braun Precosky doubled and Gavin Lawrence singled to lead off the inning but Lawrence was picked off and Precosky was later caught in a 1-5-2-6 rundown. South's Robert Hughes doubled for his team's first hit in the fourth and catcher Caleb Bonin threw out a runner at second base.

SER (10-3, 1-0 Pool B)
Owen Hickman 5.2IP W 4H 5K
Coen Niclai 1-1 HR 3RBI SF 2BB
Sebastian Fournier 1-2 2B 3R 4SB
Jake Rafferty 1-4 2B 2RBI
Landon Martindale 1.1IP 0H 2SB
Kolby Jensen 1-3 2R 2SB

SOU (4-6, 0-1 Pool B)
Blake Peterson 5IP 6K
Braun Precosky 1-2 2B
Robert Hughes 1-3 2B
Gavin Lawrence 1-2
Chase Dixon 1-2
Logan Geuss 2IP 1K

Game 3 of 16
South 12, Chugiak 2
Something about playing Chugiak brings out the best in the Wolverines, who beat the Mustangs for the third time this season by a combined score of 32-9. Braun Precosky pitched all six innings to earn the win for South, which built an 8-1 lead after three inning and benefitted from a dozen walks. The Wolverines also had eight hits, including doubles by Grayson Stanek-Alward and Chase Dixon. Logan Geuss went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs. Blake Peterson also had two RBIs. Nos. 1 and 2 batters Skylar Sugita and Robert Hughes combined to reach base nine times and score four runs. In the third, Precosky picked off a runner and catcher Caleb Bonin threw out a baserunner. Chugiak’s Owen Dockstader looked like one of the few guys ready to play as he went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. The Mustangs also turned a 1-4-6-3 double play after the ball deflected off the pitcher's glove right to the second baseman, who flipped to shortstop Fischer Sims who fired a strike to first baseman Eli Blaum, who needed every bit of his 6-foot-3 frame to stay on the bag.

SOU (5-6, 1-1 Pool B)
Braun Precosky 6IP W 5H 2R 3K
Logan Geuss 2-3 2RBI 2R
Blake Peterson 1-2 2RBI
Skylar Sugita 1-2 3R 4SB
Robert Hughes 1-1 RBI 3SB
Luke Tovsen 1-1 3SB 2R
CHU (4-5, 0-1 Pool B)
Owen Dockstader 2-3 2B 2RBI
Michael Boudreau 1-3 2B
Gabe Gruszynski 1-3
Blake Yawit 1-2 SB
Tyson Morgan 4.1IP 5K

Today's Schedule
Alaska 529 Midseason Classic
@Mulcahy Stadium
11:45am West vs Dimond 
2:15pm Service vs Chugiak 
5:00pm South vs Lower Columbia (WA)
7:30pm Eagle River vs. Eugene (OR)
----
Other Non-Tournament Games
AK Wild vs Kenai 5:00pm K4 NL
AK Wild vs East 7:15pm K4 (L)
Wasilla vs Palmer 6:30 HB (L)

Non-Tournament Games
Eugene (OR) sweeps DH
The Eugene (OR) Challengers extended to 18 their winning streak after sweeping a pair of non-tournament games, beating the Kenai Twins 20-4 and the AK Wild of Fairbanks 17-1. The Challengers will take on two-time defending state champion Eagle River at 7:30pm at Mulcahy Stadium in the featured game on Day 2 of the Alaska 529 Midseason Classic. The teams met a year ago in Oregon, where Eugene pulled out an 8-7 victory. 

EUGENE (18-1)
Peyton Tyner 2-5 2B 4RBI
Dillon Butler 2-3 3RBI
Brock Johnson 3-5 2B 2RBI 3R
Adam Elliott 2-3 2B RBI 3R
KENAI (7-5)
Andrew Pieh 1-3 HR 2RBI
Charlie Chamberlain 2-3 2B
Hunter Williams 2-3

Wasilla 22, Bartlett 1
AA League Game

WAS (6-5, 4-3)
Pedro Camacho 2-3 HR 4RBI 3R
Chase Sivulich 3-5 (2)2B 4RBI 2R
Oscar Savala 1-2 3BB 3R
A Perez 3-3 3R RBI
Jaren Venie 3-5 2B 3RBI

BAR (2-8, 1-6)
Carl Colavecchio 1-2
Nick Brandal 1-3

Buckle up, baseball fans. The Alaska 529 Midseason Classic is sure to be a wild ride with two of the baddest Legion baseball teams from the Pacific Northwest participating in this year’s tournament in Anchorage.

And they’re coming for a title – not as tourists.

The Emerald Challengers from Eugene, Oregon, and the Lower Columbia Baseball Club from Longview, Washington will headline the four-day, 16-game tournament at Mulcahy Stadium that dates back to 1995 that features reigning Alaska Double-A state champion Eagle River, defending state runner-up Service along with West and former Midseason Classic champions Chugiak, Dimond and South. 

Throw in a pair of tremendous Triple-A teams from Oregon and Washington and it feels like a mini postseason regional. The competition is that good.

ALASKA 529 MIDSEASON CLASSIC
Most Legion Wins Since 2020
145 - Eugene (OR)
78 - Eagle River
76 - South
62 - Service
60 - Dimond
55 - Lower Columbia (WA)
48 - Chugiak
42 - West

The Challengers have gone 145-39 since 2020 for a scintillating .788 winning percentage and produced awesome alums such as 2019 Seattle Mariners pitcher Andrew Moore and Robert Ahlstrom, a three-time All-Pac-12 pitcher for Oregon who was drafted in the seventh round in 2021 by the New York Yankees. 

This year’s group is stacked. The Challengers (17-1) sport a .356 team batting average, with four guys hitting four bills in Caden Richardson (.458), Brock Johnson (.440), Peyton Tyner (.429) and Tyler Mikel (.429). Eli Crist has 19 RBIs in 17 games.

Kaden Starr is the ace of the pitching staff. The University of Portland-bound right-hander is 3-0 with 27 strikeouts in 17.1 innings. He’s also hit the team’s only home run this season. Carter Greene and Colin Hernandez are each 3-0 and have combined for 31 strikeouts.

The last time an Alaska team faced the Challengers came last year when Eagle River dropped an 8-7 heartbreaker at the 47th annual Papa’s Pizza Tournament at Swede Johnson Stadium in Oregon. Who could forget that game? Killian Johannes and Jack Molloy combined for five RBIs for the Wolves but Eugene came back from an early 5-0 deficit and scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth as the time limit expired.

Before that you must go all the way back to 2013, when Eugene beat Chugiak 8-1 at the Northwest Regional behind Joe Schindler, who carried a no-hitter for 6.2 innings before Zach Brueggemann singled.

Lower Columbia brings to the Last Frontier a program with a tried-and-true track record, boasting 150 college players four alums MLB draft picks since 2000, most notably Seth Johnson in the 11th round in 2019.

This year’s squad has a 9-2 record and features a trio of red-hot hitters in Easton Marshall, Deker Bartell and Trenton Lamb. Marshall is batting .553 on 21-of-38 hitting. The speedster has scored 18 runs and stolen 12 bags in 11 games. Bartell is batting .441 and Lamb has 12 RBIs in 27 at-bats. In terms of pitching, 235-pound right-hander Logan Barker can shove. He is 2-0 with a 0.88 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 16 innings.

The last time an Alaska team won the tournament was in 2018, when South defeated Excelsior (MN) 4-0 behind Jimmy McGovern’s 5-hit shutout. He also collected three RBIs in a 7-5 win over Lone Peak (UT) and drove in the winning run with a sac fly in a 2-1 win over Columbia (TN), helping South become the first Alaska team to beat three Outside teams in the tournament.

Alaska 529 Midseason Classic 
Past Champs
2022 Napoleon (OH) d. Eagle River (AK) 11-8
2021 No Tournament
2020 No Tournament
2019 Napoleon (OH) d. Auburn (RI) 12-1
2018 South (AK) d. Excelsior (MN) 4-0  
2017 Walla Walla (WA) d. Dimond (AK) 9-4
2016 Columbia (TN) d. Kenai (AK) 7-1
2015 Castroville (TX) d. Dimond (AK) 10-0 
2014 Columbia (TN) d. South (AK) 5-0  
2013 Napoleon (OH) d. Texarkana (TX) 7-6
2012 Columbia (TN) d. Dimond (AK) 7-3
2011 Napoleon (OH) d. Dimond (AK) 11-3
2010 Dimond (AK) d. Fairbanks (AK) 3-2
2009 Chugiak (AK) d. Service (AK) 5-3
2008 Fairfield (CA) d. Napoleon (OH) 3-1
2007 Chugiak (AK) d. Excelsior (MN) 11-6
2006 tie, Tuscaloosa (AL) vs. Dothan (AL) rain
2005 Niwot (CO) d. East (AK) 7-4
2004 West Warwick (RI) d. Chugiak (AK) 13-6
2003 San Francisco (CA) d. Glen Cove (NY) 7-4
2002 Phoenix (AZ) d. Meridian (ID) 9-6
2001 West Warwick (RI) d. Gig Harbor (WA) 3-2
2000 Lewiston (ID) d. Frasier Valley (CAN) 5-2
1999 Service (AK) d. Dimond (AK) 13-5
1998 Tacoma (WA) d. Vancouver (WA) 7-5
1997 Chugiak (AK) d. Service (AK) 5-4
1996 Yakima (WA) d. Compton (CA) 12-2
1995 Kennewick (WA) d. Chugiak (AK) 5-4

AA League Game
Wasilla 9, East 5

WAS (5-5, 3-3)
Pedro Camacho 2-3 (2)2B 2R 1IP
Will Plowman 2-4 2RBI 2SB
Chase Sivulich 0-1 3HBP
Landon Boland 2RBI

EAST (0-9, 0-5)
Edison Polanco 4IP 0H 1ER 7K 1-2 2B
Dylan Dumas 1-2 2RBI 2IP
Alan Contreras 0-2 2BB 2R

AA League Game
West 16, Bartlett 5

WEST (8-5, 3-3)
Cyrus Clendaniel 2-3 3RBI 2R
Sam Zieserl 1-2 2B 2RBI 3R
Jack Boots 1-2 4R 2SB
Liam Gunn 1-2 2RBI

BAR (2-7, 1-5)
Mason Harison 1-2 RBI
Nick Brandal 1-3 RBI
Owen Berry 1-3 RBI
Alex Egoak 1.1IP OR

AA League Game
Eagle River 4, Wasilla 1

ER (9-2, 6-2)
Killian Johannnes 4.2IP 3H 1R 4K
Ryan Mullen 1.1IP 0R
Dallin Roberts 0-2 RBI SF
Landon Hudson 1-2 RBI
Jack Molloy 1IP 3K

WAS (4-5, 2-3)
Oscar Savala 5.1IP 2H 1ER 3K
Pedro Camacho 2-3 RBI
Jaren Venie 1-2

AA League Game
Chugiak 7, Eagle River 6

CHU (4-4, 3-3)
Gabe Gruszynski 1-3 3B 2RBI 1IP 0R
Landon Luebke 2-3 2RBI
Jayden Steckel 3.1IP 2R
Owen Dockstader 2-4 RBI

ER (8-2, 5-2)
Josh Thompson 2-3 3R
Thomas Molloy 3IP 1ER 3K
Liam Lierman 1-3 2B
Alex Mullen 0-2 RBI 2R

AA League Game
Eagle River 3, Chugiak 1

ER (8-1, 5-1)
Liam Lierman 7IP 3H 11K
Jack Molloy 2-3 RBI
Ryan Mullen 1-3 RBI

CHU (3-4, 2-3)
Preston Rau 6IP 4H 3K
Tyler Cage 1-3 RBI
Josh Westerman 1IP 3K

AA League Game
Service 17, Bartlett 0

SER (9-3, 5-0)
Jake Rafferty 1-2 HR 4RBI 3BB
Coen Niclai 2-3 2B 3RBI 2R
Hunter Christian 2-2 2RBI 3R
Chase Mascelli 1-4 2RBI
Rilen Niclai 2IP 1H 5K

BAR (2-6, 1-4)
Nick Brandal 1-2
Luke Helgeson 2IP 0ER
George Martinez 0-2 HBP

AA League Game
Wasilla 5, Kenai 4

WAS (4-4, 2-2)
Gerardo Palomares 2RBI SF 3.1IP
Ramon Guzman 3IP 0R 3K
Pedro Camacho 1-2 2R SB
Will Plowman 1-2 RBI 2SB

KEN (7-4, 4-2)
Charlie Chamberlain 2-4 RBI
Andrew Pieh 1-2 2BB
Jayden Stuyvesant 1-2 RBI
Trenton Ohnemus 4IP 7K

AA League Game
AK Wild 7, Palmer 5

AK WILD (4-7, 1-4)
Remy Daravivanh 2-2 2BB
Jorge Pagan 2-4 RBI
Isaac Rios 4IP 3K
John Miller 3IP 1H 1R

PAL (6-3, 3-2)
Kaesen Buzby 2-3 2RBI
Reed Craner 5IP 4K
Bryant Marks 1-4 RBI
Cauy Trangmoe 1-3 RBI

AA League Game
Dimond 13, South 3

DIM (8-3, 3-2)
Eli Lipinski 4.1IP 4K 2-3 3B 3R
Peyton Montagna 2-2 2B 3RBI
Carson Engstrom 2-3 3RBI
Ryan Swanstrom 2-3 2B 3B
Chase Mathews 1.2IP 4K

SOU (4-5, 2-3)
Logan Geuss 1-3 RBI
Skylar Sugita 0-3 RBI 1IP
Blake Peterson 0-3 RBI

LEGION AA GAMES
Sunday, June 18
AK Wild 7, Palmer 5 (L)
Service 17, Bartlett 0 (L)
Dimond 13, South 3 (L)
Eagle River 3, Chugiak 1 (L)
Wasilla 5, Kenai 4 (L)
Kenai 13, Wasilla 2 NL
West 13, Ketchikan 5 NL

AA League Game
Kenai 4, Eagle River 2

KEN (6-3, 4-1)
Hunter Williams 5.2IP 4H 2R 4K
Charlie Chamberlain 0-1 RBI 2BB
Jace Crall 1-2 R
Jayden Stuyvesant 0-1 3BB

ER (7-1, 4-1)
Gunner Mountcastle 3IP 1H 0R 4K
Jack Molloy 2-3
Josh Thompson 1-3 RBI
Charlie Wallace 1-3 RBI

AA League Game
Service 8, Dimond 1

SER (8-3, 4-0)
Jake Rafferty 5IP 2H 1R 9K 2-3 3B 2RBI
Owen Hickman 2-4 2IP 0H 3K
Sebastian Fournier 1-3 2RBI
Kolby Jensen 1-1 2B 3R 2BB
Coen Niclai 1-4 2B RBI

DIM (7-3, 2-2)
Pama Brito 2-3
Eli Lipinski 0-3 R SB
Colin Doherty 2.2IP 1R

AA League Game
South 10, Chugiak 6

SOU (4-4, 2-2)
Gavin Lawrence 3.2IP 1H 0ER 1-3 RBI
Luke Tovsen 2-3 2B RBI 2BB 2SB
Robert Hughes 2-5 2B 2RBI 2R
Chase Dixon 2-4 2RBI

CHU (2-3, 2-2)
Jayden Steckel 2.2IP 0ER
Landon Luebke 1-4 2B RBI
Michael Boudreau 1-2 3B 2R 2BB 2SB
Preston Rau 1-3 RBI BB

AA League Game
Palmer 7, AK Wild 0

PAL (5-2, 3-1)
Bowman Marks 4IP 4H 2K
Kasen Buzby 3IP 0H 3K
Bryant Marks 3-4 2B 3R
Nate Wilson 3-4 3RBI

AK WILD (3-6, 0-3)
J Pagan 3IP 0H 1R 4K
Remy Daravivanh 1-3 3B 4IP 2K
R Sourapas 1-2 SB

AA League Game
Palmer 19, AK Wild 9

PAL (6-2, 4-1)
Bryant Marks 2-5 2B 3RBI 2R
Bowman Marks 2-2 2RBI
Aidan Satterly 0-3 2RBI
Reed Craner 5BB 4R

AK WILD (3-7, 0-4)
Jorge Pagan 2-4 2RBI
R Sourapas 2-3 2B RBI
John Haas 1-2 2B 

AA League Game
Chugiak 19, Bartlett 2

CHU (2-2, 2-1)
Michael Boudreau 3-3 2B 4RBI
Fischer Sims 3-4 2B 4R 2RBI
Landon Luebke 3-4 3RBI
Blake Yawit 2-4 3R 2BB RBI
Colter Thomas 4IP 2K W

BAR (2-5, 1-3)
Carl Colavecchio 1-3 2B 2RBI
Nick Brandal 2-4
G Martinez 1-1 2R 2BB SB

AA League Game
South 8, Wasilla 4

SOU (3-4, 1-2)
Blake Peterson 6.1IP 11K
Braun Precosky 2-4 2RBI
Luke Tovsen 1-3 2B 2RBI
Chase Dixon 2-4 RBI

WAS (3-3, 1-2)
L Palomares 2-4 2RBI
Chase Sivulich 2-4 2B RBI
Jaren Venie 1.2IP 0ER 2-4 R

LEGION AA GAMES
Friday, June 16
South 8, Wasilla 4 (L)
Chugiak 19, Bartlett 2 (L) 
Palmer 25, AK Wild 10 NL  
West 14, Ketchikan 2 NL 

Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Goon Gallery

Wasilla’s Pedro Camacho set the tone by lacing the first pitch of the game down the left-field line for a standup double to kickstart a three-run first inning rally.

Chugiak’s Landon Luebke had three RBIs, including that all-important insurance run in the seventh inning that proved to be the difference.

Service flexed its muscle on the bump, with four pitchers coming out of the bullpen in Jake Rafferty, Owen Hickman, Andrew Hickman and Hunter Christian.

Eagle River’s Killian Johannes got the final out with a runner in scoring position to nail down the save.

It was all-hands-on-deck for the Legion All-Stars, who pulled out a historic 6-5 win Thursday night over the Anchorage Bucs of the Alaska Baseball League in the Sladen Mohl Game at Mulcahy Stadium.

This was believed to be the first time in more than two dozen all-time meetings that the Legion All-Stars beat the Bucs, but not the first time the high school-aged squad beat an ABL team in the long history of this exhibition series. The Legion boys have beaten the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at least twice, most recently in 2001.

Camacho and Luebke did most of the heavy lifting on offense, combining for five hits with each slugger banging out a double. Camacho went 2-for-2 and reached base all four times while Luebke was 3-for-4 and knocked in runs in the first, third and seventh innings.

The Legion All-Stars also chopped down the potential tying run at the plate in the seventh, thanks to an 8-3-2 relay from center fielder Beckett Stolp of West to first baseman Rafferty to Camacho at the plate.

The Legion All-Stars were picked from the 29th annual College Coaches Camp that is named in honor of former Chugiak Post 33 manager Bill Lierman Sr., who passed away in 2004. His son Billy, an accomplished coach in his own right, was in the Legion dugout Thursday. His son was the starting pitcher.

Eagle River’s Liam Lierman – the reigning Don Rabung CIC MVP winner – looked sharp in his two innings as the southpaw retired five of the first six batters before Alex Pendergest of Dallas Baptist University singled and came around to score on a passed ball to pull the Bucs within 3-1.

The Legion All-Stars had jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, keyed by Camacho’s leadoff double, RBIs by Rafferty and Luebke and a two-base Bucs' throwing error.

The Legion team struck for two more runs in the third inning keyed by – who else? – Camacho and Luebke. Camacho was hit by pitch to lead off and scored on another Bucs throwing error while Luebke later doubled in a run to make it 5-1.

The Bucs are made up of college players and feature a handful of locals, including Anchorage's Dylan Maltby – a former Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year out of South now playing for Phoenix College. Maltby went 3-for-4 and pulled the Bucs within 5-2 with a solo home run over the wall in left center field.

It wasn’t long ago that the former Legion standout was on the other side of this game.

The Bucs started three Anchorage players in Maltby at catcher, Isaac Johnson at pitcher and former Gatorade Alaska Player or the Year Curtis Hebert at shortstop. 

Johnson, who is now pitching at NCAA Division II Concordia St. Paul, threw five innings. Only one of the five runs he allowed was earned. He tossed 1-2-3 frames in the second and fifth innings. Hebert, who is at NCAA Division I Portland, is hitting .400 in the ABL this year but went 0-for-3 with a walk. He did make a couple sweet defensive plays.

But the web gem of the night belonged to Christian, the Service shortstop who continues to flash the leather. He made a nice diving play and threw out Cole Howarth of Cal Baptist to end the third inning. Two weeks ago, he threw out a runner at the plate from his knees at short in the high school state title game.

In the seventh, Camacho, pinch-hitter Thomas Molloy of Eagle River and Lierman each reached on consecutive singles to load the bases. With one out, Luebke drove in his third run to make it 6-4.

The Legion All-Stars needed three pitchers for three outs in a white-knuckle-ride seventh inning. Christian started the seventh and retired the first batter before issuing a single and walk. Dimond’s Colin Doherty replaced him and gave up a single, but the potential tying run was thrown out at the plate to earn him a hold. Johannes was summoned from the bullpen for the final out and retired Logan Hokuf of Allegany College on a groundout and end the game.

The Bucs won last year’s game 8-0 and 13-3 the year before that. But there have been close games like in 2004, when the Bucs won 3-1, or 1999 when they won 5-3.

And then there was 1998, when Brandon Rogers saved the Bucs with a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to provide a 9-8 win.

In 2001, the Legion All-Stars beat the Pilots 13-7 behind Dan Strukie’s grand slam. Future MLB draft pick Brian Montalbo out of Dimond had a two-run triple in that game for the Pilots.

Before that you’d have to go back all the way to 1969 to find the last time a Legion team beat the Pilots. That year the Legion All-Stars were led by bench boss Lefty Van Brunt, who later became a longtime Pilots coach and helped them win several NBC World Series titles.

In that game, future New York Yankees great Chris Chambliss homered for the Pilots, as did West slugger Ron Pollock for Legion; Pollock went on to become the first Anchorage player to reach the professional level in 1973. That Legion team also featured a third baseman who went 1-for-3 and scored a run by the name of Steve Langdon, father of Alaska’s first NBA player Trajan Langdon, who played three seasons of pro ball for the San Diego Padres organization in college.

The College Coaches Camp of Fairbanks All-Stars earned a rare win over the Alaska Goldpanners, winning 7-4 Thursday night at Growden Park.

The Legion All-Stars scored three times in the top of the seventh inning to break a 4-4 tie, with one of the runs coming in after AK Wild standout Hunter Clements stole home.

Nathan Priebe earned the win after throwing 2.2 scoreless innings. He struck out two batters and did not issue a walk or hit.

Jeremiah Forquer started on the bump for the Legion All-Stars and threw 1.2 scoreless innings. Bryce Reed, Remy Daravivanh, and Jorge Pagan all put in work in relief.

The Legion team took an early lead after Ramey Sourapas drew a walk with the bases loaded.

The Panners scored three runs in the third inning, highlighted by former Fairbanks 49ers standout Andrew Troppmann’s RBI.

The Legion All-Stars managed eight hits, including two apiece from John Haas and Daravivanh.

Former AK Wild standout Alex Garcia started for the Panners and struck out seven over 5.2 innings.

AA League Game
Kenai 9, West 8

KEN (5-2, 3-1)
Braden Smith 2-3 HR 6IP 4K
Atticus Gibson 2-5 HR 4RBI
Charlie Chamberlain 2-4 3RBI
Andrew Pieh 2IP 2K W

WEST (4-4, 1-2)
Beckett Stolp 1-3 HR
Orion Halliburton 1-3 HR
Sam Zieserl 1-3 2B 2R 3SB

AA League Game
Bartlett 13, East 3

BAR (2-4, 1-2)
Carl Colavecchio 3-4 3B 4RBI 3R
Luke Helgeson 2-4 3RBI 3SB
Wyatt Rush 4.1IP 9K W RBI 2R
M Harrison 1-1 3BB RBI

EAST (0-5, 0-2)
Dylan Dumas 2-2 2B 3RBI
Andrew Malone 2.2IP 5K 1-2

LEGION AA GAMES

Sunday, June 11
Dimond 20, AK Wild 8 NL   
Wasilla 14, Ketchikan 7 NL 
Eagle River 15, Juneau 5 NL 
Kenai 9, West 8 (L)  
Kenai 16, West 6 NL
Palmer 8, South 2 NL
Bartlett 13, East 3 (L)

Monday, June 12
College Coaches Camp - No Games

Tuesday, June 13
College Coaches Camp - No Games

Wednesday, June 14
College Coaches Camp
Camp All-Stars vs Goldpanners 4pm Growden

Thursday, June 15
College Coaches Camp
Sladen Mohl Game - Camp All-Stars vs Bucs 7pm Mulcahy
East vs Juneau 6:30pm JUN NL 

Friday, June 16
Midnight Sun Game - 12:05am FBX A vs AK Wild ARCO NL 
East vs Juneau 5:00pm JUN (L) 
Juneau vs East 7:00pm JUN (L)
West vs Ketchikan 6:30pm KET NL 
South vs Wasilla 6:30pm MCMAN (L)
Chugiak vs Bartlett 6:30pm BHS (L) 
Palmer vs AK Wild 7:00pm ARCO NL  

AA League Game
Dimond 3, AK Wild 2

DIM (6-2, 2-1)
Aiden Ray 6.2IP 1H 0ER 16K 1-3 R
Chase Mathews 2-3 RBI
Caleb Cooke 1-3 R
J Estigo RBI

AK WILD (2-3, 0-2)
Hunter Clements 1-3 RBI 2SB
J Haas 6IP 1ER 5K

AA League Game
Kenai 6, South 5

KEN (2-2, 2-1)
Atticus Gibson 1-2 HR 3RBI
T Ohnemus 3.2 1H 0ER 6K
Andrew Pieh 1-3 R 2BB
Colby Sturman 2.1IP 1ER

SOU (2-2, 0-2)
Landon Drumm 1-4 RBI R SB
Logan Guess 2.1IP 1H 0R
Hunter Manderson 1-2 RBI BB
Blake Peterson 1-2 2B R

AA League Game
Service 15, Palmer 5

SER (6-3, 3-0)
Coen Niclai 2-3 HR 4RBI
Jake Rafferty 4-4 2B 3R RBI
Chase Mascelli 2-4 4RBI
Rilen Niclai 2-2 (2)2B 2R

PAL (2-1, 1-1)
Bowman Marks 3-4 2R
Bryant Marks 1-4 RBI
Aidan Satterly 0-2 2BB

AA League Game
Eagle River 10, Juneau 1

ER (4-0, 3-0)
Gunner Mountcastle 1-4 3RBI R SB
Landon Hudson 2R RBI
Josh Thompson 2-4 2B
Jack Molloy 4IP 2H W
Killian Johannes 3IP 0R 7K SV

JUN (0-2, 0-1)
Kai Schmidt 1-1 RBI
J McCormick 0-1 2BB R

AA League Game
Dimond 9, AK Wild 4

DIM (5-2, 1-1)
Eli Lipinski 5.2IP 7K W 2-4 3B
Kenton Cooke 2-4 2B 3RBI
Chase Mathews 2-3 RBI

AK WILD (2-2, 0-1)
Remy Daravivanh 2-4 3RBI
Jorge Pagan 1-2 3B 3R 5.1IP 1R

AA League Game
Eagle River 9, Juneau 4

ER (5-0, 4-0)
Liam Lierman 2-2 2RBI 3IP 4K
Charlie Wallace 4IP 4K
Landon Hudson 1-2 RBI R
Jack Molloy 1-4 RBI R

JUN (0-3, 0-2)
Kasen Ludeman 3-4 2B 2R RBI
Kai Schmidt 4IP 0ER 3K
L Hart RBI
Tyler Frisby 0-2 BB R

AA League Game
Wasilla 12, Ketchikan 5

WAS (2-1, 1-0)
Chase Sivulich 3-5 3B 2B 3RBI 3R
Pedro Camacho 2-3 3R RBI 2BB
Jaren Venie 2-3 RBI 3R
J Johnson 2-4 2B 3RBI
Ramon Guzman 5IP 7K

KET (0-2, 0-1)
Hayden Trudeau 2-3 R
C Larson 1-3 RBI
Jesse Albecker 1-4 RBI
Ridge Summers 5IP 8K

AA League Game
Ketchikan 23, Wasilla 16

KET (1-2, 1-1)
Thomas Kroscavage 4-7 2B 4RBI
Ben Phillips 2-5 2B 4RBI
C Larson 3-4 3RBI 2R
Jesse Albecker 2-3 5R
A Manabat 4R RBI
 
WAS (2-2, 1-1)
A Perez 2-4 3R
Landon Boland 5BB 2R
Chase Sivulich 1-3 2RBI 3R
Gerardo Palomares 1-4 3B 2RBI

Legion AA Games

Saturday, June 10
Kenai 6, South 5 (L)
Kenai 7, South 6 NL
Service 15, Palmer 5 (L)
Service 16, Palmer 3 NL
Dimond 3, AK Wild 2 (L)
Dimond 9, AK Wild 4 (L)
Eagle River 10, Juneau 1 (L)
Eagle River 9, Juneau 4 (L)
Wasilla 12, Ketchikan 5 (L)
Ketchikan 23, Wasilla 16 (L)

Sunday, June 11
Dimond vs AK Wild 10:30am ARCO NL   
Wasilla vs Ketchikan 12:00pm KET NL 
Eagle River vs Juneau 12:00pm JUN NL 
West vs Kenai 12:30pm SLL (L)  
West vs Kenai 2:30pm SLL NL
Palmer vs South 2:00pm TY NL
East vs Bartlett 2:00pm BHS (L)

Coaches Camp next week

The annual College Coaches Camp is next week in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Each camp is open to registered Legion players and culminates with an all-star game against a college summer league team.

Registration is now open:

Anchorage camp (June 12-15)
Register here

Fairbanks camp (June 13-14)
Register here

AA League Game
West 4, Bartlett 1

WEST (4-2, 1-1)
Paul Dittrich 7IP 3H 0BB 2K W
Evan Fitzgerald 1-3 RBI
Beckett Stolp RBI
Sam Zieserl 1-3 R 2SB
Orion Halliburton 1-3 R 3SB

BAR (1-4, 0-2)
Luke Helgeson 1-3 2B RBI
Carl Colavecchio 2-3 3B R
Nick Brandal 4IP 0R 2K ND

LEGION AA GAMES

Friday, June 9
West 4, Bartlett 1 (L)
Dimond 17, AK Wild 8 NL
Eagle River 11, Juneau 0 NL
Wasilla 14, Ketchikan 8 NL

Saturday, June 10
South vs. Kenai 12:30pm SLL (L)
South vs. Kenai 2:30pm SLL NL
Service vs. Palmer 2:00pm HB (L)
Service vs. Palmer 4:00pm HB NL
Dimond vs. AK Wild 2:00pm ARCO (L)
AK Wild vs. Dimond 4:00pm ARCO (L)
Eagle River vs. Juneau 4:00pm JUN (L)
Juneau vs. Eagle River 6:00pm JUN (L)
Wasilla vs. Ketchikan 4:00pm KET (L)
Ketchikan vs. Wasilla 6:00pm KET(L)

AA League Game
Service 7, South 0

SER (5-3, 2-0)
Hunter Christian 5IP 1H 7K W
Kolby Jensen 2IP 2H
Owen Hickman 3-4 2B 3RBI
Jake Rafferty 2-5 R
Coen Niclai 1-4 R BB RBI

SOU (2-1, 0-1)
Skylar Sugita 2-4
Robert Hughes 1-2
Gavin Lawrence 0-1 2BB

LEGION AA GAMES
Thursday, June 8
Service 7, South 0 (L)
Dimond 5, Bartlett 2 NL

Anchorage’s Brody Jessee returned to the field Wednesday, and it didn’t take him long to ring up something.

The 22-year-old rocket right-handed pitcher in the Cincinnati Reds’ farm system was back on the mound after a two-month DL stint and struck out the first batter he faced.

Jessee fanned former eighth-round draft pick Drew Swift on three pitches in the fifth inning during his scoreless inning of relief in a 6-3 win over the A’s in the Arizona Complex League.

Armed with a 98-mph fastball, Jessee recorded a second strikeout when he sat down Joseph Rodriguez on three pitches to end the inning with runners on the corners.

The Alaskan hadn’t pitched since April 7, when he threw 1.1 scoreless frames and earned a hold for the Daytona Tortugas in a 7-6 win over the St. Lucie Mets at Single-A.

Three days later he was added to the DL with an injury. Once he was cleared to throw again, he was sent down to the Arizona Complex League, which is essentially rookie ball.

The former South all-star owns a 2.25 career ERA in four appearances, with four strikeouts in four innings.

In 2022, he was drafted by the Reds in the 10th round – the ninth-highest Alaskan selected by a MLB team – after a strong season at Gonzaga University.

AA League Game
Service 10, Kenai 0

SER (4-3, 1-0)
Jake Rafferty 1-3 HR 4IP 5K W
Owen Hickman 3-4 2B 4RBI 3R
Kolby Jensen 2-3 2RBI R
Hunter Christian 2-3 3R 2SB
Rilen Niclai 1-2 RBI 1IP

KEN (1-2, 1-1)
Braden Smith 1-2
Jayden Stuyvesant 1-1
Atticus Gibson 0-1 BB
Hunter Williams 2IP 4K

AA League Game
Chugiak 8, West 3

CHU (1-2, 1-1)
Michael Boudreau 1-1 HR 2R 2BB
Landon Luebke 1-3 2RBI
Connor Lanehart 2-4 2R
Gabe Gruszynski 1-4 2RBI
Jayden Steckel 6IP 0ER 7K

WEST (3-2, 0-1)
Jack Boots 1-3 2RBI
Paul Dittrich 2-3
Athena Clendaniel BB R 1IP

AA League Game
Palmer 7, Chugiak 6

PAL (2-0, 1-0)
Landon Guggenmos 5IP 7K W
Boman Marks 2IP 3K SV 2RBI
Cauy Trangmoe 2-3 3R
Aidan Satterly 2BB 2R

CHU (0-2, 0-1)
Fischer Sims 1-3 3B BB 2R 2RBI
Gabe Gruszynski 1-3 3B 2RBI R
Josh Westerman 5.1IP 1ER 2K
Blake Yawit 1-2 BB R

AA League Game
Kenai 16, Dimond 3

KEN (1-0, 1-0)
Hunter Williams 3-5 3B 3R 2RBI
Derrick Jones 3-4 4R 2SB
Charlie Chamberlain 1-5 2B 2R 3RBI
Colby Sturman 3.2IP 0H 3K
Atticus Gibson 3IP 0R

DIM (2-2, 0-1)
Eli Lipinski 1-3
Chase Mathews 0-1 2BB R
Anthony Mathiason RBI

AA League Game
Eagle River 15, East 0

ER (2-0, 2-0)
Dallin Roberts 4-4 2B 3B BB 2RBI
Liam Lierman 2-4 2B 2RBI 2R 2IP 5K 
Kamden Kurtz 1-3 2B 2BB 3RBI
Ryan Mullen 2-3 2RBI 2R

EAST (0-4, 0-1)
Carson Dunham 0-0 BB
Dylan Dumas 0-1 BB
Edison Polanco 2.2IP 7K

Ben Neuberger got the party started Saturday and Luke Beard made sure the celebration would never end.

Neuberger’s leadoff home run and Beard’s walk-off single provided bookends in a three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning that carried South to a stunning 3-2 victory over Service in the title game of the ASAA Division I state tournament in Sitka.

Beard knocked in Carson Maltby from third base with the winning run after blasting a hot shot past a drawn infield with one out, giving the Wolverines an improbable win to continue their stranglehold of Alaska high school baseball.

Beard threw his helmet in the air as he went to first base and then sprinting to the Moller Park outfield, followed by a string of South players.

They call him ‘BG’ – as in Big Game.

This was the third straight state championship for the Wolverines, who finished the season 19-2 and went 8-1 in one-run games, winning two of them at the state tournament.

This comeback will stand out above the rest because it came in the state title game, it came against their archrival in the Cougars and it came when it looked like the Wolverines were dead in the water.

Turns out the Houdini-like squad was saving its best for last.

Despite having an uncharacteristically off night with the bat (no hits through five inning) and on the basepaths (one runner picked was off, one was thrown out at third base and another was chopped down at the plate), South still found a way at the end.

With his team down 2-0 entering the final frame, Neuberger led off by crushing a no-doubt bomb to right centerfield to break up Andrew Hickman’s shutout bid.

Neuberger got the momentum going and it snowballed from there.

Blake Peterson singled and Gavin Partch was hit by a pitch. Kolby Jensen laid down a sac bunt to move both runners into scoring position. South called a squeeze play with the runner from third breaking as Gavin Alexander bunted back to reliever Rilen Niclai, who gloved the ball to catcher Coen Nicali but Peterson had slid in under the tag to tie the game 2-2.

Beard came up next and lived up to his nickname, getting the big hit in the big game.

The loss no doubt felt like a gut punch for the Cougars, who had done everything right before a nightmare seventh inning wiped it all away.

The Wolverines are hard to put away. The team has gone 17-0, 26-0 and 19-2 in each of the last three seasons, including 15-0 in the playoffs.

All that winning is contagious. Players get used to it; they crave it.

Saturday night showcased the team’s remarkable resolve. The Wolverines never stopped coming at Service, and no matter how many times it looked like the Cougars (16-7) had successfully swatted them away, the game was always within reach.

Both starting pitchers (Hickman and Jensen) were on point to begin the game as the score was 0-0 entering the fourth inning. That’s when Service loaded the bases against Jensen, who gave way to Neuberger. He allowed a sac fly to Owen Hickman before striking out the next two hitters, limiting the Cougars to just one run despite having the bases juiced with no outs.

It looked like South would get even in the bottom of the fourth after Chase Mascelli led off with a double down the left-field line. But he tried to extend his double into a triple and was thrown out at third on a 7-6-5 relay.

In the fifth, Andrew Hickman pitched around a runner on second base with one out. In the sixth, he pitched around a leadoff triple thanks to the defensive play of the tournament by shortstop Hunter Christian, who saved a run after throwing out a runner at the plate.

With Beard on third, Mascelli ripped a shot to Christian, who went to the turf to field the ball and threw out Beard from his knees.

In the top of the seventh, Service pushed its lead to 2-0 after Sebastian Fournier walked, stole second base, went to third on Landon Martindale’s infield single and scored on a passed ball.

It was a tough luck run to give up for Neuberger, who had shut down Service since coming out of the bullpen in the fourth and retired six straight and nine of 11 since entering the game.

The seventh inning was where Jensen, Alexander and Beard made amends that made them state champions again.

Jensen, who was on the hook for the loss after loading the bases that led to his team’s 1-0 deficit, got down a sac bunt to move runners into scoring position. Alexander, whose passed ball allowed Service to go up 2-0, drove in the tying run. Beard, who was thrown out at home in the sixth, knocked in the winning run.

Lost in South’s comeback was the brilliant pitching performance of Service junior Andrew Hickman. 

When the right-hander faced the Wolverines two weeks ago, South scored five runs off him in the first inning. This time Hickman was dialed in and carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning.

Third Place Game

Preston Rau was his usual steady self on the mound and the Mustangs gave him early run support as they took care of Colony 7-2.

Rau went the distance, scattering two hits, three walks and a hit batsman across seven innings. He struck out five batters, including three out of five over the third and fourth innings.

The right-hander showed why CIC coaches selected him for the Wade Blasingame Top Pitcher Award as he mixed speeds and pounded the zone. Both runs he allowed were unearned.

He recorded two 1-2-3 frames and enjoyed a six-pitch inning. He also got a 5-4-3 double play and pick off behind him in addition to a nice catch in the gap by right fielder Gabe Gruszynski to rob Brayden Parrent of extra bases.

Rau finished the season with a 5-0 record and 0.63 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 44.1 inning. He only issued eight walks all season – and three of them came Saturday to Colony leadoff hitter Boman Marks.

Chugiak plated a pair of runs in the top of the first inning after Fischer Sims led off with a single and scored on Tyler Cage’s RBI single. Then Cage scored on Landon Luebke’s sac fly.

In the third, Michael Boudgreau and Luebke led off with back-to-back walks and scored on Hunter Rau’s groundball and Andrew Gruszynski’s double.

Luebke doubled to lead off the fifth and scored on an error, giving the Mustangs their third run when the leadoff man reaches base.

Nine-hole hitter Carter McCormick delivered an RBI single in the seventh and scored on an error to make it 7-2. He also made a nice catch in the left-field corner to end the game and rob Colony’s Nate Wilson of a two-run double.

Chugiak’s win avenged an 8-7 loss to Colony earlier this season and gave the Mustangs 15 victories on the season – tied for the third most in school history.

Colony relief pitcher Zephon Rhowmine stood tall, getting the Knights out of a sticky situation in the third inning and finishing with 4.1 innings. Only one run he gave up was earned and he wiggled out of several jams with runners in scoring position, including the fourth and fifth innings.

Colony’s Brayden Parrent singled in his final at-bat, his fifth hit of the tournament. He also homered on Day 1.

Fourth Place Game

Josh Thompson stayed hot, Gunner Mountcastle had three RBIs and Alex Mullen pitched into the seventh inning to highlight Eagle River’s 6-3 win over tournament host Sitka.

Thompson went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and an RBI. He went 5-for-8 with a walk over the final nine plate appearances of his high school career.

The left fielder also made a nice catch in the gap to rob Ben Turner of extra bases and an RBI in the fourth inning in support of Mullen. The senior right-hander pitched 6.1 innings before issuing a one-out walk and giving way to Tommy Molloy.

Mullen struck out five batters, including one to end the fifth with two runners on after Sitka had pulled within 5-3. He gave up two runs in the first two innings and then settled down to allow just one over his last 4.1 innings.

Eagle River’s Connor Lanehart knocked in a run in the first inning, his team-leading 24th RBI of the season. The Wolves tied the school record with their 15th win.

After Thompson’s RBI single tied the game 2-2, Gunner Mountcastle put the Wolves ahead for good with a two-out, two-run single. Mountcastle added to his RBI total with a run-scoring single in the fifth and a run-scoring groundout in the seventh.

Sitka’s Tanner Stinson, Keaton Blankenship and Grady Smith each drove in runs while Sam Johnson and Chase Coleman each had two hits. Johnson also made a nice sliding catch in right field. Caleb Calhoun started and pitched five innings, giving up two earned runs and getting a 6-4-3 double play behind him.

It was a day to remember for the Niclai brothers in Sitka.

Earlier on Friday junior catcher Coen Niclai was named Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year. That night he drove in his 30th RBI of the season and freshman third baseman Rilen Niclai had three hits, two doubles and two RBIs as Service smoked Chugiak 14-0 at the ASAA Division I state tournament.

It was the most lopsided state semifinal since 2014, with the Cougars getting five doubles, eight hit batsmen and five shutout innings by Owen Hickman.

But the Niclai bros took center stage.

Rilen was moved to the leadoff position at the state tournament and has responded by reaching base six times and driving in three runs in two games. He led off Friday’s game with a double and added a two-run double in his second at-bat to make it 4-0.

Coen reached base four times and drove in a run to push the lead to 5-0 in the second inning. The three-hole hitter has a .667 on-base percentage in nine plate appearances at the state tournament.

A surefire college player, Coen has already received interest from NCAA Division I schools. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder is hitting .326 with two home runs and a school-record 30 RBIs in 19 games.

Coen is the second Service player to win Gatorade POY honors, the first since Zach Ferntheil in 2013.

For as good as Coen is as a hitter, his biggest impact might be behind the plate. The catcher has the best arm in the state and can single-handedly shut down an opponent’s running game.

Coen has thrown out 12 base runners this season, including five at the CIC Tournament. He has given up only one stolen base in 15 innings at the state tournament.

Service’s victory avenged a 6-3 loss to Chugiak in the regular season and advanced to the team to the state championship game for the first time since 2013.

The Cougars a decade ago played South in the final, and they will again meet the Wolverines in a state title game Saturday at Moller Park in Sitka.

Service is the only team at the state tournament that doesn’t have a senior on its roster. Not only that, but coach Willie Paul played six freshmen in Friday’s state semifinal to build their postseason chops.

Three of them started, with Rilen Niclai and Nick Armstrong combining for four of the team’s five doubles, and right fielder Braun Precosky making a nice running catch to end the second inning.

Freshman Connor Monahan pitched the final two innings and freshman Takumi Kosaka drew walks in each of his plate appearances in the seventh inning when the Cougars batted around.

Almost lost in the offensive onslaught was the effective pitching of Hickman, who threw five shutout innings to lower his season ERA to 1.11 in 25.1 innings.

The junior right-hander picked off a runner to work around a leadoff triple in the first inning and tossed two 1-2-3 frames in the third and fifth innings to run his record to 6-1.

South 5, Colony 1

Starting pitcher Gavin Partch went the distance and the Wolverines manufactured five runs off six hits and played errorless defense to advance to the state tournament title game for the third straight year.

Partch bounced back after giving up a run in the first with six scoreless frames. It wasn’t a walk at the ballpark as the senior right-hander left 10 runners stranded on base.

Partch doesn’t overpower batters so much as he gets them to swing at his pitches, inducing groundballs and pop ups.

With a stout defense behind him, he has the confidence to attack hitters and trusts his defense to make plays behind them. They usually do. The Wolverines own a 1.000 fielding percentage in two games at the state tournament.

Meanwhile, South feasts on opponent’s mistakes.

In the third inning, Landon Drumm’s two-out walk turned into a run. In the fourth, a dropped ball by the left fielder led to another run.

Two-hole hitter Chase Mascelli knocked in two runs with a two-out RBI single in the third and a sac fly in the fourth.

In the sixth, nine-hole hitter Luke Beard ripped a two-out, two-run double down the left-field line as the Wolverines pushed their lead to 5-1.

Meanwhile, Partch was in command. Of the 11 runners to reach base, only three advanced as far as third and only one scored. Three times he had faced a two-on, one-out jam and twice he came away unscathed.

His counterpart, Colony starter, Boman Marks sat down eight of the first nine batters he faced and finished with 6.2 innings, missing a CG by one out. Left fielder Zephon Rhowmine made a nice diving catch along the foul line and catcher Kaesen Buzby threw out a baserunner.

This was the third consecutive year South bounced Colony from the winner’s bracket – twice in the semifinals and again in the 2021 title game.

The Knights came out swinging as Marks singled to lead off the game, advanced on Brayden Parrent’s single and scored on Dylen Crowther’s sac fly. In the second, Nate Wilson singled to lead off and two batters later Cauy Trangmoe singled.

But Partch found his groove and retired 10 of the next 12 batters to set the tone and help send the Wolverines back to the state title game.

Eagle River 2, Juneau 1

Pinch-hitter Ryan Mullen drew a bases loaded walk on a full count with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to help the Wolves hold off the Crimson Bears in extra innings in a consolation game.

Josh Thompson reached on an error to lead off the ninth, stole second was a moved to third on Dallin Roberts’ sac bunt. Juneau coach Chad Bentz then called for back-to-back intentional walks to load the bases. That brought up Mullen, who got the job done with the game-winning RBI.

Thompson scored the winning run, knocked in the first run and reached base three times.

Jack Molloy got the win with 4.2 innings of fabulous relief. He entered the game in the fifth with runners on the corners and got out of the jam with a pop up and groundout.

The smooth southpaw racked up nine strikeouts, including five of the final five batters he faced.

Juneau starter Phillip Crupi pitched beautifully over eight excellent innings in a no decision. He gave up four hits and one run while striking out eight, half of them looking.

Crupi picked off a runner in the first and snagged a comebacker to rob Roberts of a base hit with the bases loaded to end the eighth. He also took a line drive off the knee in the seventh and stayed in the game – and got the out after the ball ricocheted off his leg right to the first baseman.

Juneau’s Tyler Frisby walked twice, stole a base and scored his team’s lone run. He has walked in five of six plate appearances in the tournament.

Eagle River swept the season series against Juneau, winning 9-4 in the first meeting in May.

Sitka 7, West Valley 1

Grady Smith pitched a 2-hit complete game while Sam Johnson, Bridger Bird and Tanner Stinson each drove in a pair of runs as the host team staved off elimination by beating the Wolfpack in a consolation game.

Smith gave up hits to each of the first two batters of the game and fell behind 1-0 before settling down wonderfully. The second run he gave up was unearned and he worked around a pair of walks in the seventh inning.

He had two 1-2-3 innings and two 1-2-3-4 frames.

Meanwhile, the offense scored in five of six innings. Sam Johnson’s two-out, two-run double scored Emmit Johnson and Trey Johnson in the second inning to put the Wolves ahead 2-1.

In the fourth inning, Bird reached on an error advanced on Chance Coleman’s single and scored the go-ahead run on Caleb Calhoun’s RBI groundout to second base.

Bird’s two-run single made it 5-2 in the fifth and Stinson’s two-run double made it 7-2 in the sixth.

Bird scored two runs, stole a base and threw out a runner from behind the plate. Second baseman Coleman robbed Liam Irish of a base hit with a nice diving stab to end the fifth.

West Valley’s Gannon Young led off the game with a single, went to second on a passed ball and scored on Jackson Taylor’s RBI single. Taylor walked, stole second and scored to tie the game 2-2 in the third inning.

Chugiak senior Gabe Gruszynski had a lot on his mind when he came to the plate in the sixth inning. It was Day 1 of the state tournament, and his team was down 3-0. Even worse, the Mustangs had no hits.

West Valley pitcher Olav Moeller was locked in and stood on the mound with his glove held to his face, intently focused on the task at hand when Gruszynski stepped to the plate with two runners on base.

Did he know Moeller had a no-hitter going?

“I wasn’t really sure because the scoreboard was kind of messed up, so I wasn’t sure if we were or not but I kind of thought we were,” Gruszynski said.

They were.

Two pitches later, they weren’t.

Gruszynski crushed a three-run home run to tie the game and then Chugiak scored the winning run in the seventh inning to pull out a 4-3 victory over the Wolfpack in Thursday’s first-round game of the ASAA Division I state tournament in Sitka.

The right-handed Gruszynski jumped on a high fastball on the outside the plate, driving it over the 14-foot right-field fence that reads ‘293’ at Moller Park.

“My coach told me not to think about going oppo because that’s what I usually do but I was kind of changing my swing, so I was just kind of thinking about my swing, and I swung and it was all good off the bat and it just went out,” he said.

Gruszynski’s bomb snapped Moeller’s hitless streak of 5.2 innings as he lost his no-hit bid with two outs in the sixth inning.

With one swing, his no-hitter, his shutout bid and West Valley’s 3-0 lead were all gone.

Gruszynski had flipped the game on its head. Moments later, he was on the seat of his pants after a big fly celly went awry.

Guys were chest bumping and jumping around in celebration of the big moment, one of the biggest in school history. The Mustangs mobbed Gruszynski when he got back to the dugout.

“Coach told us before the game that he wanted us to act like we’ve done it before,” he said before admitting how hard that was after the homer.

“It was fun. All my guys were giving me hugs and stuff. It was great.”

With two outs, Tyle Cage reached base after getting hit by a pitch and Hunter Rau drew a full-count walk. That brought the tying run to the plate in Gruszynski.

Before that mistake pitch, Moeller had kept Chugiak off balance with eight pop ups and three strikeouts.

“I thought he was a good pitcher,” he said. “We were out in front of everything. We were hitting off a machine yesterday (throwing) pretty hard, so I think it was a matter of slowing down our swings. We were having a hard time with that.”

Moeller pitched a 1-2-3 first inning, picked off a runner in the second and wiggled out of two-on, one-out jam in the third. He had retired 10 of 11 batters before giving up that bomb.

In the seventh inning, Gruszynski’s brother Andrew was hit by a pitch to lead off, went to second on Jayden Steckel’s sac bunt and advanced to third on an error. He scored the winning run on Owen Dockstater’s safety squeeze bunt. The No. 9 hitter had the game-winning RBI.

Preston Rau – the top pitcher in the Cook Inlet Conference – did not start but came into the game with two outs in the third inning. He went three innings to earn the win and move to 4-0 on the season before giving way to Gruszynski, who recorded the save after getting the final out.

“I thought Preston did great. He’s always been a really good pitcher for us,” Gruszynski said. “Sometimes he goes a little fast, but I loved his pace today and thought he did a great job up on the mound.”

Rau was good, but Gruszynski was better as his Herculean effort carried the Mustangs on a day when West Valley gave them everything they could handle.

The Wolfpack took a 2-0 lead on Bryson Roon’s two-run single in the third and made it 3-0 on Gannon Young’s RBI single.

The Mustangs came back on a blast and a bunt, winning the game with just one hit.

“We got lucky,” Gruszynski said.

In the state playoffs, though, style points don’t matter. It’s all about two things: survive and advance.

“We gotta lock in and play better tomorrow,” Gruszynski said.

Chugiak improved to 3-0 all-time against West Valley, with all three wins coming at the state tournament. They also faced off in 2004 and 2015, with the Mustangs winning those games by a combined 28-6 score.

South 4, Eagle River 3

Kaden Bevegni showcased his senior experience as he came up clutch with a pair of two-out RBI hits in addition to pitching three innings of relief to earn the win as the two-time defending state champion Wolverines extended to seven their winning streak at the state tournament.

Bevegni tripled in Chase Mascelli with the tying run in the fifth inning and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch as South beat the Wolves for the third time this season, improving to 7-1 in one-run games.

Blake Peterson walked and scored in the second inning and recorded the final five outs on the mound to earn the save.

South came back from deficits of 1-0 and 3-2 in handing CIC MVP Liam Lierman his second defeat. The last time these teams met Lierman no-hit South and lost 1-0. This time he allowed just two hits – both to Bevegni.

Bevegni is a three-year starter and one of the few key holdovers from South’s former super teams went a combined 43-0 over the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

The third baseman lined a single past a diving second baseman to give South a 2-1 lead in the third inning, ending Lierman’s 8.2-inning hitless streak against the Wolverines.

Lierman racked up eight strikeouts in 4.2 innings as he eclipsed the 50-K benchmark on the season.

Landon Hudson’s sac fly scored Gunner Mountcastle in the fifth inning to give the Wolves a 3-2 advantage. The lead didn’t last.

With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Chase Mascelli drew a walk and scored the tying run after Bevegni blasted a triple to the 375-foot sign in center field. Bevegni then scored on a wild pitch to put South ahead for good.

Peterson left two runners stranded in scoring position to end the sixth and then struck out two batters in the seventh to seal the deal.

Eagle River hasn’t beaten South since 2014. The Wolves lost all three matchups this year in heartbreaking fashion, dropping decisions of 3-2, 1-0 and 4-3.

Colony 9, Juneau 1

Brayden Parrent punished the Crimson Bears with a three-run home run at the plate and six strong innings on the bump as the Knights rode off triumphantly to reach the state tournament semifinals for the third straight year.

The right-handed Parrent pounded an opposite field homer in the second inning to put Colony ahead 6-0. His bomb scored Jaren Venie and Boman Marks.

That was all the offense Parrent needed as he carved up Juneau batters, allowing five singles and striking out 10 across six innings. He ended the second, third and fifth innings with punchouts.

Parrent’s precise pitching helped him in big spots as Juneau left 10 runners on base in his six frames.

He also got an assist from his catcher on a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play to end the fourth inning. His defense played clean behind him as Colony sparkled on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, the Knights banged out 10 hits and got extra-base knocks from Parrent (HR), Marks (2B) and Nate Wilson (2B). Wilson’s two-out, two-run single in the first inning made it 3-0.

Cauy Trangmoe and Venie had back-to-back RBIs in the fifth as the lead swelled to 8-1. Kaesen Buzby’s RBI single in the sixth made it 9-1.

Colony beat Juneau 8-1 in last year’s state tournament fourth-place game.

Juneau’s Landon Simonson had an RBI single to drive in his team’s lone run, scoring Kaleb Campbell. Tyler Frisby walked three times and catcher Lamar Cabrigas-Blatnick threw out a runner at third base to end the sixth inning.

Service 8, Sitka 7

The Cougars clawed back from a 4-0 deficit in the seventh and scored all eight runs over the final two innings as they won in extras to advance to the state semifinals for the first time in a decade.

It was a roller coaster seventh inning that saw Service rally for seven runs, digging out of a four-run hole to take a 7-4 lead, only to see Sitka score three runs in the bottom of the seventh, with Brandon Marx’s two-out, two-run double tying it 7-7.

The Cougars went ahead again in the top of the eighth, thanks to the hustle of Sebastian Fournier. Fournier reached first base on a strikeout/passed ball, went to second on Andrew Hickman’s sac bunt and third on a groundout. After Rilen Niclai was hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners, Service called a double steal and executed it to perfection, capped by Fournier just beating the throw home from the shortstop on a bang-bang play at the plate.

Niclai stood tall out of the bullpen and pitched the final two innings, ending the seventh with a strikeout and the tying run on third base. Then he recorded a 1-2-3, 7-pitch eighth inning to secure Service’s school-record 15th win of the season.

The Cougars were shut down by Sitka starter Ben Turner, who threw six shutout innings and retired 11 straight at one point.

Sitka took a 2-0 lead on Tanner Stinson’s RBI single in the fifth inning. The next inning the lead swelled to 4-0 on RBIs by Keaton Blankenship and Stinson. Blankenship, who came into the game in the first to replace injured Brett Ross, drew a bases loaded walk on nine pitches. Stinson had his second RBI single two batters later.

In the inning, Service reliever Hunter Christian recorded four strikeouts after one reached on a wild pitch. It seemed like nothing could go right for the Cougars, who were looking at getting shut out for the second of back-to-back games after falling 5-0 to Eagle River in the third-place game of the CIC Tournament.

Owen Hickman’s leadoff single in the seventh set the tone. Service collected five hits in the frame and got back-to-back two-out RBI singles from its big guns in Coen Niclai and Jake Rafferty.

Trailing 7-4 and down to its last three outs on its home field, Sitka dug deep and made something happen. Bridger Bird singled, Turner walked, Chance Colman singled, Blankenship walked and Marx doubled to tie the game and force extra innings.

But this was Service’s night as the Cougars put together their second significant comeback win this season. They rallied from a 6-1 deficit to beat South earlier this year. Tonight they came back from four down to beat Sitka for the first time in two all-time meetings, both coming in one-run games at the state tournament.   

Eagle River’s Liam Lierman is a chip off the ‘ol block, and now the sophomore all-star has done something his old man accomplished 27 years ago – take home MVP honors.

Lierman was selected by Cook Inlet Conference coaches as the 2023 winner of the Don Rabung MVP Award after a sensational season that saw him throw the league’s 16th no-hitter against South and match the CIC Tournament record with four hits in a game against Chugiak.

His dad, Bill, was MVP of the Alaska Legion state tournament in 1996.

Lierman batted .395 in 15 games for the Wolves with 18 runs, seven RBIs and 10 stolen bases. His .600 on-base percentage in 61 plate appearances was buoyed by 21 walks.

As a pitcher, the left-hander was nearly untouchable with a 0.54 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 26 innings. He went 4-1, with his only blemish coming when he threw a no-hitter in a 1-0 loss to South.

Lierman struck out seven Wolverines in his six-inning, 85-pitch effort. The only run he allowed came in the second inning when he walked Blake Peterson, who came around the score after moving to second on a wild pitch, going to third on a balk and scoring on muffed bunt attempt that resulted in a stolen base. It was a wild play and terrible way to lose for Lierman, who became the first CIC pitcher to throw a no-no in a defeat.

At last week's CIC Tournament, Lierman pitched five shutout innings and racked up nine punchouts in a 4-0 win over Service in the third-place game, punching the Wolves' ticket to the ASAA Division I state tournament in Sitka. A day earlier, he went 4-for-5 to match the tournament record for hits in a game.

Lierman was named All-CIC First Team at pitcher and first base. His dad was an All-CIC First Team pick at second base in 1995 for Chugiak and a former Legion state tournament MVP. Today, Bill is tied with South’s Taylor Nerland for No. 1 among CIC coaching wins at 136.

Lierman is the second Eagle River player to win CIC MVP honors, the first since Cam Witte in 2021.

Don Rabung MVP Award

Past Winners

1992 – Tom Sterrett, Chugiak

1993 – John Watson, Bartlett

1994 – Trajan Langdon, East

1995 – Chris Edge, Dimond

1996 – Kelly Hood, Service

1997 – Brady Lonergan, Service

1998 – Joey Clark, Chugiak

            tie, Tyler Hasbrouck, Service

1999 – Orlando Caro, East

2000 – Todd Hadley, East

2001 – Grant Breager, Service

2002 – Antoine McLeod, East

2003 – Anton Maxwell, East

2004 – Tyler Waldron, East

2005 – Chad Nading, East

2006 – Chad Nading, East

2007 – Zach Sterling, South

2008 – Ty Griffith, Chugiak

2009 – Bryan Beard, Service

2010 – Sagan Osborne, Dimond

2011 – Cory Clevenger, Dimond

2012 – Zach Ferntheil, Service

2013 – Max Karnos, South

2014 – Dalton Chapman, West

2015 – Lucas Thorp, Dimond

            tie, Willy Homza, South

2016 – Cody Curfman, Chugiak

2017 – Jonny Homza, South

2018 – Lian Lincoln, South

2019 – Jacob Woodall, South

2020 – No Season

2021 – Cam Witte, Eagle River

2022 – Curtis Hebert, South

2023 – Liam Lierman, Eagle River

Other big winners included Service’s Coen Niclai (Big Stick), Chugiak’s Preston Rau (Top Pitcher) and East’s Edison Polanco (Gold Glove).

Niclai won Big Stick honors for the second time in three years after he led the league in home runs (2) and RBIs (27) while hitting .326 in 17 games. He hit a grand slam and tied his own CIC Tournament record with five RBIs against West. Earlier this season he had an 8-RBI game to help him break the school record for runs batted in a season set 25 years ago by Tyler Hasbrouck, the 1998 Big Stick Award winner.

Rau became the first Mustangs player to win Wade Blasingame Top Pitcher Award, which dates back to 2012. The crafty right-hander carved up the CIC with a 3-0 record and 1.68 ERA. He racked up 20 strikeouts and showed pinpoint control with just five walks in 33.1 innings. He pitched five innings and earned the winning decision when Chugiak beat South 4-1 to snap the Wolverines’ state-record 51-game winning streak.

A gifted shortstop, Polanco became the first East player to win Gold Glove Award since Rick Santos in 2008. He turned five unassisted double plays, showcased a strong arm and remarkable range and usually made at least one OMG play per game. Other Gold Glove finalists included Landon Martindale of Service, Ben Neuberger of South and Fischer Sims of Chugiak.

All-Cook Inlet Conference

2023 Baseball Awards

Don Rabung MVP Award

Liam Lierman, Eagle River

Wade Blasingame Top Pitcher Award

Preston Rau, Chugiak

Big Stick Award

Coen Niclai, Service

Gold Glove Award

Edison Polanco, East

PITCHER

First Team

Liam Lierman, Eagle River 4-1 0.54ERA 26IP 44K No-Hitter

Owen Hickman, Service 5-1 1.39ERA 20.1IP 32K 7BB

Gavin Partch, South 5-1 1.35 ERA 31IP 26K 16BB

Preston Rau, Chugiak 3-0 1.68ERA 33.1IP 20K 5BB

Second Team

Hunter Christian, Service 1-0 3SV 0.00ERA 12.1IP 19K 8BB

Alex Mullen, Eagle River 4-0 2.03ERA 31IP 31K

Ben Neuberger, South 2-0 15.1IP 1.37 20K 7BB

Aiden Ray, Dimond 3-2 3.27ERA 25.2IP 43K 26BB

Third Team

Andrew Malone, East

Gunner Mountcastle, Eagle River 0-0 3SV 0.00ERA 11.2IP 22K

Jake Rafferty, Service 0-2 3SV 2.48ERA 11.2IP 21K 8BB

Ryan Swanstrom, Dimond 2-0 0.80ERA 17.1IP 29K 11BB

Josh Westerman, Chugiak 1-0 1.81ERA 19.1IP 23K 9BB

CATCHER

First Team

Coen Niclai, Service 17GM .326 (14-43) 6XBH(2HR) 27RBI 12BB

Hunter Rau, Chugiak 20GM .373 (19-51) 5XBH 17RBI 11R 13BB

Second Team

Gavin Alexander, South 16GM .290 (9-31) 2XBH 9RBI 5R 7BB

Honorable Mention

None

FIRST BASE

First Team

Liam Lierman Eagle River 15GM .395 (15-38) 7RBI 18R 10SB 21BB

Second Team

Jake Rafferty Service 19GM .370 (17-46) 4XBH 15RBI 15R 22BB

Honorable Mention

Tyler Cage, Chugiak; Ben Neuberger, South

SECOND BASE

First Team

Rilen Niclai, Service 19GM .326 (15-46) 6XBH 16RBI 11R 8BB

Second Team

None

Honorable Mention

None

SHORTSTOP

First Team

Shane Stephan, Dimond 14GM .447 (21-47) 6XBH 19R 19SB

Second Team

Hunter Christian, Service 19GM .392 (20-51) 3XBH 12RBI 21R 17B

Honorable Mention

Jude Doniere, West; Chase Mascelli, South; Edison Polanco, East; Wyatt Rust, Bartlett

THIRD BASE

First Team

Landon Luebke, Chugiak 20GM .288 (17-59) 9XBH(HR) 21RBI 12R

Second Team

Kaden Bevegni   South 18GM .288 (15-52) 7XBH 9RBI 14R 7BB

Honorable Mention

Gideon Lesslie, Dimond

OUTFIELD

First Team

Cyrus Clendaniel, West 17GM .333 (15-45) 7RBI .455OBP

Carl Colavecchio, Bartlett 15GM .533 (16-30) 3XBH 11RBI 10R 16SB

JT Thompson, Eagle River 18GM .375 (15-40) 13RBI 17R 9SB 21BB

Second Team

Gunner Mountcastle Eagle River 19GM .395 (15-38) 13RBI 18R 23SB 16BB

Eli Lipinski Dimond 15GM .308 (12-39) 5XBH 11RBI 15R

Honorable Mention

Blake Peterson, South; Blake Yawitt, East

UTILITY

First Team

Owen Hickman, Service 10GM .373 (22-59) 4XBH 9RBI 20R 13SB

Second Team

Peyton Montagna Dimond 15GM .310 (13-42) 1XBH 10RBI 19R 16SB

Honorable Mention

Jack Boots, West

DESIGNATED HITTER

First Team

Michael Boudreau Chugiak 19GM .509 (29-57) 5XBH 9RBI 21R 5BB

Second Team

Connor Lanehart Eagle River 17GM .396 (19-48) 23RBI 17R 17BB

Honorable Mention

Michael Bretzke, Dimond; Gavin Partch, South

Ben Neuberger dominated on the mound as the left-handed pitcher threw a 4-hit shutout and allowed only two runners to reach third base to help the Wolverines remain the only champion in the three-year history of the CIC Tournament.

South improved to 6-0 all-time in the tournament and 16-2 this season, clinching a No. 1 seed for next week’s ASAA Division I state tournament in Sitka. Chugiak (13-7) secured a No. 2 seed.

Neuberger was lights out on an overcast night with the lights on at Mulcahy Stadium. He struck out six of the first dozen batters and held the Mustangs hitless in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position.

He had two 1-2-3 innings and three more when he allowed just one baserunner. He also fielded his position with three assists.

Neuberger also reached base all three times on walks, with two of them being intentional. He walked the hard way in the first inning to set up the game-winning run.

Carson Maltby, who is playing with a cast to protect a broken thumb, replaced him on the base paths and came around to score on a balk, sac bunt and Gavin Alexander’s RBI single.

In the third inning, Landon Drumm reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second and came around to score on Kaden Bevegni’s RBI single. Drumm was a thorn on Chugiak’s side as the outfielder went 2-for-4 with an RBI and tournament-tying four stolen bases.

South salted the game away in the sixth inning with three runs, thanks in large part to Chase Mascelli’s safety squeeze RBI and Drumm’s RBI single. Another run was scored on an error, the only blunder for either side.

South’s win avenged its loss earlier this season to Chugiak, which snapped the Wolverines’ state-record 52-game winning streak dating back to 2019.

Chugiak managed hits by Michael Boudreau, Gabe Gruszynski, Landon Luebke and Preston Rau.

The first three hits came in the first six plate appearances as Chugiak came out swinging. But Neuberger settled down nicely. The only hit he gave up over the final five innings was a pinch-hit single to Rau.

Liam Lierman and Gunner Mountcastle combined on 2-hitter with 13 strikeouts as the Wolves shut out the Cougars to win the CIC Tournament third-place game at Mulcahy Stadium.

Eagle River (13-6) punched the conference's final automatic berth to the ASAA Division I state tournament while the Cougars (14-5) will have to sweat it out until Sunday, when ASAA announces the lone at-large berth.

Lierman pitched the first five innings and racked up nine punchouts while allowing two singles. The sophomore southpaw struck out the side in the first and fourth innings.

Service's Hunter Christian singled up the middle to lead off the third inning, snapping Lierman's eight-inning no-hit streak dating back to his no-no against South last week.

The lean lefty was in complete command, throwing five shutout innings and lowering his ERA to 0.63 in 22 innings this season. He ended four of five innings with a strikeout, including back-to-back Ks to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning.

Lierman also stayed hot at the plate, going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks. He reached base in six of nine plate appearances in the tournament.

Mountcastle had all four strikeouts in consecutive order, including three in a row to get out of a bases loaded jam in the sixth inning as Service left 10 runners on base.

Eagle River leadoff hitter Josh Thompson singled, stole second and, went to third on Mountcastle's single and scored on wild pitch in the first inning.

Mountcastle also singled as part of a three-run third inning, when Tommy Molloy’s two-run single and Landon Hudson’s RBI single pushed the lead to 4-0. Molloy’s single got under the glove of the Service third baseman and Hudson slapped a perfectly placed blooper into right field.

The Wolves’ only blemish was that they kept testing the bionic arm of Service catcher Coen Niclai, who threw out baserunners in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings.

Niclai hosed five runners in the tournament, with all of them coming over his final six innings. A day earlier, he threw out two South runners in the same inning.

Tyler Cage crushed the longest home run of the conference season and put the Mustangs in the driver's seat in their CIC Tournament semifinal slugfest win at Mulcahy Stadium.

The sophomore first baseman launched a moon shot to left centerfield that easily cleared the wall some 380 feet away, with room to spare. It may have gone 400 feet.

It was a no-doubt-about-it bomb off the bat.

Cage's homer helped the Mustangs take a 3-2 lead in their season series with archrival Eagle River, as well as clinch a spot in Friday night's CIC Tournament title game and an automatic berth to next week's ASAA Division I state tournament in Sitka.

Landon Luebke also had a big day at the plate, lacing an RBI triple in the first inning and ripping an RBI double in the third inning. Fischer Sims and Michael Boudreau each had two hits and combined to score three runs.

Chugiak (13-6) banged out 11 hits and scored the first six runs of the game, including four in the first inning when one run scored on a balk while Gabe Gruszynski, Luebke and Andrew Gruszynski. Jayden Steckel's RBI single made it 6-0.

Meanwhile, Mustangs starter Tyson Morgan was marvelous as he really bared down when runners were on base. The freshman right-hander pitched 4.3 innings and held Eagle River batters to 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

Cage's three-run home run made it 9-2 and it looked like the Mustangs would cruise.

However, Eagle River never quit and pulled within 9-6 after six innings - and that's after Chugiak cut down two runners at the plate on force outs, so it could have been closer.

Liam Lierman went 4-for-5 and matched the CIC Tournament record for hits in a game for the Wolves (12-6) and Alex Mullen and Gunner Mountcastle each were 3-for-4 with a walk. Mullen's RBI double snapped his team's 0-for-9 skid with runners in scoring position. Dalton Smith's RBI pulled his team within 9-6.

The Wolves left 14 runners on base.

Eagle River will face Service in the CIC Tournament’s third-place game at 5 p.m., followed by Chugiak vs. South in the title game at 7:30 p.m.

This is the first time in the third annual CIC Tournament that the Mustangs have advanced to the title game.

South is the two-time defending tournament champion.

He didn't start the game, but outfielder Robert Hughes helped the Wolverines close out a CIC Tournament semifinal victory at Mulcahy Stadium.

After being inserted into the game as a defensive replacement in the fourth inning, the left fielder immediately made the play of the game when he threw out a runner at the plate to complete a 7-2 double play and snuff out a Service rally.

The Cougars had pulled within 4-2 and loaded the bases when Owen Hickman lofted a high fly ball that Hughes caught and then fired a missile home. It not only saved a run, but it saved the Wolverines (15-2).

With the win, South advanced to the CIC Tournament title game for the third straight year and earned an automatic berth to next week’s ASAA Division I state tournament in Sitka.

South relief pitcher Blake Peterson – who came into the game along with Hughes – earned the win after throwing 3.2 scoreless innings. The junior right-hander allowed only one hit and kept Service hitters off balance in a strong outing out of the bullpen.

Starter Gavin Partch went the first 3.1 innings, leaving with the bases loaded and earning a no decision. He allowed two runs tonight compared to four runs in the 27.2 previous innings.

Leadoff hitter Chase Mascelli and cleanup hitter Ben Neuberger each reached base four times. Mascelli was 3-for-3 with a walk and run scored. Neuberger had an RBI single, drew a walk and was hit by two pitches (both times hitting his foot).

Partch provided the go-ahead RBIs with a two-out, two-run single in the third inning and came around to score on the same play after Service threw the ball around. The Cougars had two errors in the inning and three for the game, but that wasn't why they lost.

Service (14-4) couldn’t muster any offense and managed, leaving four of six runners stranded in scoring position. Nine outs came on lazy flyouts or pop ups.

Freshman Connor Monahan pulled Service within 4-2 with an RBI single that scored Sebastian Fournier.

Catcher Coen Niclai continued his torrid tournament for the Cougars. One day after hitting a grand slam and breaking the school record with his 27th RBI of the season, he threw out two baserunners in the sixth inning.

Niclai’s defense bailed out little bro Rilen, who was on the mound.

South tacked on three more runs in the sixth inning, thanks to a RBI triple from Kaden Bevegni, an RBI single from Kolby Jensen and Gavin Alexander’s run-scoring base on balls.

Service will face Eagle River in the CIC Tournament’s third-place game at 5 p.m., followed by South vs. Chugiak for all the marbles at 7:30 p.m.

With one swing of the bat, Coen Niclai made history in more ways than one as his grand slam and five RBIs powered the Cougars in a CIC Tournament second round win at Mulcahy Stadium.

The Service junior catcher finished 2-for-3 with a walk, RBI single and home run to help him tie his own tournament record with five RBIs. He also had five RBIs against East in 2021.

Niclai annihilated the first pitch he saw in the sixth inning, launching a laser over the left-field wall with a no-doubt bomb that made it 7-1.

The grand slam pushed Niclai's CIC-leading RBI count to 27 in 15 games to break the Service school record, surpassing Tyler Hasbrouck's previous record of 25 set in 12 games in 1998.

Niclai's second home run of the season put the finishing touches on a solid win for Service, which advanced to the semifinals of the third annual CIC Tournament for the first time.

Owen Hickman struck out seven batters and retired 12 of the first 13 as he carried a shutout into the fifth inning. He also reached base three times with the bat and scored a pair of runs.

He singled and scored on Niclai's single in the first inning to help Service (14-3) take an early lead. The Cougars made it 2-0 in the fourth inning when Sebastian Fournier singled, stole second and scored on Landon Martindale's two-out base knock.

West (7-10) clawed to within 2-1 on Paul Dittrich's two-out RBI single in the fifth inning. Orion Halliburton singled, went to second base on Beckett Stolp's sac bunt and scored thanks to some two-out magic. 

West third baseman Jude Doniere ended the first inning after he turned an unassisted double play, his second in as many as days.

Service turned a 4-6-3 twin killing in the third inning.

West starter Michael Tillman held Service to one run over the first three innings after four runners were stranded in scoring position. Sam Zieserl tripled and Dittrich had two of his team's four hits.

Jake Rafferty's sac fly gave Service a 3-1 lead. Hunter Christian walked twice and scored twice. He also pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief, getting out of the sixth inning thanks to a rundown that was sparked by shortstop Rilen Niclai's relay throw home that saved a run. JV callup Nick Armstrong closed it out with a pop up.

Third-seeded Service will face No. 2 seed South (14-2) on Thursday night at 5 o'clock. The teams split their two previous meetings this season as the Cougars became just the second team to beat the Wolverines since 2019.

Preston Rau pitched a complete game and brother Hunter drove in a pair of runs as the Mustangs scored in five of their six at-bats in a CIC Tournament second round win at Mulcahy Stadium.

A pitch-to-contact hurler, Rau scattered six hits, induced four 1-2-3 innings and got two double plays behind him. Twice, he retired six straight batters.

This was Rau's second complete-game effort in as many starts at the CIC Tournament.

Fisher Sims walked twice, stole second base twice and scored twice. He also ripped an RBI double in the fourth to make it 5-2. Michael Boudreau and Andrew Gruszynski each went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Tyler Cage scores twice.

Chugiak's nine runs were more than the Mustangs scored in four previous tournament games combined (8) in 2021 and 2022.

Boudreau gave Chugiak a 1-0 lead in the first inning after poking an RBI base hit to right field.

Dimond rapped out three hits against Rau in the third inning and took a 1-2 on consecutive RBIs from Pama Brito and Shane Stephan. Michael Bretzke got the party started with a leadoff single and went to third on Aiden Ray's double, the fifth for the Lynx in two tournament games.

Ray started at pitcher and went 4.1 innings, striking out four for the Lynx (10-8). He finished the season with a CIC-best 50 Ks in a CIC-high 31.1 innings.

Sims scored on a balk to tie the game and two Lynx throwing errors helped Chugiak (12-6) take the lead for good.

Dimond freshman Carson Engstrom went 2-for-3 and delivered a two-out RBI single that pulled his team within 6-3 in the sixth inning.

Hunter Rau's two-run double and Landon Luebke's RBI groundout came in the seventh inning off Ryan Swanstrom, who had given up two runs in his previous 18 innings before giving up two runs in the seventh.

With the win, Chugiak avenged an 8-6 loss last week to the Dimond and took a 31-30 edge in the all-time series dating back to 2019.

The fourth-seeded Mustangs advanced to the CIC Tournament semifinals and will face No. 1 seed Eagle River (12-5) on Thursday night at 7:30. The teams split their previous four meetings in the regular season, with the Wolves winning the coveted league game. 

Gideon Lesslie pitched 3.2 innings of scoreless relief and drove in a run as the Lynx scored early and often to trigger the mercy rule in the CIC Tournament first round game at Mulcahy Stadium.

Dimond drilled four doubles by Shane Stephan, Caleb Cooke, Brian Coleman and Aiden Ray and had eight different players score runs.

Stephan, a senior leadoff hitter, ripped a double to start the game and came home on Cooke's double. Cooke, a freshman two-hole hitter, finished 2-for-2 with two runs and two RBIs.

Peyton Montagna was a terror on the base paths with four of his team's nine stolen bags, but East catcher Andrew Malone got the last laugh when he ended the fourth inning by throwing out Ray at third base.

Ray started and struck out three batters in 1.1 innings before being pulled after fewer than 30 pitches, leaving him eligible to start tomorrow's second round game against Chugiak. The right-hander has struck out a CIC-best 46 batters in 27 innings across six appearances on the season.

Lesslie came in relief and was lights, striking out three of the first four batters he faced. He also fielded his position nicely, making the play on three consecutive 1-3 putouts.  He fielded one bare-handed and fired a missile to first base.

Lesslie came into the game with eight innings all season; then pitched nearly half of that in a playoff game to lower his season ERA to 1.81. 

In the first inning, Dimond catcher Carson Engstrom threw out a base runner at second, in large part because the East kid didn't slide. If he had, more than likely he would have been safe.

In the third inning, Engstrom made a diving catch on a high pop up behind the plate. He spun around, threw off his mask, located the ball up the elevator shaft and made the catch. Not easy.

Dimond also turned a 6-4-3 double play in the fourth to erase Edison Polanco's leadoff walk.

The fifth-seeded Lynx (10-7) advanced to the tournament’s second round and will face fourth-seeded Chugiak (11-6) on Wednesday night.

Making his first playoff start, sophomore Paul Dittrich dialed it in after a rocky start and threw scoreless frames in four of his five innings as the Eagles won the CIC Tournament first round game at Mulcahy Stadium.

Dittrich allowed two hits and an unearned run in the first inning before shutting down the Bears as he faced only one above the minimum over the second, third, fourth and fifth innings.

He got a little help from his friends. Third baseman Jude Doniere turned an unassisted double play in the third inning, catcher Evan Fitzgerald threw out a baserunner and right fielder Sam Zieserl made a shoestring catch.

Dittrich entered the game, having thrown 7.1 innings in four appearances. The right-hander went five innings today, striking out two of the final three batters he faced.

Dittrich also knocked in a run with a sac fly in the fourth inning that made it 3-1.

Bartlett took an early 1-0 lead after plating an unearned run in the first inning and looked for more, but left the bases loaded. The Golden Bears stranded only one base runner the final six innings, with Fitzgerald working the final two innings to earn the save.

The Eagles (7-9) tied the game in the third inning on Zieserl's sac fly and took a 2-1 lead when Cyrus Clendaniel (3-for-3) singled and scored on a throwing error. Fitzgerald's RBI single made it 4-1 in the sixth.

Bartlett's Carl Colavecchio went 2-for-3 and showed off his cannon of a left arm when he nearly threw out West's speedy outfielder Chad Stolp at home on a flyout to centerfield. Stolp doubles as a track star, so nearly every other player in the league is probably out at the plate.

Wyatt Rust also went 2-for-3 and Levi Patterson singled and scored his team's lone run. Patterson scattered eight hits over his five innings and tied the tournament record with a three-pitch second inning before giving way to Nick Brandal for the final frame.

The game featured zero walks and zero batters hit by pitch.

Sixth-seeded West advanced to the tournament’s second round and will face third-seeded Service (13-3) on Wednesday night.

In the best regular season in Cook Inlet Conference baseball history, five teams finished tied atop the eight-team league at 5-2.

That’s never happened since the league expanded to eight teams in 2007.

The five-way tie triggered a tiebreaker of fewest runs between the tied teams to set up seeding for next week’s CIC Tournament.

Here is how that tiebreaker shook out:

Eagle River 12

South 14

Service 18

Chugiak 25

Dimond 29

That’s the order for the top five seeds, while West is sixth, Bartlett seventh and East eighth.

The four-day CIC Tournament begins Tuesday:

Tuesday, May 23
CIC Tournament First Round
5:00pm #7 Bartlett vs. #6 West
7:30pm #8 East vs. #5 Dimond
Wednesday, May 24
CIC Tournament Second Round
5:00pm East/Dim winner vs. #4 Chugiak
7:30pm Bar/West winner vs. #3 Service
Thursday, May 25
CIC Tournament Semifinals
5:00pm TBD vs. #2 South
7:30pm TBD vs. #1 Eagle River
Friday, May 26
CIC Tournament Third Place
5:00pm TBD vs. TBD
CIC Tournament Championship
7:30pm TBD vs. TBD

Here are recaps from Saturday's games:

Chugiak 6, Service 3

The Mustangs struck for four hits and three runs in the top of the ninth inning to double up the Cougars and create chaos in the CIC standings.

Tyler Cage scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch and Hunter Rau's two-run single made a winner out of relief pitcher Jayden Steckel.

Steckel pitched the final 3.2 innings after starter Preston Rau went the first 5.1 innings. Together, they limited the Cougars to seven hits and combined for six scoreless frames.

Steckel gave Chugiak a 3-2 lead with a two-run double in the sixth inning that scored Gabe and Andrew Gruszynski.

Service tied it 3-3 in the bottom half on Andrew Hickman's RBI single that scored Sebastian Fournier, who had tripled. On that hit the Cougars had a runner chopped down at the plate.

Service gunned down a runner at the plate in the third inning in a defensive game that took two hours to play nine innings. It helped that several batters on both sides swung early in the count, especially on the first pitch.

Service took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by Rilen Niclai, giving him eight RBIs in the last four games. The base knock scored his brother Coen, who slid around the tag on a close play at the plate.

Hunter Rau was 3-for-4, Owen Dockstader reached base three times with two singles and a walk, and Michael Boudreau went 2-for-3 and started the ninth inning rally with a leadoff single.

Rilen Niclai and Hickman each went 2-for-3 with an RBI for the Cougars. Hickman also pitched 5.2 innings. Hunter Christian's two-out RBI single gave Service a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning.

South 7, West 3

Ben Neuberger carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and the offense sputtered but still found success.

The Wolverines scored three runs on wild pitches, one on a balk and three more on groundballs.

Chase Mascelli banged out two of his team’s five hits and scored two runs. Kaden Bevegni walked, singled, scored two runs and had an RBI. He also pitched the seventh inning.

Neuberger struck out 10 batters and lost his no-hit bid with two outs in the sixth inning on a clean single by West’s Cyrus Clendaniel.

Neuberger looked untouchable through 5.2 innings but ran into trouble when he allowed four consecutive West batters to reach, with Savion Bishop’s two-run single blowing his shutout bid.

West’s Jude Doniere doubled in the other run.

Catcher Michael Tillman singled and threw out two runners on the bases.

Dimond 14, East 4

Gideon Lesslie and Michael Bretzke each had two hits and combined for five RBIs as for the Lynx.

Lesslie went 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs and Bretzke was 2-for-3 with a double, walk, run and two RBIs. Peyton Montagna scored three runs and swiped four bags.

Anthony Mathiason, Drew Dittman and Shane Stephan combined for 11 strikeouts. Mathiason also went 2-for-2 with a run and RBI.

East's Andrew Malone reached base all three times on triple, single and walk with an RBI and run scored. Blake Yawitt had a base knock and two runs.

Eagle River 15, Bartlett 0

Connor Lanehart went 2-for-3 with a triple, three runs and two RBIs for the Wolves.

Lanehart has 21 RBIs on the season, ranking second in the CIC behind Service's Coen Niclai (22).

Alex Mullen went 2-for-3 with a double, triple and two RBIs. Kam Kurtz had a two-run double and Dallin Roberts had a sac fly and triple.

Eagle River 7, West 2
Killian Johannes needed only 85 pitches to pitch a complete game and Gunner Mountcastle went 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs as the Wolves won a CIC nonleague game at Loretta French.

Johannes scattered eight hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

Eagle River (11-5) broke open a 2-2 game by scoring three runs in the third inning and single runs in each off the fifth and sixth innings.

Connor Lanehart went 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. He ranks second in the league with 19 RBIs.

West nine-hole hitter Paul Dittrich reached base all three times on two singles and a walk while Cyrus Clendaniel and Ruari O’Brien-Holen knocked in runs. O’Brien-Holen's RBI came on a triple.

Chugiak 19, East 5
Owen Dockstader hit one of his team's three triples and finished with a game-high four RBIs as the Mustangs galloped to a big win at Oberg.

Fisher Sims, Tyler Cage, Landon Luebke, Josh Westerman and Jayden Steckel each batted in a pair of runs for Chugiak (10-6).

Michael Boudreau and Luebke tripled while Hunter Rau and Westerman doubled.

Westerman also pitched 3.2 scoreless innings with eight punchouts.

East's Blake Yawitt was 2-for-3 with a run, RBI and two stolen bases. Alan Contraras scored twice.

Service 14, Wasilla 4
Brothers Rilen and Coen Niclai combined for a half dozen RBIs as the Cougars took care of business against the Warriors in the a nonleague game at Bartlett.

Rilen Niclai went 2-for-4 with a triple, double, run and four RBIs. Big bro Coen knocked in two runs to give him a league-best 22 RBIs on the season.

Owen Hickman went 2-for-3, Hunter Christian was 2-for-4 and Jake Rafferty reached base four times with a single and three walks for the Cougars (13-2).

Landon Martindale, Michael Sculley and Connor Monahan allowed only two hits over five innings.

Wasilla's Oscar knocked in two of his team's runs and Chase Sivulich singled, walked, scored and had an RBI.

Dimond 15, Bartlett 0
Carson Engstrom went 3-for-3 with a double, three runs and three RBIs as the Lynx rolled to victory in a CIC nonleague game at the K fields.

Peyton Montagna, Gideon Lesslie and Dylan Woodworth each drove in two runs and were among seven players to score two runs for the Lynx (8-7).

Lesslie also pitched all five innings, allowing just one base hit to Bartlett's Nick Brandal.

Bartlett 18, East 8
Eli Corwin and Carl Colavecchio each knocked in four runs as the Golden Bears picked up their first CIC league win of the season at Mulcahy Stadium.

The two teams combined for the most runs in a CIC game this season.

Corwin went 4-for-5 and had RBIs in the first, second, five and sixth innings.

Colavecchio went 3-for-4 with a double, walk and four runs scored. He drove in the first run of the game and made it 4-1 in the second inning with a two-run double off the wall in left field.

Wyatt Rust went 2-for-4 with a double for Bartlett (2-12, 1-5 CIC), which banged out a season-high 15 hits in support of starter Levi Patterson, who pitched five innings to earn the win.

Dylan Dumas had two of the five RBIs for East while Edison Polanco, Juan Diaz, Caleb White and Alan Contreras each had single RBIs.

Polanco pitched five innings and made a beautiful barehand grab on a comebacker.

Contreras also pitched one inning, racking up four strikeouts in the sixth inning for the T-birds (1-11, 0-6 CIC).

Dimond 8, Chugiak 6
Michael Bretzke's sac fly in the seventh inning put his team ahead for good as the Lynx rallied from a five-run deficit to win the CIC league game at Mulcahy Stadium.

Down 6-1 through four innings, Dimond came alive with seven runs over the final three innings in aid of starting pitcher Aiden Ray, who picked up his third win of the season with a strong 6.2 innings of work.

Ray struck out nine batters and came out in the seventh inning because of the pitch count. The lean and mean righty now has a league-best 43 strikeouts in 25.2 innings.

Eli Lipinski closed it out for his third save of the season.

In the go-ahead seventh inning, Peyton Montagna got the party started with a leadoff single and came around to score the tying run. Bretzke's sac fly made it 7-6 and pinch-hitter Rowan Leathard rapped out an RBI single to close out the scoring for Dimond (7-7, 4-2 CIC).

Montagna finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and threw out a runner at second in a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play. Lipinski doubled, laid down a sac bunt and drove in two runs. Bretzke also had two RBIs while first baseman Caleb Cook went 2-for-4 and made two nice catches in foul territory.

This was a tale of two games for the Mustangs (9-6, 4-2 CIC). They led 6-1 through the first four innings and made four errors in the final three innings.

Gabe Gruszynski went 2-for-4 with two runs and a two-run triple in the third inning to give Chugiak a 4-1 cushion. Hunter Rau's RBI single made it 5-1 and Fisher Sims scored on wild pitch in the fourth to make it 6-1.

South 1, Eagle River 0

Gavin Partch outdueled Liam Lierman in the ultimate pitcher’s battle as both hurlers went the distance and Lierman threw a no-hitter – and lost.

Partch tossed a 1-hit shutout and benefitted from an early run as South won the CIC league game at Mulcahy Stadium to improve to 6-1 in one-run games this year.

Lierman, a hard-throwing sophomore southpaw, struck out seven batters and shut down the Wolverines during his six-inning, 85-pitch effort.

The only run he allowed came in the second inning when he walked Blake Peterson, who came around the score after moving to second on a wild pitch, going to third on a balk and scoring on muffed bunt attempt that resulted in a stolen base.

With Peterson on third base and Kolby Jensen at the plate, the Wolverines (13-2, 4-2 CIC) called for a suicide squeeze play, but Jensen missed the bunt and then catcher Dallin Roberts missed the tag on Peterson.

It was a wild play and terrible way to lose for Lierman, who threw the 16th no-hitter in CIC history but became the first to lose the game.

Lierman issued three walks and hit a batter. One of them was erased on the base paths after Roberts threw out a runner at second.

South’s Chase Mascelli walked and stole second in the sixth inning, the only other Wolverine to get into scoring position other than Peterson.

At the plate, Lierman and Josh Thompson each reached base twice for the Wolves (10-5, 4-2 CIC). Three times Eagle River got a runner as far as second base.

The only hit of the game came in the fifth inning from Eagle River’s nine-hole hitter Dalton Smith, who punched a single to right field and clapped his hands as he reached first base. He knew.

Partch walked three and did not register a strikeout in his 92-pitch outing. His only 1-2-3 innings came in the second and seventh.

He threw strikes, trusted his defense and fielded his position. He had three assists and started a 1-6-3 double play to end the fifth inning.

Service 4, West 1

Jake Rafferty rocked and rolled as he drove in three runs and earned the save after closing out his team's CIC league win at Mulcahy Stadium.

The rocket right-hander racked up two strikeouts in the seventh inning for his second save in his last three appearances.

Rafferty ripped a two-run single in the first inning and added a run-scoring double in the third inning to provide the Cougars (12-2, 5-1 CIC) with all the offense they needed.

Landon Martindale went 2-for-2 with a walk and added an RBI single in the sixth inning. Braun Precosky scored two runs.

Starter Owen Hickman combined on a 1-hitter with relievers Rilen Niclai and Rafferty. Hickman struck out a half dozen in four innings to earn the win while Niclai worked a scoreless fifth and sixth innings.

Hickman, who moved to third base after he finished pitching, turned an unassisted double play in the sixth inning. The Cougars also turned a twin killing in the fifth inning, thanks to runner interference.

West's lone base hit and RBI was produced by Savion Bishop, who ripped a double down the third-base line in the fourth inning to score Gabe Caternicchio from first base to pull the Eagles within 3-1.

Jude Doniere did a little bit of everything. He reached base all three times via walks, including two four-pitch numbers; he turned an unassisted double play from third base; and he retired the only two batters he faced on the mound for West (6-7, 2-4 CIC).

Chugiak 4, Eagle River 3
Hunter Rau knocked in the game-winning run with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Mustangs to victory in a CIC nonleague game at Oberg Field.

Rau finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and relief pitcher Andrew Gruszynski picked up the win after recording the final out in the top of the seventh.

Samuel Theis pitched 3.2 innings of one-run relief to keep Chugiak (9-5) in the game.

Seth Strange went 2-for-2 with a walk and RBI and the Gruszynski bros each drove in a run. Gabe Gruszynski was 1-for-2 while Andrew Gruszynski singled, walked and scored a run.

Eagle River (10-4) battled back from deficits of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 and got five strong innings from starter Alex Mullen, who allowed two earned runs and struck out five over five innings of work.

Liam Lierman went 2-for-4 with a double and RBI while Dallin Roberts went 2-for-3 and Killian Johannes singled, scored and drove in a run.

South 2, Wasilla 1
Luke Beard drove in Kolby Jensen with the winning run with one down in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Wolverines to a CIC nonleague win at Taylar Young Field.

South (12-2) improved to 5-1 in one-run games this season.

Kaden Bevegni doubled in a run in the first inning to score Landon Drumm as the Wolverines scratched out a win against Wasilla starter George McSorely.

McSorely was McDealing as he threw five consecutive scoreless frames and held South to just three hits.

South pitchers Gavin Lawrence and Jaxson Desjarlais combined for 10 strikeouts in 6.2 innings, yet Ben Neuberger got the win after recording the final out in the top of the seventh.

Oscar Savala drove in Jimmy Lackey in the fourth inning for the Warriors (17-4).

Service 12, Bartlett 2
Rilen Niclai continued to swing a hot bat, ripping two triples and a double in a 3-for-3 effort that included two RBIs and three runs scored as the Cougars beat up the Bears in a CIC nonleague game at Mulcahy Stadium.

Sebastian Fournier went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored while Hunter Huelskoetter went 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. Landon Martindale went 2-for-2 with and RBI for the Cougars (11-2).

Hunter Christian and Braun Precosky each pitched two scoreless innings and combined for 10 strikeouts.

Bartlett's Carl Colavecchio and Wyatt Rust each had two hits. Colavecchio reached all three times, scored a run and stole a base. Alex Egoak had his team's lone RBI.

South 9, West 4
Ben Neuberger went 3-for-4, drove in two runs and scored a pair of runs to highlight an otherwise quite offense for the Wolverines in a CIC nonleague game at Mulcahy Stadium.

No other South players had an RBI and seven different players scored one run apiece. The Wolverines (11-2) did go crazy on the base paths, swiping eight bags. They excel at that, applying consistent pressure on the defense. 

Luke Beard pitched three hitless innings with five strikeouts and Daniel Feigner threw one scoreless frame of relief.

West's Orion Halliburton doubled, drew a pair of walks and scored two runs while Paul Dittrich reached base all three times, scored a run and stole a bag.

Jude Doniere and Caden Greenhalgh had RBIs for the Eagles (6-6)

Eagle River 7, Dimond 4
Pitcher Jack Molloy allowed only two hits through 5.1 innings and left the game with a 5-1 lead before Gunner Mountcastle closed it out with a white-knuckle-ride save as the Wolves won the CIC league game at Mulcahy Stadium.

Connor Lanehart's two-run single in the third inning gave Eagle River a 3-0 while Molloy mowed through the Lynx with three scoreless frames to open the game.

Dimond broke through for a run in the fourth on Gideon Lesslie's RBI groundout to pull within 3-1. Meanwhile, starter Aiden Ray continued to rack up strikeouts. He fanned three in a row, including back-to-back Ks to start the fourth inning, giving him 34 strikeouts in his last 19 innings.

Ray was good, Molloy was better. 

Molloy buckled down with a runner in scoring position and allowed just four base runners through five innings. He had five strikeouts, three looking.

Molloy was chased in the sixth inning in favor of Mountcastle, who struggled with his control, but ultimately got the job done when he closed out the game with the tying run at the plate.

Eagle River (10-3, 4-1 CIC) scored two runs in the top of the seventh thanks to three Dimond errors.

Dimond trailed 5-1 before coming alive for three runs in in the sixth inning. Lesslie drove in his second run of the game and Pama Brito and Ryan Swanstrom each scored on wild pitches.

The Lynx (6-6, 3-2 CIC) flashed some leather in the sixth when center fielder Eli Lipinski made a diving catch and the infield turned a 5-4-3 double play. In the seventh, catcher Peyton Montagna picked off a runner at third with the bases loaded.

Eagle River won the nonleague game 10-4.

West 11, Bartlett 1
Jude Doniere pitched 4.1 innings to pick up the win and Jack Boots drove in the final run that triggered the mercy rule as the Eagles soared to a CIC league game at Mulcahy Stadium.

Doniere racked up six strikeouts, including four in a row over the first and second innings. He retired eight straight in that stretch. The only run he allowed scored on a wild pitch.

He gave way to reliever Liam Gunn, who induced a pop up with runners on second and third to end it for the Eagles (6-5, 2-3 CIC).

Boots was the bomb, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs, a walk and two runs scored. His two-run single made it 4-1 in the second inning. He walked and scored in the third and ended the game in the fifth after smacking a single into center on the 10th pitch of his at-bat.

Bartlett's Carl Colavecchio reached base with a single and a walk. He also swiped three bases. Nick Brandal scored his team's lone run and pinch-hitter Isiah Anaruk roped a single down the third-base line for the Golden Bears (1-11, 0-5 CIC).

Chugiak 12, East 0
Michael Boudreau went 3-for-3 with 4 RBIs and Tyson Morgan pitched four scoreless innings as the Mustangs pulled away in the later stages to post a five-inning mercy rule win in a CIC league game at Mulcahy Stadium.

Boudreau cleared the bases with a double in the second inning that made it 3-0. Landon Luebke then drove him in as the lead swelled to 4-0.

Boudreau reached base all four times and scored two runs. Luebke and Tyler Cage each finished with two RBIs for the Mustangs (8-5, 4-1 CIC).

Just a freshman, Morgan was steady as he wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth inning and scattered five walks and a hit batsman while striking out five. 

He also got some nice defense behind him with a double play in the first inning and a pick off by his catcher Hunter Rau in the third inning. Reliever Josh Westerman closed it out with a perfect inning.

Rau and Andrew Gruszynski had doubles as Chugiak banged out 11 hits but led only 4-0 going into the fifth inning.

East's Edison Polanco was a wizard at shortstop, making six assists and turning an unassisted double play - his second of the week. He also made a beautiful play in the fourth inning when he ranged to his left, went to the ground to grab the ball and threw out the runner at first from the seat of his pants.

Que the 'SportsCenter' theme song.

East's Blake Yawitt drew two walks and Andrew Malone banged out the lone base hit for the T-birds (1-9, 0-5 CIC). He also pitched two scoreless innings and showed his toughness when he took a line drive off his leg and stayed in the game.

CIC Standings
TEAM LEAGUE OVERALL
Service 4-1 10-1
Eagle River 4-1 10-3
Chugiak 4-1 8-5
South 3-2 9-2
Dimond 3-2 6-6
West 2-3 6-5
East 0-5 1-9
Bartlett 0-5 1-11

Service 7, South 6
The Cougars rallied from deficits of 5-0 and 6-1 to win it on Rilen Niclai's two-out RBI single in the sixth inning as Service beat South for the first time since 2018 in a CIC league game at Mulcahy Stadium.

The fifth Service pitcher of the day, Jake Rafferty closed it out with a one-out save in a wild bottom of the seventh. 

Niclai started the frame on the mound and hit the leadoff batter before he was erased on a 2-3-6-3-4-1 rundown after getting picked off. With a runner on first, Luke Beard hit into a fielder's choice after the Service second baseman dropped a pop up but got the lead runner at second. 

Exit Niclai, enter Rafferty, who induced a pop up to end the game - and Service's misery against its southside rival, ending a six-game losing streak.

Trailing 6-5 entering the bottom of the sixth, Sebastian Fournier drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game 6-6 and Niclai laced an RBI single to put Service ahead for good.

Service (10-1, 4-1 CIC) won despite making two outs on the base paths, hitting four South batters by pitch and leaving nine runners on base.

Andrew Hickman hit South batters early and South pitchers late. He started and had control problems, plunking three straight in the first inning to help the Wolverines build a 5-0 lead. How bad was it for Hickman? He had to record five outs in the first inning after multiple mistakes extended the frame, including an errant throw home on a force play and a strikeout/wild pitch.

Give Hickman credit for not quitting. He got even at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two doubles, two RBIs and a run scored.

His RBI single pulled Service within 6-2 and Michael Sculley's two-run single made it 6-4. Owen Hickman's two-out run-scoring base knock capped the four-run frame to pull the Cougars within a run at 6-5.

Meanwhile, Service's bullpen was lights out. Sculley allowed one unearned run in 3.2 innings, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the second inning. Landon Martindale got the final out to end the fifth inning. Niclai pitched 1.2 scoreless innings and Rafferty sealed the deal.

South (9-2, 3-2 CIC) got RBIs from Ben Neuberger, Gavin Partch and Kolby Jensen. Blake Peterson allowed just one run in the first three innings, having one runner erased on a 9-4-5 relay at third and then retiring the next five straight.

This was just the third loss for South its last 55 games dating back to 2019, the first in that stretch by a team not named Chugiak.

CIC Standings
TEAM LEAGUE OVERALL
Service 4-1 10-1
Eagle River 4-1 10-3
Chugiak 4-1 8-5
South 3-2 9-2
Dimond 3-2 6-6
West 2-3 6-5
East 0-5 1-9
Bartlett 0-5 1-11

Eagle River 8, East 2
Tommy Molloy got the win and Landon Hudson earned a save as the Wolves needed a big rally in the sixth inning to pull away from the Thunderbirds in a CIC league game at Mulcahy Stadium.

Dalton Smith drove in two runs with RBI singles in the fourth and sixth innings for Eagle River (8-3, 3-1 CIC), which nursed a 3-2 lead through five full innings.

Eagle River scored five runs in the sixth inning, getting RBIs from Smith, Gunner Mountcastle, Josh Thompson, Jack Molloy and Alex Mullen. Connor Lanehart's RBI single in the third inning gave the Wolves the lead for good.

Hudson threw well over the final two frames, striking out three batters in his two innings of hitless relief.

But overall, nothing came easy for Eagle River against a spirited East team that made winning plays and gave the Wolves everything they could handle.

The T-birds (1-8, 0-4 CIC) took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on Andrew Malone's RBI single, snapping the team's 17-inning scoreless streak in CIC league play. Blake Yawitt got the party started with a double. Malone also drove in East's second run in the fifth inning as his RBI single scored Edison Polanco to pull the T-birds within 3-2.

Yawitt reached base three times and threw out a runner at third base from center field.

East pitcher Dylan Dumas gave a gutsy performance, working 2.2 scoreless frames to open the game and holding the Wolves to two earned runs in the first five innings.

South 13, Dimond 3
The Wolverines battered the Lynx behind a 10-hit attack that was fueled by a seven-run second inning and lights-out pitching by Gavin Partch and Kaden Bevegni to cruise to a CIC league win at Mulcahy Stadium.

Chase Mascelli had three RBIs while Landon Drumm, Kolby Jensen and Luke Beard each drove in two runs for South (9-1, 3-1 CIC). 

In the second inning, Mascelli's RBI single made it 3-0 and Drumm's two-run base knock pushed the lead to 5-0. Bevegni then doubled in a run and scored from second base on a wild pitch to make it 7-0.

Beard had two sac flies - the first one scored Robert Hughes to make it 8-3 in the third inning and the second one scored Jensen to make it 11-3 in the fifth inning.

Partch did a little bit of everything. He went 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI. He also started at pitched and tossed four innings to earn the win. He retired eight of the final nine batters he faced before giving way to Bevegni, who threw three innings to get the long save.

Partch and Bevegni retired 20 of the final 24 batters.

Dimond (6-4, 3-1 CIC) never recovered after falling behind 7-0, although the Lynx made some noise in the third inning after consecutive singles by Gideon Lesslie, Josiah James and Carson Engstrom that led to RBIs by Shane Stephan, Pama Brito and Peyton Montagna.

Stephan finished 0-for-4 after coming into the game riding a streak of reaching base in 12 consecutive plate appearances.

Chugiak 7, West 2
After getting no-hit through the first four innings, the Mustangs broke out the bats in the fifth inning with a five-run frame that carried them to victory in the CIC league game at Mulcahy Stadium.

Andrew Gruszynski drove in two runs while Landon Luebke, Gabe Gruszynski, Hunter Rau and Jayden Steckel each had a single RBI. Fischer Sims walked twice and scored twice.

The Mustangs (7-5, 3-1 CIC) managed just four hits and led 1-0 through four innings only after scoring on a balk. But they made the most out of it and manufactured seven runs, thanks to five walks and seven stolen bases.

Chugiak's Preston Rau pitched a complete game. He allowed five hits and zero walks over seven innings while tossing five scoreless frames.

West tied the game 1-1 in the third inning on Cyrus Clendaniel's line drive to left field. Savion Bishop had the other RBI in the sixth inning for the Eagles (5-4, 1-3 CIC).

Clendaniel finished 2-for-3 as did Jack Boots, who also scored a run. Even Fitzgerald also singled and scored.

West starter Michael Tillman allowed just one hit over the first four innings before giving way to Caden Greenhalgh. They combined for a half dozen strikeouts.

Service 10, Bartlett 0
Just call him 'Wheels' because Jake Rafferty was motoring on the bases as the 6-foot-4, 235-pounder ripped two triples to highlight his team's CIC league win at Mulcahy Stadium.

Rafferty finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs for the Cougars (9-1, 3-1 CIC). His first triple drove in a run to make it 2-0 in the first inning. In the third, he tripled and scored to make it 4-0.

Owen Hickman went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Coen Niclai drove in a pair of runs to give him 13 RBIs in his last four games and a league-best 20 for the season. Braun Precosky went 1-for-1 with an RBI and run scored. Hunter Christian and Sebastian Fournier also drove in a run and scored.

Service starter Michael Sculley struck out six of the nine batters he faced in three hitless innings.

Bartlett's Carl Colavecchio and Owen Berry banged out base hits for the Golden Bears (1-10, 0-4 CIC).

Eagle River 8, West 3
Jack Molloy and Josh Thompson each had two RBIs and Alex Mullen pitched six strong innings as the Wolves picked up the CIC league win at Mulcahy Stadium.

After falling behind 1-0 after the first inning, Mullen settled down nicely and tossed five scoreless frames, allowing just one runner to reach third base. 

Mullen allowed just three hits and one run. He retired the final five batters he faced before giving way to Killian Johannes in the seventh.

Eagle River (7-3, 2-1 CIC) was held scoreless until striking for five runs in the fourth inning. The Wolves got it done on two hits, four walks and three fielder's choice.

Gunner Mountcastle, Dallin Roberts and Molloy had single RBIs while Thompson batted in a pair with a two-run single that made it 5-1. Molloy's second RBI came on a double in the sixth inning.

Thompson went 2-for-3 with a walk. He also made a nice running catch in center field to open the second inning. Thompson was the only Eagle River batter to reach base in the first three innings, and he did it twice.

That's because West's Michael Tillman was lights out to start the game, sitting down eight straight in one stretch.

Jude Doniere came out of the bullpen to stop the bleeding with three solid innings of work. He needed only four pitches to retire the side in the fifth inning.

Jack Boots reached base all four times for the Eagles (5-3, 1-2 CIC) with two singles and two walks. He scored a run and drove in a run. Other RBIs for the Eagles came from Gabe Caterinicchio and Cyrus Clendaniel.

South 15, East 0
Strength in numbers powered the Wolverines as 10 different players banged out base hits and four different pitchers combined on a 2-hitter over five innings in the CIC league game at Mulcahy Stadium.

Kaden Bevegni doubled and drove in two runs while Bryce Webb doubled and scored twice. Chase Mascelli scored three runs and had an RBI.

Other RBIs for South (8-1, 2-1 CIC) came from Landon Drumm, Gavin Peterson, Chase Dixon, Ben Neuberger, Gavin Alexander and Luke Tovsen.

East shortstop Edison Polanco was sensational in the field, turning an unassisted double play in the second inning and helping turn a 6-4-3 twin killing in the third inning. East pitcher Andew Malone threw scoreless frames in the third and fourth innings.

The T-birds (1-6, 0-3 CIC) got base knocks from Peyton Cone and Caleb White.

Colony 8, Chugiak 7
The Knights scored five times in the first inning and held on for dear life, holding off the hard-charging Mustangs in the non-league game at Bartlett High School.

Chugiak's Tyler Cage went 3-for-3 with a triple and runs scored and Landon Luebke blasted a two-run home run for the Mustangs (6-5). Carter McCormick also had two RBIs and Andrew Gruszynski threw two innings of scoreless relief.

Chugiak scored five runs over the fifth and sixth innings to get close but in the end were doomed by 11 walks and eight errors.

Dimond 4, Service 3

Eli Lipinski and Shane Stephan carried the offense as the Lynx posted a wire-to-wire victory at Mulcahy Stadium over the previously undefeated Cougars in a battle for first place in the CIC.

Lipinski went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Stephan went 2-for-2 and scored three times. Lipinski's two-out single drove in Stephan in the top of the seventh inning that proved to be the difference after Service pulled within a run in the bottom half of the frame.

Lipinski also pitched the final two innings to earn his second save of the season for the Lynx (6-3, 3-0 CIC).

Stephan reached base all four times and has now reached in 12 consecutive plate appearances across three games on 9-for-9 hitting and three walks. Last year, he went 9-for-12 at the CIC Tournament so this dude has a track record for getting hot.

Stephan walked to open the seventh and later scored on Lipinski's two-out base knock after he poked one to left field to give Dimond a 4-2 cushion.

The offensive stars sort of overshadowed the great pitching effort of starter Aiden Ray, who struck out eight in five innings behind an effective fastball-curveball combo. He walked five in his first 2.1 innings and only one in the final 2.2 innings.

Dimond's defense converted a 1-3-6-1-4 caught stealing in the third inning and executed a beautiful 8-6-2 relay to cut down a run at the plate in the fourth inning.

Service's Owen Hickman was huge, going 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored, walk and stolen base. He also pitched and struck out six batters in 4.1 innings. 

Coen Nicali went 1-for-3 with his team's lone RBI, his 11th run batted in over the last three games. He also drew a leadoff walk in the seventh inning and later scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-3.

Landon Martindale pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief and Jake Rafferty struck out the side in the seventh inning for the Cougars (8-1, 2-1 CIC).

Chugiak 14, Bartlett 0
Hunter Rau and Landon Luebke blasted triples to highlight the team's 12-hit attack and Josh Westerman fired a 2-hitter in five innings of work at Mulcahy Stadium.

Michael Boudreau went 3-for-3 and scored a pair of runs. Tyler Cage and Andrew Gruszynski each doubled. Gabe Gruszynski scored two runs and drove in a run for the Mustangs (6-4, 2-1 CIC).

Rau's RBI triple got the party started in the second inning, staking Chugiak to a 2-0 lead. Luebke's two-run triple pushed the lead to 4-0 and another run-scoring base knock by Rau made it 6-0.

Westerman racked up nine strikeouts, including five through three innings. 

Bartlett's base hits came from Wyatt Rust and Carl Colavecchio. 

The Chugiak Mustangs didn’t need a miracle to end the longest winning streak in the history of Alaska high school baseball.

They simply executed the ABCs of baseball – pitching, defense and timely hitting.

Preston Rau threw five fabulous innings, the Mustangs turned two double plays and centerfielder Andrew Gruszynski had two RBIs to highlight Saturday’s 4-1 victory over the South Wolverines in a Cook Inlet Conference league game at Bartlett High School.

The loss snapped South’s state record 51-game, 4-year winning streak that dated back to May 22, 2019, when Chugiak won 2-1 in the CIC playoffs. On that day, it was Billy Smith pitching the Mustangs to victory. On Saturday, it was Rau.

He relieved freshman starter Tyson Morgan in the third inning and threw four scoreless frames before giving up a solo home run to Gavin Partch in the seventh inning. Rau struck out four batters and did not issue a walk as he commanded the strike zone.

“From a pitching perspective, Preston was really proud of his performance,” said Chugiak coach John Sims. “He does such a good job of working from ahead. He gets a strike right away and then he’s got four pitches that he can throw for strikes, so he does a really good job keeping hitters off balance.”

Gabe Gruszynski and Hunter Rau each singled and scored two runs for the Mustangs (5-4, 1-1 CIC). Morgan and Preston Rau surrendered only two hits against an offense that came into the game averaging 7.7 runs per game.

One of those hits was a homer off Partch’s bat in his only plate appearance He also pitched a 6-hitter for South (7-1, 1-1 CIC), with none of the runs being earned as the defense made five errors behind him.

“I was really impressed with his individual performance,” Sims said of Partch. “Battled like a champ.”

In addition to earning the winning decision, Rau also drove in a run for Chugiak. Tyler Cage had an RBI double and Gruszynski smacked an RBI line-drive single in the sixth inning as the Mustangs’ lead swelled to 4-0.

“That was big and gave us some comfort,” Sims said. “South is really good at coming back in the last innings. They did it to us the first game, so getting that one extra run was huge. Andrew had a good at-bat and did a good job putting the ball in play.”

On April 19, South beat Chugiak 4-3 in walk-off fashion after scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. The come-from-behind win has been a consistent theme for the Wolverines, who started this season 7-0 with three wins coming that way.

It happened just last night after South rallied from a 5-3 deficit in the seventh inning to pull out a 6-5 nonleague win over Juneau-Douglas in eight innings. Wins like that are what led to the Wolverines having an aura of invincibility surrounding them. They wouldn’t just defeat opponents; they ripped out their hearts by either beating them to a pulp or pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

Having the streak snapped wasn’t the end of the world for the Wolverines.

“Maybe our guys will be able to play a little more relaxed now,” said South coach Taylor Nerland. “The added pressure they have been putting on themselves has been overbearing at times.”

Even after graduating 26 seniors over the past two seasons, with at least a dozen going off to play in the college ranks, the beat went on for the reigning two-time state champion Wolverines.

One loss won’t mess with that mystique. The reality is in its last 53 games, South is 5-2 against Chugiak and 46-0 against the rest of the state.

“Our success over the past number of years has been due to the hard work and sacrifices of everybody on the team and this year is no different,” Nerland said. “The season is just getting started and we are still looking forward to getting better each practice and game.”

One victory won’t suddenly make Chugiak the CIC frontrunner in a league as evenly matched as ever in its 30-year history, but Sims likes the direction his club is trending.

“It’s such a long season. There is such a long way to go,” he said. “South is a really good team, so we expect to see their best again from them next time.”

Service 4, Eagle River 2
The undefeated Cougars scored the final three runs of the game, including a go-ahead rally in the fifth inning, to beat Eagle River for the first time since 2018.

Coen Niclai drove in two runs and Hunter Christian had one RBI as Service (8-0, 2-0 CIC) continued its best start since 2012.

Christian also pitched and threw three scoreless frames to earn the save for starter Andrew Hickman, who struck out five batters in four innings to earn the winning decision.

Eagle River starter Jack Molloy suffered a tough loss as he yielded just three hits in his five innings. He struck out seven and walked three.

Reliever Gene Mountcastle struck out four over his two scoreless innings for the Wolves (6-3, 1-1 CIC), who saw their six-game winning streak snapped.

Connor Lanehart and Josh Thompson drove in runs and Liam Lierman reached base three times and scored a pair of runs.

West 8, East 0

Caden Greenhalgh and Evan Fitzgerald combined on a 2-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts, with Greenlaugh going the first four innings to get the win and Fitzgerald working three innings for a long save.

Greenlaugh, who threw a legit 21-out no-hitter last year, racked up seven strikeouts and worked through some command issues with five walks.  But in the end, he got it done.

West (5-2, 1-1 CIC) scored thre runs in the first and third innings to salt this one away early. The Eagles managed just two hits and had *zero* RBIs, but parlayed eight walks, a few balks and four errors into eight runs.

Jack Boots scored three runs while Savion Bishop and Cyrus Clendaniel touched home twice.

East starter Edison Polanco pitched well in defeat, allowing just two hits and tossing two clean innings. The T-birds fell to 1-6, 0-2 in the CIC.

Dimond 11, Bartlett 1

Ryan Swanstrom was sensational as he pitched a 1-hit shutout with eight strikeouts.

He also helped himself out with a double and two RBIs.

Peyton Montagna went 2-for-4 with a triple, three RBIs and three runs scored. Gideon Lesslie and Shane Stephan also hit triples for the Lynx (5-2, 2-0 CIC), which moved into a tie for first place in the league.

Stephan continued to swing a hot bat, going 4-for-4 to give him hits in his last seven consecutive at-bats. Pama Brito drove in three runs and scored twice.

Bartlett's Nick Brandal rapped out his team's lone hit. Eli Corwin and Daniel Scott drew walks for the Golden Bears (1-7, 0-2 CIC).

South 6, Juneau 5
Wear it to win it, Blake Peterson absorbed a hit by pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth inning to provide the go-ahead run that helped the Wolverines push their state record winning streak to 51 games.

South (7-0) rallied from a 5-3 deficit going into the bottom of the seventh inning to continue its historic run dating back to 2019.

Peterson and Landon Drumm each had two RBIs while Kaden Bevegni and Kolby Jensen each had single RBIs. Jensen finished 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and stolen base.

An unsung hero for South was Jaxson Desjarlais, who led off the seventh with a pinch-hit base knock and scored on Jensen's double. Jensen later scored on a groundball. 

In the eighth, Ben Neuberger singled, Gavin Partch walked and Robert Hughes reached on an error to load the bases. With two outs, Peterson worked the count to 2-2 before getting hit by the next pitch for the game-winning RBI.

Eagle River 9, Juneau 2
Liam Lierman racked up a half dozen strikeouts in six innings at pitcher and reached base four times and scored a run on offense as the Wolves extended their six-game winning streak.

Connor Lanehart and Alex Mullen each had two RBIs while Landon Hudson and Josh Thompson batted in one run.

Eagle River broke up a 1-1 game in the fourth inning with a four spot and added another four-run frame in the sixth inning.

West 10, Chugiak 8
The Eagles scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull out a nonleague win in a wild game that featured 13 runs over the final three innings and five in the seventh inning alone.

Savion Bishop and Jude Doniere each homered and combined for a half dozen RBIs anf four runs scored. Bishop went 3-for-5 with a double, dinger and drove in four while Doniere was 3-for-4 and batted in a pair.

Bishop's bomb came in walk-off fashion, a three-run shot that erased a one-run deficit.

Dimond 14, West Open 10

Shane Stephan was très bien as the senior slugger went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, three runs scored, a double and a walk.

Carson Engstrom was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs and two runs scored. Ryan Swanstrom and Josiah James each had base hits and one RBI and Eli Lipinski scored twice. Pama Brito had a sac fly.

Engstrom pitched one inning and didn't allow an earned run and  Brito pitched 1.2 innings and didn't surrender an earned run.

West's Jack Boots, Zachary Schaffer and Leo Zimmer each had two hits. Sam Zeisserl reached base three times and scored three runs.

Dimond 4, West 0
Talk about an old-fashioned pitcher's duel.
Dimond's Aiden Ray and Michael Tillman put on a show on the hill, with Ray racking up a winning decision while Tillman took a hard-luck loss in this CIC league game.
Ray struck out 10 batters and did not allow a hit over his five innings and combined with closer Eli Lipinski for the 1-hit shutout. Lipinski was lights out, striking out all six batters he faced to record the save.
Dimond needed premier pitching with its offense mustering just two base hits and four walks. West made four errors to help the Lynx (3-3, 1-0 CIC).
Dimond hits came from Ryan Swanstrom and Josiah James while the runs were scored by Shane Stephan, Caleb Cooke, Peyton Montagna and Michael Bretzke.
Tillman was terrific, allowing just one hit while striking out eight. All four runs surrendered were unearned. Reliever Jude Doniere threw one scoreless frame.
Beckett Stolp smacked the lone base hit for West (3-2, 0-1 CIC).

Service 15, East 0
Coen Niclai went 4-for-5 and became the third Service player in school history to furnish eight RBIs in a CIC game.
Niclai crushed a two-run home run over the left-field fence that landed in a snow berm. He also stroked a double for the Cougars (7-0, 1-0 CIC).
He became the fifth CIC player with eight RBIs in a game, falling one short of the league record of nine set in 2004 by Bartlett's Tim Twombly. Other Service players to drive in eight include Tyler Hasbrouck in 1998 and Chris Duke in 2018.
Service's Hunter Christian went 3-for-4 with a triple, three RBIs and five runs scored. He also struck out two batters in his lone inning of relief at pitcher.
East's Juan Franco banged out his team's lone base knock and pitcher Andrew Malone had three strikeouts in two innings for the T-birds (1-4, 0-1 CIC).

Juneau 13, Bartlett 2
Eli Crupi went 4-for-4 and scored four runs to highlight Juneau-Douglas' 14-hit attack in a non-league win.
Bartlett's Carl Colavecchio and Wyatt Rust each had hits for the Golden Bears (1-6) while Colavecchio and Mason Harrison scored runs.
Bartlett starter Levi Patterson pitched four innings and threw a scoreless frame in the third.

South 16, Bartlett 1
Kolby Jensen tripled, doubled, scored a pair of runs and drove in two as part of his team's 10-hit attack in a CIC league game.

Gavin Partch went 2-for-2 with three RBIs, Kaden Bevegni tripled, Luke Beard doubles and Gavin Alexander batted in two runs.

South (6-0, 1-0 CIC) extended is state record winning streak to 50 games dating back to 2019.

Gavin Lawrence pitched all five innings, striking out nine batters and earning the win.

Bartlett's Sean Gainan banged out his team's lone base hit, Aiden Kennedy drew two walks and Eli Corwin scored a run for the Golden Bears (1-5, 0-1 CIC).

Eagle River 13, Chugiak 3
Alex Mullen pitched 4.1 innings and got plenty of run support as the Wolves scored 11 runs over the first three innings to win their fifth straight game in a CIC league matchup.

Connor Lanehart and Dalton Smith each had three RBIs while Landon Hudson and Josh Thompson each scored three runs for Eagle River (5-2, 1-0 CIC).

Dallin Roberts drew four walks, including one with the bases juiced to plate a run. Eight of nine starters for Eagle River drew at least one base on balls.

Chugiak's Michael Boudreau went 2-for-3 and scored a run while Landon Luebke, Andrew Gruszynski and Hunter Rau each had RBIs for the Mustangs (4-3, 0-1 CIC).

Service 6, West Open 3
Michael Sculley drove in two runs at the plate and struck out five batters in three innings on the hill as the Cougars rallied late to stay undefeated on the season.

Service (6-0) scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning and then tacked on two more in the sixth to double up the Eagles.

Jake Rafferty reached base three times, drove in a run, scored a run and struck out the side in his one inning of relief - his first pitching appearance this season.

Connor Monahan and Rilen Niclai each had RBIs for Service and Payton Cole scored twice.

West's Will Sedwick and Kian Flynn each drove in a run, Marcos Rosa walked three times and Sam Zieserl scored a pair of runs.

The Eagles tied the game at 2 in the first inning and took a 3-2 lead in the third inning.

American Legion Baseball in Alaska
Tryouts

Sunday, May 7
@ Bartlett High School
11:00am - East T-birds
2:00pm - Bartlett Bears
3:30pm - Dimond Lynx
@ K1
10:30am - West Eagles
12:30pm - Service Cougars

@ Palmer Senior Field
6:00pm - Palmer Pioneers

Friday, May 12
@ Chugiak High School
6:30pm - Chugiak Mustangs

Sunday, May 14
@ Wasilla High School
2:00pm - Wasilla Road Warriors

Tuesday, May 16
@ Kosinski Fields
3:30pm - West Eagles

Sunday, May 21
@ Loretta French
11:00am - Eagle River Wolves
@ Taylar Young
2:00pm - South Wolverines
@ ARCO Field
2:00pm - North Star Wild
@ Marlin Field
2:00pm - Fairbanks 49ers
@ Wasilla High School
2:00pm - Wasilla Road Warriors

Others (contact coach re: tryouts)
Kenai Twins
Juneau Midnight Suns
Ketchikan Salmon Kings

Post Managers

Bartlett Post 29    
Mike Williams    
907-350-6869    
44mtwill44@gmail.com

Chugiak Post 33    
Richard Steckel    
907-830-2816    
snopro@mtaonline.net

Dimond Post 21    
Dan Montagna    
907-3507342    
dmontagna@nsales.com

Eagle River    
Kurby Olmstead    
907-903-5860    
kurby_o@hotmail.com

East Post 34    
Sam Spinella    
907-830-5906    
sspinella@acsedu.org

Fairbanks Post 11    
Rodney Perdue    
907-978-1995    
rperdue16@gmail.com

Juneau Post 25    
Jeremy Ludeman    
907-723-9505    
jeremy@juneauak.org

Kenai Post 20    
Robb Quelland    
907-398-0871    
bdrak1@yahoo.com

Ketchikan Post 3    
John Milner    
907-220-7453    
redmilner@gmail.com

North Star Wild
Ray Pulsifer    
North Star Wild Post 57    
907-388-4255    
rlpulsifer@yahoo.com

Palmer Post 15    
Matt Ketchum    
907-229-8558    
matt@khcivil.com

Service Post 28    
Willie Paul    
907-280-8439    
williepaul1@live.com

South Post 4    
Shawn Maltby    
907-980-2837    
shawnmaltby@yahoo.com

Wasilla Post 35    
Taylon Ottinger    
907-301-9440    
taylonottinger333@gmail.com

West Post 1    
Chad Stolp    
907-382-7245    
chadstolp@gmail.com

Eagle River 10, Chugiak 0
Jack Molloy mowed down the Chugiak Mustangs with six scoreless innings as the Wolves won the championship game at the Buddy Dale Invitational to finish the Wasilla tournament with a 4-0 record.

The senior southpaw scattered seven hits and a walk while striking out five batters during his 83-pitch performance on his way to being named tournament MVP.

Catcher Dalin Roberts threw out a runner on the bases and drove in three runs to highlight a 9-hit attack. Alex Mullen went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Gunner Mountcastle mashed a two-run triple to the fence.

Thompson, the team’s 3-hole hitter, reached base three times with two singles and a walk. He drove in a run and scored twice.

Eagle River jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead after scoring two runs in the first inning and three in the second.

The Wolves were 0-2 coming into the tournament before outscoring opponents 53-4 in four games.

Service 7, Dimond 3

Andrew Hickman struck out seven batters in four shutout innings to earn the win. He allowed just three hits and one of them was erased when his catcher Coen Niclai erased on the basepaths.

Seven different players drove in runs for the Cougars (5-0). Owen Hickman and Rilen Niclai each had two hits.

Dimond's Peyton Montagna went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Eli Lipinski went 2-for-3 with a triple and run scored. Ryan Swanstrom added an RBI.

West 13, Bartlett 0
The Eagles moved to 3-1 with a shutout victory.

Chugiak 13, Kodiak 4
The Mustangs scored nine answered runs over the fourth and fifth innings to pull away from the Bears and move to 3-0 at the Buddy Dale Tournament in Wasilla.

Michael Boudreau and Jack Carron each drove in two runs and Gabe Gruszynski went 3-for-3 and scored three runs.

The game was tied 4-4 entering the fourth inning.

John Westerman pitched four innings for the win and Owen Dockstader earned a long save with three innings of relief.

South 15, Grace Christian 1
Three was the magic number for Gavin Partch, who drove in three runs, scored three runs and walked three times to help the Wolverines remain unbeaten.

Jaxon Desjarlais went 2-for-2 with three RBIs. He also pitched two innings of relief. Landon Drumm went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs scored for South (5-0).

Eagle River 16, Palmer 2
The Wolves made mincemeat of the Moose to improve to 3-0 at the Buddy Dale Tournament in Wasilla.

Chugiak 9, Wasilla 6
Preston Rau pitched five innings and Fischer Sims and Landon Luebke each drove in two runs as the Mustangs moved to 2-0 in the Buddy Dale Tournament at Wasilla.

Rau allowed three hits and zero earned runs over his start for the Mustangs, who broke open the game with a four-run fifth inning to take a 7-1 lead.

Sims and Michael Boudreau went each went 2-for-3 and scored a pair of runs. Gabe Gruszynski and Owen Dockstader each had single RBIs.

George McSorely drove in two runs for Wasilla and struck out four batters over two innings of work on the mound. The Warriors also got RBIs from Pedro Camacho and Wyatt Walling.

Eagle River 17, Petersburg 2
Connor Lanehart and Liam Lierman combined for seven RBIs to highlight an 11-hit attack that sparked the Wolves to a mercy rule victory.

Eagle River improved to 2-0 in the Buddy Dale Tournament. Alex Mullen pitched four innings to earn the win.

Lanehart went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and Lierman drove in three runs, reached base three times and scored twice. Thomas Molloy went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs.

Service 15, Bartlett 0
Coen Niclai rapped out two doubles and four RBIs to highlight a Cougars club that had five players drive in at least two runs apiece in the CIC nonleague game.

Owen Hickman, Jake Rafferty, Andrew Hickman and Sebastian Fournier each had two RBIs as Service moved to 4-0.

Bartlett 14, West Open 7
Carl Colavecchio smacked two doubles, drove in five runs and scored three times to lead the Golden Bears to their first win of the season in three tries.

Eli Corwin drove in two runs and pitched four innings, striking out nine and tossing two shutout frames.

Alex Egoak went 2-for-3 with an RBI, run and walk. Wyatt Rust went 2-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored. Mason Harrison and Nick Brandal each scored three runs.

West's Zachary Schaffer went 3-for-4 with a double, triple and two RBIs. Braden Meissner went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs. Marcos Rosa went 2-for-3 and pitched all four innings, with only half of the runs being earned.

Service 11, East 0
Owen Hickman, Hunter Christian, Coen Niclai and Jake Rafferty hit four consecutive extra-base hits in the third inning to highlight the undefeated Cougars.

Hickman finished 3-for-3 with a triple, RBI and three runs scored. Christian tripled and reached base all three times. Niclai went 2-for-3 with a triple and Rafferty doubled and reached base all three times.

Andrew Hickman, Landon Martindale and Rilen Nicali combined for 11 punchouts across five innings.

Chugiak 15, Soldotna 3
Landon Luebke went 2-for-2 with two RBIs with the bat and pitched 2.1 innings as the Mustangs were victorious on the first day of the Buddy Dale Tournament at Wasilla.

Fischer Sims and Andrew Gruszynski also drove in two runs. Sims went 2-for-2 with a double, walk and three runs scored. 

Seth Strange and Michael Boudreau each scored twice for the Mustangs (2-1), who scored five runs in the first inning. Robert Remy scored a run and pitched the final 1.2 innings.

Soldotna's Evan Appelhans doubled and drove in a run.

Eagle River 10, Colony 0
Liam Lierman fanned nine batters in four scoreless innings of work and the Wolves scored in four of the five innings to win on the first day of the Buddy Dale Tournament.

Landon Hudson banged out two of his team's nine base hits. He also scored two runs along with Lierman, Alex Mullen and Logan Kurtz.

Kurtz joined Dallin Roberts and Thomas Molloy with two RBIs as the Wolves picked up their first win in three tries.

Colony's defense doomed the Knights as eight of the 10 runs were unearned.

South 7, Dimond 2
Gavin Partch struck out nine batters over 6.2 innings of work and carried a shutout into the seventh inning.

Partch allowed five hits, three walks and two runs. He was staked an early lead after the Wolverines scored three runs in the first inning.

South (4-0) banged out three doubles and got RBIs from four different players as the Wolverines ran their state-record winning streak to 48 dating back to 2019.

Jaxon Desjarlais, Kolby Jensen and Kaden Bevegni had doubles and RBIs. Luke Beard went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Chase Mascelli scored twice.

Dimond's Eli Lipinski came to play.

He pitched four scoreless frames and went 2-for-2 with a RBI, walk and run scored for the Lynx (2-2).

West 15, East 3

The Eagles put the game away with an eight-run sixth inning to move to 2-1 on the season.

Cyrus Clendaniel had two hits, two RBIs and scored two runs. Sam Zieserl reached base three times on two hits and a walk and scored three runs.

Michael Tillman added two RBIs and Jack Boots knocked in a single run.

After taking a 3-0 lead in the first inning, West built a 7-2 lead with a four-run fourth inning.

Caden Greenhalgh pitched two scoreless frames with three strikeouts.

East's Alan Contreras had a hit, walked and scored twice. Peyton Cone had his team's lone RBI.

Dylan Dumas walked, had a hit, scored a run and pitched four innings; none of the seven runs he surrendered were earned.

Dimond 10, West Open 1

Ryan Swanstrom racked up 13 strikeouts in 5.2 innings as the Lynx moved to 2-1 on the season, having outscored opponents 29-5.

Gideon Lesslie went doubled, walked and scored two runs. Aiden Ray went 2-for-2 with a double, walk, RBI and two runs.

Swanstrom also banged out a base hit and scored two runs to help his own cause. Pama Brito reached base three times, scored a run and had an RBI.

West's Will Sedwick had his team's lone hit and scored its lone run.

It seems like everybody is back in the Cook Inlet Conference.

Each of the eight teams has returned a handful of key veterans and some squads have their entire nucleus intact for 2023.

There has never been more parity in the CIC as the state’s premier conference is as balanced as ever.

On paper, that is.

On the field, South is still the team to beat. The Wolverines have won a state-record 47 straight games dating back to 2019.

Much of the firepower from a lineup that won the last two state championships is now playing college baseball, but the beat goes on for South, which opened the season by winning three straight one-run games.

Who was the last team to beat the Wolverines?

It was Chugiak on May 22, 2019, when the Mustangs won 2-1 in the CIC playoffs after Billy Smith drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Smith also pitched 5.1 innings and in the second inning singled off future MLB draft pick Brody Jessee and later scored to give Chugiak a 1-0 lead.

That was then.

This is now.

Here are eight players from eight CIC teams to watch in 2023:

Bartlett Golden Bears

Carl Colavecchio

In 2022, the all-conference centerfielder won the CIC Big Stick Award and shared the Gold Glove Award. He batted .420 on 21-of-50 hitting with 16 RBIs, 14 runs and seven extra-base hits in 18 games. Colavecchio is the second Bartlett player to win the Big Stick Award and will be gunning for his third All-CIC First Team honors as an outfielder.

Chugiak Mustangs

Jayden Steckel

Last year, Steckel was one of three Chugiak pitchers to earn All-CIC honors. He went 4-2 with a 4.12 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 27 innings. The Class of 2024 right-hander is also a terrific third baseman who batted .444 on 20-of-45 hitting with 13 RBIs and 16 runs in 20 games.

Dimond Lynx

Shane Stephan

The All-CIC First Team second baseman batted .483 on 29-of-60 hitting with 16 RBIs, 21 runs and 18 stolen bases in 19 games. In four CIC Tournament games, Stephan played superb shortstop with several web gems and went 9-for-14 at the plate.

Eagle River Wolves

Jack Molloy

As a junior, the left-hander was an All-CIC First Team selection at both pitcher and outfield. On the mound he went 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 14 innings. At the plate he batted .364 on 12-of-33 hitting with seven stolen bases.

East Thunderbirds

Austin Johnson

A three-sport athlete for the T-birds, Johnson had a huge day in last year's CIC opener against Bartlett when he went 5-for-5 with five RBIs to highlight a 17-hit attack in an 18-8 win. He had a double and four singles, scored three runs and stole two bases. He also plays football and basketball.

Service Cougars

Jake Rafferty

The 6-foot-1, 225-pound right-handed pitcher went 3-1 with a 1.84 ERA to earn All-CIC First Team honors. He racked up 21 strikeouts in 19 innings. In the first round of the state tournament, he delivered a 2-hit, 3-RBI, 10-strikeout performance. His 10 Ks were the most at the state tournament since 2018.

South Wolverines

Gavin Partch

One of the few key holdovers from last year’s 26-0 state championship team, Partch earned All-CIC Second Team honors as both pitcher and designated hitter. On the hill he went 3-0 and didn't allow an earned run in 15 innings. In the box he batted .263 on 10-of-38 hitting with 11 RBIs and 12 runs.

West Eagles

Caden Greenhalgh

Greenhalgh needed just 80 pitches to record 21 outs en route to throwing the 14th no-hitter in Cook Inlet Conference history in a 5-0 win over Bartlett. He racked up two strikeouts and faced just 22 batters, one above the minimum. He worked around four walks after getting two erased on double plays and another on a caught stealing.

West 16, Bartlett 1

Jack Boots had three RBIs while Orion Halliburton and Paul Dittrich scored three runs as the Eagles picked up their first win of the CIC season.

Halliburton, Dittrich and Liam Gunn added two RBIs.

West (1-1) benefited from 14 walks.

Beckett Stolp and Jude Doniere pitched the team to victory.

Bartlett's Nick Brandal had his team's lone RBI.

South 3, Dimond 2

Blake Peterson and Gavin Lawrence combined for 10 strikeouts and six scoreless frames as the Wolverines won their third straight one-run game to open the CIC season.

With the victory, South extended its state-record winning streak to 47 games. Most of those wins in the past were in blowout fashion, but this year it's been pitching and defense leading the way.

Peterson struck out nine over 5.2 innings to earn the win and Lawrence got the final four outs for the save.

Chase Mascelli went 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored. Ben Neuberger and Gavin Alexander also had RBIs for South. 

Dimond's Aiden Ray pitched well, striking out nine batters and allowing one earned run over 4.2 innings. 

Eli Lipinski pitched a spotless frame and went 1-for-3 in the box with a run scored for the Lynx (1-1).

Shane Stephan went 2-for-3 with a walk and had half of his team's base hits.

Chugiak 11, Eagle River 6

Five different players had two RBIs and the Mustangs scored all their runs in the first two innings.

Pitchers Fischer Sims and Robert Remy combined for five strikeouts in four innings as Chugiak improved to 1-1 on the young season.

Michael Boudreau, Hunter Rau, Andrew Gruszynski, Preston Rau and Owen Dockstrader each drove in two runs. Boudreau joined Gabe Gruszynski and Tyler Cages with players to score a pair of runs.

Eagle River (0-2) got a home run from Connor Lanehart and two RBIs from Josh Thompson. Landon Hudson scored twice for a Wolves team that outhit Chugiak 7-5.

Lanehart's solo bomb was crushed to deep left field.

Service 15, Grace Christian 0

Pitchers Owen Hickman, Sebastian Fournier, Hunter Huelskoetter and Michael Sculley struck out 12 of 15 batters they faced in a five-inning mercy rule win.

Connor Monahan, Hunter Christian and Rilen Niclai each drove in two RBIs and scored two runs.

Service moved to 2-0 with the nonleague win.

South 4, Chugiak 3

The Wolverines on Wednesday benefitted from free bases and clutch base running in the bottom of the seventh inning to aid a come-from-behind walkoff win.

Down 3-1 to start the final frame, South drew back-to-back walks and later scored the winning run from second base on a groundball after Chugiak failed to turn a double play.

The Gavins got it done for South, with Gavin Partch batting 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Gavin Alexander pitching 3.1 innings of strong relief to earn the winning decision.

Blake Peterson also drove in a run for South (2-0), which extented its state-record winning streak to 46 games dating back to 2019.

The Wolverines were fortunate to win this one, but give them credit for fighting back. They don't melt under pressure.

Chase Mascelli and Kolby Jensen walked and scored in the seventh. Kaden Bevegni and Partch also scored runs in the game.

Chugiak got RBIs from Landon Luebke, Tyler Cage and Andrew Gruszynski. Gabe Gruszynski went 2-for-4 for the Mustangs (0-1).

The loss spoiled strong pitching performances from Preston Rau (4IP, 1R) and Tyson Morgan (2IP, 0R).

East 11, Bartlett 1

Edison Polonco, Alan Contreras and Peyton Cone each drove in two runs to give pitcher Andrew Malone plenty of run support in his complete-game effort.

Polonco went 3-for-4 and also scored two runs. Juan Franco also went 3-for-4 as the T-birds banged out 12 base hits. Blake Yawit scored three runs.

Malone pitched all six innings in the mercy-rule win, striking out seven batters and walking one. He also went 1-for-3 with an RBI and run.

East (1-1) scored four runs in the first inning and six in the seventh.

Bartlett's Carl Colavecchio went 2-for-3 with an RBI for the Golden Bears (0-1).

South 3, Eagle River 2

The beat goes on for the South Wolverines.

Despite losing a slew of starters, South is still South and remains the team to beat until somebody can knock off the two-time defending state champion Wolverines.

On Tuesday night starter Gavin Partch struck out eight batters over four innings and reliever Kaden Bevegni picked up a three-inning save.

With the victory, South extended its state-record winning streak to 45 games dating back to 2019.

Partch allowed one hit and one unearned run as he extended his streak to 20 innings of not allowing an earned run dating back to last season.

First baseman Ben Neuberger went 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Luke Beard also drove in a run for South. Bevegni went 1-for-3 with a run and Carson Matlby scored twice.

Eagle River's Jack Molloy had an RBI while Liam Lierman and Connor Lanehart scored runs.

The Wolves also returned several key starters and enter the 2023 season as co-favorites with South to win the Cook Inlet Conference.

Dickinson State University baseball player Balas Buckmaster of Anchorage finds himself in rare air these days.

The junior shortstop is batting .433 to lead the North Star Athletic Conference and is on pace to become just the third Alaskan to hit .400 in a college season.

Buckmaster isn’t just chasing history, he’s also chasing his assistant coach, Sagan Osborne, an Anchorage native and DSU alum who just happens to be the last Alaskan to hit .400 in 2017.

Buckmaster has gone 39-for-90 at the plate and owns 11 multi-hit games for the 15-23 Blue Hawks, a NAIA school in Dickinson, North Dakota.

The 5-foot-9, 200-pound slugger does not get cheated at the plate. He has cranked out five home runs, including a stretch of four dingers in nine games between March 25 and April 7.

He hit two bombs in the four-game series with Viterbo. The first homer was a solo shot in Game 1 that gave his team a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning. His second homer came in Game 3 on another solo shot in the second inning.

A week later, he went yard in back-to-back games. He clubbed a solo shot to give his team a 2-1 lead over No. 9 Bellevue in the third inning. The next game he mashed a two-run tater against Mayville State.

Buckmaster, who played for local Legion teams East and Wasilla, has started each of the last 20 games for Dickinson State and has moved up to No. 3 in the batting order.

In 2017, Osborne batted .401 on 73-for-182 hitting and set the Alaska single-season college home run record with 13 bombs in 49 games. 

A former Dimond slugger, Osborne is in his third season as an assistant coach at Dickinson State, where he works primarily with infielders and hitters.

Osborne's fingerprints were all over last season’s success as the Blue Hawks finished in the top-3 in the North Star Athletic Association for batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

The first Alaskan to hit .400 in college was former Service star Damon Stokes, who in 2005 batted .410 on 55-for-134 hitting in 55 games for LeTourneau, a NCAA Division III school in Texas.

Other Alaskans have been close to the magical .400 benchmark.

In 2018, two former Kenai players just missed as Jake Darrow batted .399 for Eastern Arizona and Paul Steffensen hit .398 for Mesa. In 1985, ex-Service Cougar Tim Stanley hit .397 for Yavapai.

Buckmaster has eight games left in the regular season – a four-game series at Waldorf starting Friday and a four-game series at Presentation the following week.

Service 4, West 2

Owen Hickman went 2-for-4 with an RBI and the Cougars scored four runs on three hits and six walks.

Rilen Niclai, Sebastain Fournier and Nick Armstrong also drove in runs for Service. Andrew Hickman had his team's only other hit while Landon Martindale drew three walks and scored a run.

Niclai and Andrew Hickman each pitched two innings.

West's Cyrus Clendaniel drove in a run and Ruari O'Brien-Holen, Savion Bishop and Gabe Caternicchio each had base hits. Evan Fitzgerald also scored.

Dimond 16, East 1

Vance Harris drove in four runs and banged out three hits and the Lynx stole 11 bases.

Shane Stephan also had three hits for Dimond, which rapped out 17 hits on the day. Michael Bretzke had two hits and three stolen bases.

East's Alan Contreras went 2-for-2.

One of the greatest baseball players in Alaska history is hanging up his cleats as Jonny Homza has retired at age 23, ending a short but notable career that saw him go from Cook Inlet Conference MVP to the second highest MLB draft pick from the 907 state.

Homza played five seasons of pro ball in the San Diego Padres farm system, advancing from Rookie League to Class Low-A to High-A all while making the transition from infielder to catcher.

His 243 career MLB-affiliated minor leagues games rank fifth all-time among Alaskans and his best season came with the Fort Wayne TinCaps in the High-A Central in 2021, when he posted career highs in home runs (6), doubles (17) and RBIs (43) in 85 games.

The former South star looked destined for Double-A before disaster struck in October 2021, when he broke his neck in a mountain biking accident after he flipped over the handlebars of his bike and landed on his head. Homza required surgery and underwent an extensive rehab process but was back on the diamond a few months later in preparation for the 2022 season.

He played in only nine games in 2022. A year later, he’s out of the game altogether. This was Homza’s decision to walk away, unlike most players who must be asked to go.

Homza will leave behind a legacy in Alaska that includes being part of the CIC’s greatest brother tandem as he and big bro Willy were both conference MVPs and state champions.

His youth career was full of awards and awesome accomplishments.

As a freshman in 2014, he was the starting shortstop on the South Post 4 team that won the American Legion state championship.

As a junior in 2016, Homza hit .517 in CIC league games and pitched the ninth no-hitter in league history; later that year in the ASAA state title game he threw a complete game and hit a go-ahead home run as South beat Chugiak 3-1.

As a senior in 2017, he batted .549 with 31 runs and 19 RBIs in 17 games, won his second straight Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year honor and got drafted on his 18th birthday by the Padres.

Homza was picked No. 138th overall in the fifth round – the second highest among the 39 players from Alaska taken in the MLB Draft and the highest for a position player, beating by 12 spots the previous record set in 1994 by Anchorage third baseman Trajan Langdon, who was selected No. 150 by the Padres.

Homza was a line-drive hitter with a rocket right arm. A marvelous middle infielder, he was a graceful defensive player with elite hands and quick feet. He had the arm strength to play shortstop and the range to play second base. He could also man the hot corner at third base.

But the Padres converted the Alaskan to catcher and used him behind the plate for most of his career; he earned 109 starts at catcher compared to 64 at third base and seven combined at the middle infield positions.

Homza held his own at catcher, throwing out 57 of 151 baserunners for a career .377% hose rate. In 2019, he gunned down 18-of-30 with the Tri-City Dust Devils and caught a combined no-hitter, the first no-no for the Northwest League in four years.

"Jonny had a big part in this game," Tri-City pitching coach Leo Rosales said. "I'm very proud of him. He's come a long way."

Homza also shined for the Dust Devils in the Northwest League playoffs, hitting a grand slam for his first postseason hit.

In 2020, Homza hit two home runs in the same game for the first time in his career with Auckland of the Australian Baseball League. Then he did it again in 2021 with the Fort Wayne TinCaps at High-A.

His 243 MLB-affiliated minor league games rank fifth all-time among Alaskans.

MOST MINOR LEAGUE GAMES BY ALASKAN
635 – Cliff Anderson (Kodiak) 1992-98
558 – Jamar Hill (Anchorage) 2002-08
303 – Tom Allison (Susitna Valley) 1990-94
250 – Levi Robinson (Anchorage) 2002-04
243 – Jonny Homza (Anchorage) 2017-22

Homza collected 14 home runs, 122 RBIs and 151 runs as a pro player, with all three ranking third in Alaska history. His was progressing nicely as his career was on the rise.

He was part of a small group of Alaskans in the minor leagues but by far the biggest name of the bunch. Between 2017 and 2022, there were five Alaskans playing pro baseball – Homza and fellow Anchorage players Chad Nading, Johnny Meszaros and Brody Jessee along with Dylan Baker of Juneau.

Now that the other four have retired, that leaves just Jessee, a 22-year-old pitcher and 10th-round draft pick by the Cincinnati Reds who will start the 2023 season with the Low-A Daytona Tortugas of the Florida State League.

Centralia College pitcher Ryan Henrickson of Anchorage was so good on Sunday he deserved a win and a save.

He'll gladly settle for his first shutout.

Henrickson turned in a Herculean effort with a 121-pitch, 10-inning complete game to carry Centralia to a 1-0 NWAC road win over Pierce in Puyallup, Washington.

“This was definitely one of the best outings of my life hands down,” he said.

The sophomore southpaw out of Dimond High scattered seven hits and a walk while striking out six. He worked three 1-2-3 innings in the fourth, fifth and eighth, and ended the game with a runner in scoring position.

“One thing that stood out to me was that I didn’t enter my usual lull that I tend to get into around the fourth or fifth inning,” Henrickson said. “Every inning I felt I was getting more and more locked in since the game was becoming more and more intense.”

He didn’t allow a baserunner to reach third base and danced around two singles in the third inning and a two-out double in the tenth.

“All four of my pitches were working and hitting the zone,” Henrickson said. “The first half of the game I was starting hitters out with more off-speed pitches. Later in the game we switched to more fastballs since they were most likely sitting my off speed early in the count.”

His catcher Braize Mitchell threw out two baserunners, erasing leadoff singles in each of the first and sixth innings. The Alaska pitcher also got a double play behind him to get out of the ninth inning.

Henrickson’s string of goose eggs was matched inning by inning by Pierce pitchers Kailen Kimata and Curran Jacobs. These guys were shoving, and the batters were baffled.

“I could tell as the game went on our hitters were really trying to get that run for me,” Henrickson said. “They knew I was working my butt off for them so it was really nice to see them doing the same for me.”

Centralia finally scored a run in the top of the tenth inning after third baseman River Terry walked and later scored on an error.

In the bottom of the tenth, Henrickson retired the first two batters on popups and then gave up a pinch-hit double before ending the game on a groundball to third base.

“I always have trust in my defense because I know I can’t do it by myself. I know if I want to win and succeed, I need to trust the eight other guys in the field, plus the guys in the dugout and bullpen,” he said. “It’s really cool to have different guys come in to play in the field, and continue to make plays behind me. Only builds my confidence when we can do things like this.”

This was just his third start of the season as he’s been promoted from reliever.  Henrickson (1-0) has struck out 25 batters over 28.1 innings and ranks fifth in the NWAC with a 0.95 ERA.

“I think the biggest thing that has helped me have such a hot start to the season is trusting and really believing that all the work I’ve put in these past two years was for a reason,” he said. “It also really helps having a group of guys that believe in you and have your back no matter the outcome.”

Chugiak's Justin Nevells on Saturday made the most out of a tough day at the ballpark in a double dip for the Doane University baseball team.

The sophomore third baseman went yard for his only hit in seven at-bats as Hastings swept the doubleheader between NAIA teams in Nebraska. 

After his team lost the first game 2-1, Nevells crushed a solo home run to tie the second game 2-2 in the fourth inning that became a 4-2 loss. He can't pitch, too.

This was his second home run of the season for the cleanup hitter, who is batting .325 in 28 games.

This was also the first homer hit this season at mammoth Duncan Field, the biggest ballpark in NAIA baseball. His bomb was hit to left centerfield between the 370 and 405 signs, according to his father Roger, who was at the game.

Nevells has nine career bombs, putting him on the verge of becoming the 15th Alaska player to reach double digit dingers at the college level.

He is a .335 career hitter for Doane in 105 games since 2021. Twenty-nine of his 86 hits have gone for extra bases as he zeros in on the career century mark.

Last year, Nevells went 6-for-6 to become what is believed to be the first Alaska college player with six hits in a single game. Later that season he drove in the winning run to supply Doane a 3-1 win over No. 14 Vanguard to give the Tigers their first opening-round win at the NAIA Championships since 2012. 

Doane (20-8) will get another crack at Hastings in Sunday's twin bill.

Barstow Community College catcher Juneau’s Brock McCormick has plugged into a power source.

After he hit zero home runs in his first 55 college games, the sophomore has blasted four bombs in his last 14 games.

He hit three homers in the month of March, including one last week against Victor Valley that helped him earn Inland Empire Athletic Conference offensive player of the week honors.

McCormick went 5-for-11 with four extra-base hits in the three-game series against Victor Valley. In one of those matchups he had his first three-hit game of the season and fourth of his 69-game career.

Since Feb. 23, the 6-foot-2 Alaskan has banged out 12 of his 14 extra-base hits to fuel a career-high .489 slugging percentage (76 points higher than last season as a freshman).

McCormick is hitting .255 in 29 games with 22 runs and 13 RBIs, although his batting average has climbed considerably over his last nine games thanks to a 13-for-31 clip.

The lefty was laser focused on Wednesday as Centralia College southpaw starter Ryan Henrickson of Anchorage pierced opposing batters in the NWAC.

The freshman pitcher carried a shutout into the seventh inning before settling for a no decision in Centralia’s 7-5 victory in 10 innings over the Yakima Valley in southern Washington.

Henrickson struck out eight batters in 6.2 innings. He gave up two runs to snap his 13-inning scoreless streak coming into the game.

He had been used in relief all season until Wednesday, when he threw nearly as many innings in one outing as he had in his previous five appearances combined.

Henrickson has a 1.31 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 13.2 innings.

Summoned from the bullpen, Holy Cross relief pitcher Oliver Brown of Anchorage shut down Penn State and picked up the win as the Crusaders won 11-5 in Cary, North Carolina.

Brown pitched three innings and struck out five of the 15 batters he faced, ending the fourth, fifth and sixth innings with Ks.

The freshman right-hander earned his first winning decision in his third appearance on the young NCAA Division I season.

Brown entered the game in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and two outs. He got out of the jam on four pitches, ending with a swinging strikeout.

He got out of a two-on, one-out jam in the fifth inning with back-to-back strikeouts. He gave up a run in the sixth but ended the inning with another K.

Brown set season highs with innings and strikeouts, and has lowered his ERA from 16.20 to 6.35 after a disastrous debut.

He also got his first base hit last month against VMI, smacking a pinch-hit double in the ninth inning of a 12-3 win.

If there was an award for stick-to-itiveness Jaren Childs of Anchorage would win.

The Corban University senior right-handed pitcher has turned around his college career after a rocky start as an underclassman, blossoming into a reliable reliever.

Last season he earned his first save and last week he got his first win. Childs worked three scoreless innings in a 6-1 win over Bushnell in Springfield, Oregon.

The game was tied 1-1 through eight when Corban scored five runs in the top of the ninth. In the bottom half Childs worked around a leadoff walk to get the final three outs on flyouts.

He is now 1-4 in 24 appearances for the NAIA school.

Here is an indication of Childs’ growth – he gave up four homers in six innings as a freshman; since then he’s allowed only two in 38.1 innings while slicing his career ERA in half.

It took three years and 261 at-bats, but Anchorage’s Balas Buckmaster finally smacked his second career home run.

The first homer came back in 2020 in his first game at Pierce College. The second dinger came last week for Dickinson State, a solo blast in the sixth inning that provided the Blue Hawks with a 5-4 win over Midland in Parkville, Missouri.

Buckmaster went yard off Jayden Gibson with two outs, breaking a 4-4 tie. He finished 2-for-2 with a sac fly.

That was just the first game of the day.

In the nightcap against Graceland, Buckmaster (East) went 3-for-3 with a career-high four RBIs to highlight a 14-3 win.

The starting shortstop had six RBIs on the day, giving him seven in a three-game stretch. He is now hitting .667 with eight RBIs in seven games.

Buckmaster came to NAIA Dickinson State from Pierce College, where he batted .228 on 57-for-250 hitting with 46 RBIs, 64 runs and 23 stolen bases in 80 games in the NWAC.

The first meeting for Alaska Legion coaches willbe Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Post 1 headquarters.

Here are early season checklist for coaches:

Team Registrations - Legion National is working on our system again this year. You will not be able to register and pay your team fees until after February 12th. Please hold off with team registration and I will notify everyone when I receive the go ahead.

Alaska plays Senior Legion Baseball - Do not register your A team as a JUNIOR team. It will create extra work for you. Also the team registration site is for Post Managers and team administrators only. Please ask your players not to register on the National site.

Background checks expired 12/31/2022 and are due again for 2023. If you have a coach, volunteer or any other person that has face to face contact with your player they must have passed a PYS background check. You can find the link to the background check on our AlaskaLegion site. Compliance is the responsibility of the Post Manager.

Abuse training is also required, Alaska Legion ONLY accepts the Protect Youth Sports certificate. USA Baseball's course is not valid in Alaska. After successfully completing the Background Check PYS will send you a link to the abuse training. The link expires about 10 days after you receive it. Please notify your coaches and volunteers so they can plan accordingly.

The same coaching credentials will be required like in years past. If you are unsure of the NFHS courses required please reach out to me. Remember the main coaching course required is Fundamentals of Coaching with the Alaska Component. (Fundamentals of Coaching Baseball is not the required course).

Gene Franks, a longtime advocate of Alaska Legion baseball as department adjutant for the American Legion organization in the state for 15 years, passed away last month. He was 84.

Franks is survived by his wife of 63 years, JoAnn, and their son, Dean.

“Gene will be missed throughout the Alaska baseball community,” said Jim Pisa, a National Executive Committeeman for the American Legion in Alaska.

He was active behind the scenes and regularly showed up at games to watch the next generation play the game he loved.

“Gene was a longtime supporter of American Legion Baseball and the Alliance for Support of American Legion Baseball in Alaska,” Pisa said. “Over the years, Gene attended many banquets and tournament games. He worked many years with past director Ron LaPorte as well as current director Russ Baker in addition to Steve Nerland and Don Winchester of the Alliance.”

Nerland, the president of the Alliance called Franks a stalwart supporter.

“He stood behind coaches, post managers and other leadership in the American Legion Baseball organization when decisions had to be made,” Nerland said. “When things got tough, Gene got going.”

As department adjutant, Franks was responsible for overseeing business and financial activities of

the state organization and was a liaison to individual Legion posts around Alaska.

Franks was a regular spectator at the Legion State Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium and played a crucial role in opening the lines of communication between American Legion representatives and the membership at numerous Legion conferences and events in Alaska.

“He was a thoughtful mentor,” Nerland said. “And always had plenty of good humor in Legion meetings.”

A celebration of life was held in Palmer on Dec.11.

If it wasn’t the Eagle River and Service Legion teams racking up regional victories, it was Paul Steffensen breaking the state’s all-time college hits record.

Or Brody Jesse getting drafted by the Reds.

Or Jonny Homza coming back from a broken neck for the Padres.

Or Bartlett making its first appearance at the Legion State Tournament since 2013 and winning two games for the first time since 2007.

Add it up and it was a historic year for Alaska baseball players.

Let’s start with the Legion regional tournaments, which saw Eagle River beat Fort Collins (CO) 3-2 at the Northwest Regional in Wyoming and Service defeat Vernal (UT) 7-0 at the Northwest Class A Regional Tournament in Utah.

Never before since the state started sending teams to both tournaments in 1998 had two different Legion teams from Alaska won a game at two different regionals.

Eagle River’s win was capped by Dalton Smith’s walk-off single – Alaska’s first walk-off win at the Northwest Regional since 1998 when Chugiak beat Missoula (MT) 4-3. It also marked the 16th win in 140 games for Alaska at the national tournament.

Alaska Wins @ Northwest Regional Since 1954
1973 – Fairbanks 10-6 Sheridan (WY)
1975 – Fairbanks 9-8 Great Falls (MT)
1976 – East 9-8 Billings (MT)
1980 – East 5-3 Billings (MT)
1981 – Bartlett 10-7 Casper (WY)
1983 – Juneau 6-5 Laramie (WY)
1983 – Juneau 15-7 Idaho (ID)
1986 – Dimond 2-1 Idaho Falls (ID)
1996 – Chugiak 17-7 Casper (WY)
1997 – Service 7-3 Sheridan (WY)
1998 – Chugiak 4-3 Missoula (MT)
2001 – Service 11-3 Sheridan (WY)
2003 – East 9-6 Whitefish (MT)
2009 – South 5-4 Cheyenne (WY)
2018 – Juneau 13-9 Missoula (MT)
2022 – Eagle River 3-2 Fort Collins (CO)

In 1998, the Mustangs scored the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning after Eric Rogers scored from second base on Mike Warren’s fielder’s choice. Future MLB draft pick Joey Clark threw a 9-inning complete game and picked up the win despite eight walks.

At this year’s NWCART, Service starter Jake Rafferty and relievers Michael Sculley and Rilan Nicali spun the first shutout by an Alaska team at a regional tournament since Juneau in 2014, when Nathan Klein threw a shutout with 16 punchouts in the same tournament.

In April, Steffensen became Alaska’s college hits leader when the Kenai slugger smacked his 231st hit in a game for Saint Cloud State University.

Steffensen passed Scooter Bynum of Fairbanks for the top spot. Bynum had held the title since 2018.

HITS LEADERS FOR COLLEGE PLAYERS FROM ALASKA
251 – Paul Steffensen, St. Cloud State/Tennessee Tech/Mesa 2018-2022
230 – Scooter Bynum, Northern Illinois/Arizona Western 2015-2018
228 – Rob Conway, Iowa State/Mendocino 1998-2001
212 – Pat Floyd, Pacific/Southwestern 1987-1991
202 – Lance Ibesate, Jamestown/ Shasta 2013-2016

In May, Anchorage’s Parker Johnson was named Second Team All-GNAC – the first player from Alaska to earn all-conference honors in a league that dates back two decades.

Johnson tied for the league lead with eight wins and one shutout, ranked third with two complete games and fifth with a 3.86 ERA.

He threw a 9-inning complete game, scattering seven hits and striking out three in a 7-2 win over Montana State Billings that propelled the Wolves into the GNAC Tournament title game.

In June, Curtis Hebert pitched a 4-hit shutout and the South High Wolverines capped a 26-0 season with a 6-0 victory over Sitka in the championship game of the ASAA Division I state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

With the win, South pushed its state-record winning streak to 44 games and secured the Cook Inlet Conference team’s second straight championship and fifth in school history.

Hebert was also named Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year and signed with the University of Portland.

In July, Jessee was selected by the Cincinnati Reds with the 303rd overall pick, making him the eighth-highest Alaskan among the 38 players from the state to be taken in the MLB Draft.

The 21-year-old rocket right-hander out of Gonzaga University made 18 appearances on a 37-19 team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The 6-foot-4 reliever furnished a 4.58 ERA in 35.1 innings with 48 strikeouts to 19 walks.

He racked up a career-high 10 strikeouts in four frames against Pepperdine to become the first Alaskan to record double-digit Ks against a NCAA Division I opponent since Sitka’s Matt Way of Washington State had 12 against Washington in 2009.

TOP 10 MLB DRAFT PICKS FROM ALASKA
2000 – Brian Montalbo P Anchorage 130/4 Atlanta Braves
2017 – Jonny Homza C / 3B Anchorage 138/5 San Diego Padres
1994 – Trajan Langdon 3B Anchorage 150/6 San Diego Padres
2009 – Matt Way P Sitka 167/5 Philadelphia Phillies
2012 – Dylan Baker P Juneau 173/5 Cleveland Indians
2001 – Chad Bentz P Juneau 202/7 Montreal Expos
2011 – Kellen Moen P Juneau 216/7 Kansas City Royals
2022 – Brody Jessee P Anchorage 303/10 Cincinnati Reds
1998 – Dustin Krug P Kodiak 316/11 Chicago Cubs
1990 – Marshall Boze P Soldotna 331/12 Milwaukee Brewers

In August, ten months after breaking his neck in a mountain bike crash, Homza made a valiant return to the baseball field.

He smoked a ground-run double in his first at-bat in his season debut as the fifth-year professional in the San Diego Padres organization began a rehab assignment in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League.

Homza started at designated hitter and batted cleanup, going 1-for-1 and reaching base in each of his two plate appearances.

Homza crashed on his bike last October on a Hillside trail in Anchorage when he flipped over the handle bars, landed on his head and cracked his neck. Even though he was wearing a helmet and walked away from the crash, he learned the next day that he had suffered a cervical fracture and needed surgery.

The 23-year-old was back on the field a few months later and a few months after that he played in his first game since Sept. 19, 2021.

Tony Wylie, an iconic Alaska baseball coach who later became the state’s most influential scout, passed away over the weekend. He was 65.

The Anchorage native impacted virtually every elite baseball player from the state over the last 20 years as a coach at the high school and Legion levels and through his work at the Alaska Baseball Academy.

His fingerprints are on a dozen MLB draft picks, a record-tying four straight Legion state titles and a legacy of helping more than 100 players bridge the gap between the Last Frontier and the Lower 48.

“Tony affected my career in a profound and wholly positive way,” said 2017 San Diego Padres draft pick Jonny Homza of Anchorage. “He gave me, my brother and many others the opportunity to continue playing the game we love and opened doors for us that very likely wouldn’t have been opened otherwise. In fact, there’s no way I would be playing professional baseball today if it weren’t for Tony. His love for the game and dedication to his players will continue to be an inspiration to me and the entire Alaska baseball community.”

Wylie’s passing rocked the Alaska baseball community, hitting former players especially hard.

“Coach Wylie was basically a second father figure to me,” said two-time MLB draft pick Chad Nading of Anchorage. “He took interest in me as a 12-year-old kid and never left my side up until the day he passed away. Him and his family spent almost every Christmas Eve at our house for family dinner and gift exchange. Tony and my dad Curt became best of friends and so did my mom Dena and Sue. He was so much more than a coach to me and my family.”

Wylie was a MLB draft pick in 1975, selected by the New York Mets in the 26th round out of Salinas High in California. He played two seasons of rookie ball as a teenager, splitting time between the outfield and first base.

He turned his focus to coaching and eventually made his way to Alaska.

Wylie coached at East High from 1999 to 2006, leading the T-birds to an ASAA state title in 2000 and winning 75 of 95 career games for a .789 winning percentage, which ranks No. 2 all-time in the 30-year history of the Cook Inlet Conference.

In Legion, his East Post 34 teams featured some of Alaska’s greatest players and produced a historic run between 2003 and 2006 by winning four consecutive state championships to match West Post 1's record set from 1965 to 1968.

From 2000 to 2006, East posted a 25-10 record at the state tournament and advanced to five straight title games. His 2003 team beat Whitefish (MT) 9-6 at the Legion Northwest Regional.

“Coach Wylie leaves a baseball legacy in Alaska that is hard to match,” said Ken Wooster, a former coach and current umpire. “But more importantly, he positively impacted hundreds of young people during his career. He will be greatly missed.”

Emerging from those East teams were MLB draft picks Juan Buck (2004), Corey Madden (2006), Anton Maxwell (2007) and Nading (2006, 2009).

Maxwell went on to play at Oregon State and then Single-A. Nading played at UNLV and then Double-A. Madden advanced to Triple-A after playing at St. Mary's.

“Tony was the reason I was able to get exposure at the right time,” Nading said. “He put me in every situation to be successful and that allowed me to play at the highest levels of baseball.”

In 2003, Wylie created the Alaska Baseball Academy and used his national connections to get Alaskans in front of pro and college scouts. He served as a regional scout for the Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks.

He helped Scooter Bynum of Fairbanks get noticed, dipping into his own pocket to pay for travel expenses.

“Coach Wylie was the guy who put me in front of the right people, which ultimately ended up with me getting scholarship offers at every level and drafted,” said Bynum, a 2014 Cincinnati Reds draft pick. “He took me down to Arizona and put me in front of scouts and college coaches who didn’t even know who I was.”

Wylie’s reach extended four decades, stretching from the end of the 1990s to the beginning of the 2020s.

This year’s Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year Curtis Hebert is now at the University of Portland and credited Wylie for putting him in position to be seen.

“Tony had a huge impact on my career and so many other Alaskan baseball players,” said Hebert, who played for Wylie's travel ball team for five years. "He’s taken me on so many trips where I was able to get the exposure that helped me get to places, I’ve been able to go. Those trips have so many amazing memories to me and it’s all thanks to Tony.”

It’s hard to imagine the Alaska baseball landscape without Wylie. He was a staple at the fields. He knew everybody, and everyone knew him.

His towering shadow will always loom large over Alaska.

“Coach Wylie was the most passionate person I’ve ever met,” Nading said. “He was a proud husband, an unbelievable father and grandfather, diehard Raiders fan, but most of all coaches for kids all over the state of Alaska. He spent so much time scouting and calling parents. All he wanted was to see Alaska baseball players and their families find opportunities to advance their lives on and off the field.”

Here is the schedule for Saturday's Jamboree:

Now that he’s in Arizona with the Cincinnati Reds rookie-ball team, Brody Jessee of Anchorage has met a ton of people. They all seem to have the same reaction when he tells them where he’s from.

“They have never met a baseball player from Alaska,” he said.

Jessee, 21, takes it to heart because he takes great pride in representing an entire state whenever he takes the field.

“It’s something that puts a chip on my shoulder and allows me to compete with an army behind me,” he said. “Knowing that I’m playing for not just myself, but for my family, friends, teammates, coaches and an entire state allows me to never allow something to get in the way of reaching the big leagues.”

Last month, Jessee was drafted in the tenth round by the Reds to became the highest drafted Alaska pitcher since 2012, when Juneau’s Dylan Baker was taken in the fifth round by Cleveland.

In three short years, Jessee has advanced from the Cook Inlet Conference to the West Coast Conference to the Arizona Complex League. He has maintained familiarity along the way by following a routine, which hardens his emotions.

However, catching a glimpse of yourself wearing the famed uniform of an MLB organization can soften even a 6-foot-4 rocket right-hander with laser focus.

“When I take a step back and look in the mirror with a Reds jersey on it is sort of surreal to think about how bad I’ve wanted this exact moment since I was 4 or 5 years old,” Jessee said. “But at the end of the day, when the jersey goes on and I have to execute my pitches. That’s all that’s on my mind.”

In the pros, it’s all business. All the time.

Jessee made his debut with the ACL Reds two weeks ago, coming out of the bullpen and facing three batters. He retired the first hitter, plunked the second (who was erased on a caught stealing) and walked the third batter.

“It was a little shaky,” he said, “but I haven’t given up any runs in the following four innings.”

Jessee recently made his first appearance in the playoffs and threw scoreless frames over the ninth and tenth innings.

“It was thrilling to still be in that sort of high-pressure closer role, and to put up two zeroes also made that a really fond experience for me,” he said.

At Gonzaga, the All-WCC reliever posted a 7-3 record with five saves across 35 appearances in relief. He furnished a 4.71 career ERA over 63.1 innings and an 85-38 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The biggest difference he’s noticed between the pro and college ranks is the willingness of pro hitters to swing at a lot more pitches.

“In college, there is a general approach preached by the head coach that is usually about battling with two strikes and looking for the ball away,” Jessee said. “However, at the professional level, it seems as though most hitters are just trying to crush the ball at any chance they get.

“And they can do that and still foul off a pitch they get surprised by because they are so talented. So, it’s been really fun learning how to adjust to a free-swinging line-up and start becoming a pitcher instead of a thrower.”

For the second time in the four postseason games, Service Post 28 battled back from a three-run deficit only to lose on a walk-off.

It happened at the Alaska Legion AA State Tournament title game and it happened again in an elimination game at the Northwest Class A Regional Tournament.

Baseball can be cruel sometimes.

The Ridgeline Wolverines of Millville, Utah, beat Service 9-8 on Hayden Hansen’s one-out single through the hole on the left side to plate Tyson Smith.

Smith led off the bottom of the seventh with a single and advanced to second base on a sac bunt before scoring the winning run.

It was a roller-coaster game that saw the Cougars take a 5-0 lead after the top of the first only to find themselves down 8-5 after four innings.

Meanwhile, poor fielding cost the Cougars for the second straight night as Service allowed unearned runs in each of the second, third and fourth innings.

Service (23-13) also suffered from some bad luck – at the plate and in the field.

Hunter Christian was robbed of a two-out RBI after his hard grounder up the middle deflected off the pitcher’s glove and took a room-service hop to the shortstop, who stepped on the bag for a force out.

Later, second baseman Sean Giffen slipped on the bag taking the feed from the shortstop to deny a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play.

Meanwhile, Service pitchers hung tough.

Reliever Kolby Jensen got out of the third inning after stranding a runner in scoring position. In the fourth, Jensen struck out Cooper Clark – snapping his staff’s streak of 31 plate appearances without a strikeout dating back to last night’s 13-11 loss to Butte (MT).

Christian, who took over for Jensen, wiggled out of bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth to keep it an 8-5 game. It was premier postseason pitching performance that seemed to ignite the Cougars.

They needed a boost against Ridgeline reliever Mason Williams, who hadn’t allowed a run in his four innings of work before Service touched him up for a three spot in the fifth.

Owen Hickman and Jensen banged out back-to-back base hits to set up Sebastian Fournier, who smacked a line drive into the right-centerfield gap for a two-run triple.

Fournier – who led Service with seven RBIs in three NWCART games – scored on a wild pitch with one out to tie the game at 8.

Christian worked a 1-2-3 sixth inning, thanks to center fielder Carson Maltby’s marvelous running catch right at the fence and a terrific 12-to-6 curveball that caught Williams looking on strike three.

In the end, though, Ridgeline (30-2) made a few more plays to survive and advance.

Two Wolverines' relievers combined to retire the final nine batters in order, with Williams doing most of the heavy lifting after coming in relief after the first five Service batters reached base (and scored) in the first inning.

Fournier finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs, Jake Rafferty was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Giffen went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Service finished the tournament with a 1-2 record, moving Alaska teams to 11-29 against Lower 48 competition at the NWCART since 2011.

Tommy Molloy pitched six strong innings and helped Eagle River stretch its lead late with three RBIs to catapult the Wolves to an 8-1 victory over Chugiak Post 33 in the championship game of the Alaska Airlines Legion A State Tournament on Sunday at Bartlett High School.

Second baseman Cody Patraglia also picked up three RBIs and two of his team’s 10 hits – all singles – as the Wolves matched their AA counterparts for a sweep of Alaska’s 2022 American Legion state titles.

Bodi Anderson’s RBI groundout put Eagle River ahead 1-0 in the top of the second inning, and the Wolves took control with a three-run third frame. After Jack Mullen was hit by a pitch, Kam Kurtz and Ty Griffin followed with line-drive singles to push Mullen home, and Patraglia made it 4-0 with a line-drive single to right-center.

Staked to a comfortable advantage, Molloy did the rest with his right arm. After giving up a long double to Kyle McEwen on his first pitch of the day, the lanky starter settled down and faced the minimum 12 Mustangs through the fourth inning, getting help from catcher Jack Mullen when he threw out Samson Young attempting to steal in the second.

A two-run single by Molloy increased the lead to 6-0 in the top of the sixth, and he raced around to score from second base moments later on Petaglia’s infield-single smash off the hip of reliever RJ Remy.

Chugiak plated its lone run in the sixth when Weston Gracey raced home from second base on another ball that never left the infield. The Mustangs would then load the bases with none out, but Molloy escaped with two ground-ball forces at the plate, and an inning-ending strikeout of Remy.

Chugiak finished with four hits, including doubles by McEwen and Ethan Atkinson.

Molloy posted four strikeouts and was one of four Wolves to reach base three times, along with Anderson, Mullen and Griffin.

This was Eagle River's fourth straight appearance in the title game, winning in 2019, 2020 and this year.

The Butte Miners of Montana brought some thunder and lightning to the Northwest Class A Regional Tournament.

Butte bashed three home runs off three different Service Post 28 pitchers to build a big lead before hanging on for a 13-11 victory over the Cougars in a winner’s bracket game in Vernal, Utah.

Zach Tierney hit two home runs and Cayde Stajcar smacked another one as part of a 12-hit attack for the Miners (42-9), who moved to 2-0 in the tournament.

Tierney and Stajcar hit back-to-back jacks in the fourth inning as the Montana state champion built a 12-7 advantage.

The Cougars shot themselves in the foot with six errors – including five in one inning – yet they still found themselves in position to win the game at the end.

Service (23-12) scored two runs in the seventh inning and had the tying run in scoring position before the game ended on a pop up with the bases loaded. A common thread as the Alaska team left 11 runners on base.

Hunter Christian also hit a home run – one of four in the game – in a 10-hit attack. He launched a laser to left field over the 18-foot-tall fence.

The dimensions of the high school field are 330 feet down the lines and 380 to straightaway center field, although the altitude and 89-degree weather helped the ball fly out of the yard.

Vernal has an elevation of 5,328 feet. By comparison, Anchorage is at sea level.

Tierney’s first home run would have been out of any park in the country and might have hit the building across the street. The mammoth shot to left field gave Butte a 6-5 lead the Miners would never relinquish.

The third inning was a nightmare for the Cougars, as three players combined for five errors. When the dust settled, Butte had turned game upside down, turning a 5-2 deficit into a 9-5 advantage.

Credit Christian for immediately helping Service get that bad taste out of its mouth after he crushed a solo home run to lead off the fourth inning. Owen Hickman’s RBI single five batters later pulled the Cougars with 9-7, and suddenly we had a game again.

But then the Miners responded with another crooked number, thanks to back-to-back bombs to center field that might have been flyouts at Mulcahy Stadium.

Christian turned an 4-3 double play behind reliever Michael Sculley in the fifth inning that helped Service enjoy its lone 1-2-3 frame.

The Cougars pulled within 12-9 in the sixth inning on Sebastian Fournier’s two-out infield single. He hustled all the way down the line, signaling Service’s willingness to stay in the fight.

In the seventh, Sean Giffen and Hickman delivered RBIs to pull Service within 13-11, and Kolby Jensen reached base on a seven-pitch walk against two different relief pitchers to make things interesting at the end.

With two runners on, Jensen faced a 1-2 count when Butte made a move to the bullpen and called on closer George Riojas.

Riojas’ first pitch was a curveball that didn’t break and nearly hit Jensen’s helmet, but he kept his head and earned a base on balls to keep the line moving.

The game lasted nearly three hours.

Service is back at it Sunday in an elimination game against Ridgeline (UT) at 2 p.m. ADT.

Alaska Airlines Legion A State Tournament
Semifinal #1
Eagle River 9, Dimond-Gold 8
Brian Choinard drove in a run and later scored the winning run on a wild pitch to highlight his team's three-run rally in the seventh inning as the Wolves advanced to the title game for the fourth straight year.
Dimond scored six runs over the final two innings and took a 7-6 lead when Josiah James scored on a wild pitch and went ahead 8-6 on Gideon Lesslie's sac fly.
Eagle River will face the Chugiak/Kenai winner in Sunday's state title game at 2 p.m. at Bartlett High School.

Semifinal #2
Chugiak 4, Kenai 3 (8)
Caiden Capozzi drove in Ethan Atkinson with the winning run in the eighth inning thanks to a one-out bloop single to shallow right field over a drawn-in infield to send the Mustangs to the title game.
Capozzi also had an RBI as part of a three-run bottom of the fourth when Chugiak tied it at 3.
Kenai struck for three runs in the third keyed by Brett Hostetler, whose drove in run with a bunt single and later scored the third run on a wild pitch.
Chugiak will face Eagle River in Sunday's title game at 2 p.m. at Bartlett High School.

Jake Rafferty threw 5.2 scoreless innings and teamed with two relievers for a combined shutout as Service Post 28 beat host Vernal 7-0 on Day 1 of the Northwest Class A Regional Tournament in Utah.

Rafferty was special, allowing just two hits and getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth with his final strikeout.

He also picked off a base runner and drove in a run with the bat as the Cougars picked up their first regional tournament win since 2016.

Michael Sculley got the final out in the sixth and Rilan Nicali sealed the deal with a clean seventh.

Service banged out an 11-hit attack, highlighted by RBI triples from Owen Hickman and Carson Maltby, and RBI doubles from Sean Giffen and Landon Martindale.

Service moved into the winner’s bracket and will play Butte (MT) on Saturday at 5 p.m. ADT.

The Cougars (23-11) got the party started early, striking for a pair of runs with two outs in the first inning.

Rafferty ripped the first pitch he saw into the hole on the left side and Hickman hammered a triple over the right-fielder’s head for a little oppo taco.

The fast start only motivated Rafferty, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound right-hander who pounded the zone and trusted his defense.

Giffen, the shortstop and team’s elder statesman, had a hand in six of the first eight outs on four assists and two putouts.

Giffen was on the receiving end of Rafferty’s pick off in the second inning and he saved an error by the pitcher in the third inning after stretching to catch an errant throw from Rafferty while using every bit of his 6-foot frame to keep his foot on second base for the force out.

Service struck for a pair of runs in the third on three consecutive hits – a single by Hunter Christian, a triple by Maltby and a double by Giffen.

Maltby’s missile flew over the right-fielder’s head as he pulled it to pull Service ahead 3-0.

In the fourth, Sebastian Fournier was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and scored on Landon Martindale’s double.

By this time in the game, the sun had set and the Cougars were under the lights.

It was showtime for guys like Rafferty and Hickman.

Hickman, a Swiss-army-knife utility player, filled in at catcher for starter Coen Niclai, who didn’t make the trip.

Hickman saved a run in the fifth with a beautiful backhand stab on pitch in the dirt and a runner on third base.

That same inning saw Rafferty wiggle out of the bases-loaded jam with an inning-ended called third strike, thanks to a fastball on the outside of the plate.

Sculley worked around a pair of walks in the sixth and Niclai worked a 1-2-3 frame.

Service’s win was in sharp contrast to how its next opponent advanced, with Butte winning a 15-10 slugfest.

That score was reminiscent to the 11-10 win Service posted over Grantsville (UT) in the 2016 NWCART.

When Dallin Roberts’ eight-pitch at-bat resulted in the go-ahead run scoring for the Eagle River Wolves in the second inning, it was easy to get caught up in the moment.

Was this the year a team from Alaska would finally advance to the final four at the Northwest Regional?

It looked good for a moment, but it didn’t happen.

The mighty Medford Mustangs on Friday used a six-run stampede in the third inning to ride off with a 12-2 win at the regional tournament in Gillette, Wyoming.

Medford (39-8) scored eight runs with two outs and outhit Eagle River 14-6 in seven innings at Hladky Memorial Stadium.

Alaska fell to 0-7 against Medford at the regional.

Eagle River (39-12) got two hits from Liam Lierman and RBIs from Dalton Smith and Roberts.

Roberts, the catcher, also threw out a runner trying to steal second base to end the top of the second inning.

In the bottom of the second, the Wolves scored both of their runs to take a 2-1 lead.

Jack Molloy and Alex Mullen reached. Smith knocked in the first run with an RBI groundout and Roberts added another RBI groundout to give the Wolves an early lead.

It was early, but the Wolves looked hungry to make history.

They loaded the bases in the first inning, plated two runs in the second and loaded the bases again in the third.

Credit Medford pitching for limiting the damage.

The Mustangs were nails with runners on base, ending each of the first three innings with a strikeout as Eagle River stranded six runners.

In the third, Medford strung together five straight hits and seven in all to reclaim the lead, 7-2.

Eagle River had only two batters reach base across the final four frames, and neither lasted long.

Landon Hudson’s walk in the fourth was erased by a 4-6-3 double play and Smith’s double in the sixth was wiped away when he was thrown out at third on a 9-4-5 relay.

Smith shined as a relief pitcher in the sixth, striking out Julius Bolstad in a 12-pitch battle.

Earlier, Eagle River reliever Charlie Wallace allowed just one run over two innings of work.

Yesterday, he earned the win in Eagle River’s 4-3 victory over Fort Collins (CO) – just the seventh win at the regional tournament for an Alaska team since 1986.

The two-time defending state champion Wolves were trying to become the first team from The Last Frontier to win two games.

Medford is Legion royalty.

The Mustangs are 18-time state champions out of Oregon and have qualified for the Legion World Series five times, making the title game twice.

Alaska is one of four states that has never qualified a team to the Legion World Series.

After an ugly loss on Day 1 and getting no-hit through the first four-plus innings on Day 2, the Eagle River Legion baseball team could have folded like cheap suit.

Instead, the Wolves pieced together a custom-made comeback.

Eagle River scored runs in each of the final three innings to rally for a stunning 3-2 win Thursday over Fort Collins (CO) at the Northwest Regional in Gillette, Wyoming.

With the victory, Eagle River gave the state of Alaska just its 16th win in 140 games at the regional tournament since 1954.

“We’re so pumped,” right fielder Jack Molloy said. “Out flights have to get changed now, which is totally awesome.”

No Alaska team has won two games at the regional, but the Wolves will have that chance when they play Friday against either Medford (OR) or Billings (MT) at 2 p.m. ADT.

Alaska Wins @ Northwest Regional Since 1954
1973 – Fairbanks 10-6 Sheridan (WY)
1975 – Fairbanks 9-8 Great Falls (MT)
1976 – East 9-8 Billings (MT)
1980 – East 5-3 Billings (MT)
1981 – Bartlett 10-7 Casper (WY)
1983 – Juneau 6-5 Laramie (WY)
1983 – Juneau 15-7 Idaho (ID)
1986 – Dimond 2-1 Idaho Falls (ID)
1996 – Chugiak 17-7 Casper (WY)
1997 – Service 7-3 Sheridan (WY)
1998 – Chugiak 4-3 Missoula (MT)
2001 – Service 11-3 Sheridan (WY)
2003 – East 9-6 Whitefish (MT)
2009 – South 5-4 Cheyenne (WY)
2018 – Juneau 13-9 Missoula (MT)
2022 – Eagle River 3-2 Fort Collins (CO)

Eagle River (29-11) made history with style points, winning on third baseman Dalton Smith’s walk-off base hit.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, eight-hole hitter Molloy mashed a double and came around to score the winning run when nine-hole hitter Smith stroked a single into left center field.

“I was looking for a fastball, looking to drive the ball the other way,” Smith said. “He threw a curveball and I crushed it.”

Smith was angry when he came to the plate with the game on the line.

“My pitch selection my first two at-bats were absolutely horrendous,” he said. “So, I was thinking, ‘Know what to hit in the zone.’ That curveball he threw me was right down the middle. He hung it.”

And Smith hammered it.

This was Eagle River’s first win in eight games against Lower 48 competition this season. The Wolves went 0-5 at a tournament in Eugene (OR) and lost to Napoleon (OH) in the final of the Alaska 529 Midseason Classic at Mulcahy Stadium.

“This is basically the same caliber of teams and some of the same teams actually, and we knew exactly what to expect from the pitching side of things and we weren’t intimidated at all,” Molloy said.

The Wolves lost 10-2 to Cheyenne (WY) in the first game of the NW regional and looked to be headed towards another defeat against Fort Collins, trailing 2-0 as pitcher Brady Hall carried a no-hitter through 4.2 innings.

Reigning Alaska State Tournament MVP Connor Johnson broke up the no-no with a two-out single.

“CJ getting that first hit in the fifth inning was clutch and that got us going,” Molloy said.

Johnson later scored on an error to get the Wolves on the board.

Meanwhile, Eagle River starter Liam Lierman had a solid start, striking out seven in five innings. The southpaw allowed four hits, two runs (one earned) and one walk.

He was replaced by reliever Charlie Wallace, who pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning. In the bottom half of the sixth, Eagle River tied the game 2-2 on a hit-and-run play. With Lierman on second and Noah Lower on first both in motion, Josh Thompson hit an infield single that scored Lierman with the tying run.

In the top of the seventh, Wallace ended the frame with a strikeout and the go-ahead run stranded on third base.

“Charlie did great on the mound. He’s a great closer,” Smith said. “I want to give props to Liam, too. After Liam came out, he was kind of bummed but he got that attitude back and got us back in the game with his energy.”

Eagle River has posted several walk-off wins this season, including a 4-3 number in the state title game. The players – all 12 of them – had a ton of confidence they could do it again.

“We absolutely knew going into the bottom of the seventh, there’s no way Colorado wanted to win as bad as we did,” Molloy said, “and I think that showed in that final inning.”

Fort Collins 100 010 0 - 2 6 3
Eagle River 000 011 1 - 3 3 1
Fort Collins - Hall and Lindenfeld. Eagle River - Lierman, Wallace (6) and Roberts.  W - Wallace. L - Hall. 2B - None. 3B - None. HR - None.

The Eagle River Wolves fell into an early hole and never recovered in a 10-2 loss to Cheyenne (WY) on Day 1 of the Northwest Regional in Gillette, Wyoming.

Cheyenne used five walks, an error, a two-run triple and a two-run single to plate six runs in the bottom of the first inning – all without recording an out.

The only reason the game went seven innings was because of Wolves’ relief pitcher Jack Molloy, who was nothing short of spectacular, especially under the circumstances.

He entered the game in the first with his team trailing 4-1 and the bases loaded with no outs.

Molloy gave up a single to the first batter he faced before striking out the next two batters looking and the next on a grounder to end the 35-minute first frame.

He retired 15 of 18 batters on his way to providing a fabulous five-inning stint. The southpaw allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and zero walks. He struck out six.

Molloy gave up a run in the second inning on a two-out balk and another in the fourth after the leadoff batter reached on a three-base error and came home on a wild pitch.

Three Eagle River pitchers combined for nine wild pitches and two balks.

Molloy pitched 1-2-3 innings in each of the third and fifth in a 60-pitch performance that deserved praise.

Molloy also went 2-for-2 at the plate and scored a run. Have a day, young man.

Two-time defending state champion Eagle River led 1-0 on Noah Lower’s sac fly three batters into the game.

Dallin Roberts led off with a single, moved to second on Liam Lierman’s sac bunt and went to third on a wild pitch to set up Lower.

In the fourth inning, the Wolves scored against after Molloy singled, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Landon Hudson’s sac fly.

Hudson also drew an eight-pitch at-bat in the seventh inning before getting erased on a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.

Eagle River dropped to 28-11 overall and fell to 0-7 against Lower 48 competition this season.

The loss snapped the Wolves’ eight-game winning streak.

Cheyenne improved to 65-10 and advanced in the winner’s bracket and will face two-time defending Legion World Series champion Idaho Falls (ID) on Thursday.

Cheyenne’s stats read like a minor-league team.

First baseman Zack Costopoulos drove in his 75th run of the season and has combined for 18 home runs and 165 RBIs in the last two summers.

Eagle River fell into the loser’s bracket and will face Fort Collins (CO) in an elimination game Thursday morning.

Get your coffee ready. First pitch is at 7:30 a.m. Alaska time.

Connor Johnson felt like he had been put through the ringer by the end of the game.

The Eagle River second baseman had just experienced an emotional roller-coaster after helping the Wolves slip by Service 4-3 in eight innings to win the Alaska Legion State Tournament title game Tuesday at Mulcahy Stadium.

“Oh, man, the feeling is kind of indescribable,” Johnson said. “I don’t know how to feel. I’m exhausted. That was a helluva game.”

Indeed, it was a classic. There were big plays, weird plays, extra innings and two historic players.

It even had a two-out, walk-off ending to give Eagle River (28-10) back-to-back championships, each time coming on one-run victories. Last year it was 1-0 over South on an Orazio Ramos home run. This year it was 4-3 over Service on a Dalton Smith walk.

Smith drew a four-pitch base on balls to drive in Noah Lower from third base with the winning run. Lower started the inning with a single and went to second on Josh Thompson’s walk. Both runners advanced on Landon Hudson’s beautiful bunt that went for a base hit.

Service relief pitcher Hunter Christian struck out the next two batters to set up the pivotal at-bat with Smith.

“I think it was even more wild and more stressful and more emotion than anybody can ever imagine,” Johnson said. “The momentum switched sides about 20 million times. They were excited, we were excited. It just makes you super exhausted.”

Lower not only scored the winning run, he went 2-for-3 and earned the winning decision at pitcher with two scoreless innings of relief to earn player-of-the-game honors.

Lower, the starting shortstop, also earned the tournament’s Gold Glove Award.

He gave Eagle River a 1-0 lead three batters into the game. Johnson made it 3-0 after his two-run double, coming after he had fouled off three straight pitches with two strikes.

Johnson batted .467 in the tournament on 7-of-15 hitting and knocked in 12 RBIs – the most at state in nearly a decade and two shy of the tournament record – to win the MVP Award.

NOTEABLE RBI TOTALS AT STATE TOURNAMENT
14 – Josiah Covey Kenai 2013
13 – Ryan Skillern South 2007
12 – Mike Sauer Kenai 1999
12 – A.J. Hull Kenai 2012
12 – Connor Johnson Eagle River 2022

“I saw the ball well and hit pretty good, so I’m happy,” Johnson said.

He also helped turn a 6-4-3 double play in the fifth inning after making a bare-handed grab at Lower’s feed and throwing on to first base.

But in the sixth, he dropped an easy toss with his glove on a play he’s made a hundred times. His error came with two outs and allowed Service to score and tie the game at 3-3.

“I was baffled. I was like, ‘How do you drop that?’” said Johnson, who beat himself up immediately after the play.

“Then I knew, ‘You gotta pick yourself back up. We’re still in this. It’s tied. We still get to hit. It’s OK.’

“Competing through that adversity,” he said, “that’s what you have to do in that situation.”

Give Service (22-11) a ton of credit, starting with catcher Coen Niclai, who went 3-for-5 with an RBI in the title.

The rising junior threw out three base runners in five tournament games and batted .647 on 11-for-17 hitting with eight RBIs.

Coen’s batting average ranks No. 2 all-time in state tournament history.

HIGHEST BATTING AVERGE AT STATE TOURNAMENT
.818 – John Kennedy Kenai 1979
.647 – Coen Niclai Service 2022
.643 – Dennis Erisman Chugiak 1986

Niclai drove in the Cougars’ first run in the third inning and later Owen Hickman made it 3-2 after he scored on a wild pitch, making a daring run from third base after the ball had only skipped away maybe 20 feet from the catcher. A lot of teams wouldn’t have tried that with two outs.

Later in the third inning, third baseman Jake Rafferty got the Cougars out of a jam when he fielded a grounder and dived head first to get a force out and at third.

In the eighth, the Cougars loaded the bases when Martindale reached on an error, Sean Giffen singled for his 10th hit of the tournament and Rafferty's groundball down the line that actually hit Martindale's body as he reached third base. Because he was standing on the base, it was a base hit. Had he been in the field of play it would have been an out.

Service stayed in the game because of its pitching and defense. The Cougars made only one error and pitchers Landon Martindale, Rilan Niclai and Christian held the Wolves in check most of the game.

Eagle River came into the game hitting .404 as a team but were held off the scoreboard from the second inning through the seventh inning.

Martindale, who earned the save in yesterday’s 8-7 win over Kenai in the semifinals, got the start and bounced back after giving up three runs in the first inning. He threw shutout frames in the second, third and fourth innings and retired nine of 11 batters.

He was replaced by Rilan Niclai, the youngest player to pitch in the tournament. He hasn’t even started high school yet, but he was unfazed by the bright lights of Mulcahy.

The young gun threw three innings of relief, ending each of the fifth and sixth innings with strikeouts. One of those punch outs came on a 3-2 breaking ball, with his older brother catching; you gotta think that moment fulfilled a childhood dream of the brothers teaming up for big strikeout in the state tournament.

“It’s impressive, especially without their No. 1 pitcher, Jake (Rafferty),” Johnson said. “And throwing a Class of 2026 guy in there. That was really impressive. Props to them.”

Eagle River improved to 12-2 in the state tournament under manager Bill Lierman, who earned his eighth Legion state title.

Lierman won three titles as a player at Chugiak – his last coming 25 years ago. He then won three titles as a coach at Chugiak before joining the Eagle River coaching staff in 2020 and leading the Wolves to back-to-back titles.

In 1996, Lierman and Chugiak became one of just six Alaska teams to win a game at the Northwest Regional.

Last year, the Wolves dropped a tough 2-1 loss to Gillette (WY) in the first round en route to an 0-2 showing.

They are going back to Gillette, and they are going to play another Wyoming team in the first round Aug. 5.

“I’m excited to travel with the team and get out there and maybe do a little bit better than we did last year,” Johnson said.

Service will represent Alaska at the Northwest Class A Regional Tournament (NWCART) next week in Vernal, Utah.

Alaska Legion State Tournament Awards
MVP – Connor Johnson, Eagle River
Big Stick – Coen Niclai, Service
Top Pitcher – Hunter Williams, Kenai
Gold Glove – Noah Lower, Eagle River

Matson Invitational
Title Game
Wasilla 7, Ketchikan 3

The Wasilla Post 35 Road Warriors are still unbeaten in the Matson Invitational.

Wasilla beat Ketchikan Post 3 by a 7-3 score in the tournament championship game at Mulcahy Stadium, improving to 12-0 all-time in the event.

Wasilla's victory clinched the program's third Matson title, joining the ones the Road Warriors won in 2018 and 2021.

Former manager Ken Ottinger led the team to the previous titles - this time, his son Taylon did it. Like father, like son.

Ketchikan was playing in its fourth title game in tournament history.

Wasilla got off to a quick start, going ahead 3-1 in the first inning thanks largely to Karsen Spradling, who knocked in a run and stole home in the frame.

Wasilla tacked on two more runs in the third and two more in the sixth.

It was plenty of support for pitcher Jaren Venie, who went 6.2 innings and was named MVP of the tournament.

Back-to-back errors cost Venie a complete game as he was chased due to the pitch count.

His battery mate Pedro Camacho won the tournament's Gold Glove Award.

Ketchikan's Terik Brown won the Big Stick Award and teammates Chase Hanis was named Top Pitcher.

Was (12-13)
Jaren Venie 6.2IP 0ER 6K
Karsen Spradling 2-4 2RBI 2R 3SB
Colton Haase 2-3 2R 3SB

Alex Bond 1-4 RBI
Dayton Greer RBI

Ket (8-17)
Thomas Kroscavage RBI
Chase Hanis 1-4
Bubba Williams 1-4 R
Colby Hanchey 2R

Phil Doherty was named the raffle winner of four Alaska Airlines vouchers.

The name was drawn on the field at Tuesday's Legion State Tournament championship game.

His son Collin sold him the lucky ticket.

All Alliance Baseball League teams had the chance to participate and raise money toward team and individual fees through the raffle, which began in 2017.

Summoned from the center field to pitch, Landon Martindale stepped into a terrible situation: Two runners on base, no outs, game on the line.

Here you go, kid.

“I was shaking pretty bad,” he said. “It was nerve-racking.”

Showing nerves of steel, the Class of 2025 right-hander closed the door to preserve Service Post 28’s 8-7 victory over the Kenai Post 20 Twins in Monday’s semifinals of the Alaska Legion State Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Martindale ended the game on a strikeout with the tying run on third base, ending a white-knuckle ride for the Cougars in the seventh inning.

The 5-foot-2, 110-pounder came up big in a number of ways for Service, which beat Kenai at the state tournament for the first time since 2002, snapping a five-game losing streak.

He started the game in left field and moved to center in the third inning when Carson Maltby left the game with a knee injury and had to be helped off the field.

Two batters later Martindale recorded an outfield assist when he cut down a runner at third base.

Kolby Jensen, a rising junior, filled in for Maltby in the lineup and knocked in a run with a single to right field on his first swing fresh off the bench.

“With our team, there's always another guy who can do whatever the other guy can't,” Martindale said. “That's what's really nice about our team, anybody can step up.”

Martindale’s number was called in the seventh when the relief pitcher recorded a 3-out save in a pressure-cooker situation.

“I’ve been in that position a couple other times in the high school season,” he said. “I just kept telling myself, ‘Gotta get this next pitch.’”

With the win, Service manager Willie Paul has led his team to the state final for the third time since 2016.

The Cougars clawed back from early deficits of 3-0 and 4-1 on the strength of a seven-run fourth inning explosion.

“There's so much pressure and excitement because we're such a young team and we're doing so well,” Martindale said. “I like all the guys and it's fun. Whenever we're doing good or whenever we're doing bad, everybody has such good spirits.”

Sebastian Fournier, Hunter Christian, Jensen and Coen Niclai each had RBIs in the inning, but the big hit was Sean Giffen’s 3-run double.

Giffen, a recent high school graduate, is the elder statesman on the team as its only upperclassman.

Giffen’s double to deep right center field cleared the bases and provided Service with a 7-4 lead.

He roared to his dugout in delight.

“I love Giffen. He’s a great guy,” Martindale said. “That hit really got us going. Everybody was up on the fence, coming out of the dugout to pick up the next guy.”

Later that inning, Jake Rafferty and Niclai banged out back-to-back doubles that scored Service’s final run and proved to be the difference.

Kenai didn’t go away. The Twins pulled within 8-6 on Jacob Belger’s two-run single in the fifth inning and got as close as 8-7 in the seventh on Charlie Chamberlain’s RBI groundball.

Reliever John Brinner was brilliant after a rough start, bouncing back to retire 10 of the final 14 batters to give his team a chance at the end.

Eagle River 9, South 5

In the second semifinal, the Wolves overcame two rain relays and a 3-run deficit in the sixth inning to stun the South Post 4 Wolverines.

Defending state champion Eagle River sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven runs; btw, this is the second time this team has scored seven runs in the sixth in this tournament.

The bottom of the sixth lasted 34 minutes, including two short separate rain delays.

“I think the rain delays worked in our favor,” said Eagle River slugger Noah Lower.

The Wolves faced three different South pitchers in the sixth and denied ace Isaac Johnson a shot at ending his Legion career with a victory.

The South star pitcher came into the game with a 13-0 career record at Mulcahy Stadium but settled for the no decision after five-plus innings.

Lower, along with Charlie Wallace, Dallin Roberts, Liam Lierman and Josh Thompson, all knocked in runs to give Eagle River a 7-5 lead.

Tournament MVP candidate Connor Johnson put the game out of reach with a two-run single, giving him a tournament-best 10 RBIs.

“Everything went our way tonight,” Lower said.

Eagle River improved to 11-2 at the state tournament under manager Bill Lierman, who joined the coaching staff in 2020.

South looked to be in control, nursing a 4-2 lead entering the sixth inning. The Wolves were down, but not out, and somehow rallied for a stunning postseason win.

“We just want it more,” Johnson said. “Bill pushes us, tells us to grind through it, compete the whole way through and overcome any obstacle that happens.

“Just have that mental capacity to keep competing until the last out.”

This was a rematch of last year’s state title game, won by Eagle River 1-0 on a perfect night for baseball.

This game featured pounding rain and wind gusts, hardly ideal conditions.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Lower said. “When you’re focused, you’re that in the game, nothing is throwing you off.”

Lower’s RBI single in the third inning made it 4-2 before Johnson settled into a groove and retired seven of the next eight batters.

Everything changed in the sixth, however, after Karson Kolberg and Johnson drew back-to-back walks and Alex Mullen was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Then came the rain and the first delay. Then the flood gates opened with seven runs.

Tonight’s game was another classic in the Eagle River-South matchup in what has become the state’s most high-profile rivalry.

“We all know what’s up when we play South. It’s going be a battle,” Lower said.

The way this one ended, he won’t forget about the ‘Monday Night Miracle’ for a long time.

“I don’t think I’m going to sleep tonight,” Lower said.

Matson Invitational
Semifinal: Ketchikan 12, Juneau 11

Terik Brown closed the door with three innings of relief to help Ketchikan Post 3 beat Southeast rival Juneau Post 25 in a 12-11 extra-inning slugest in the semifinals of the Matson Invitational at Mulcahy Stadium.

Brown also scored three runs, stole four bases, had two base hits and an RBI.

Thomas Kroscavage drove in four runs and Hayden Trudeau knocked in three as Ketchikan (8-16) advanced to Tuesday's championship game against top-seeded Wasilla (11-13).

Ketchikan led 6-0 in the fourth inning and outscored Juneau 4-3 in a wild eighth inning that used the international tiebreaker where each team started the inning with a runner on second base..

Juneau's Oliver Mendoza set a tournament record with a 5-for-5 performance at the plate. He also scored three runs and had two RBIs.

Juneau ended the season 15-13.

Ketchikan (8-16)
Thomas Kroscavage 1-2 3RBI 5IP
Terik Brown 3IP 1-2 2RBI 4SB 3R
Hayden Trudeau 1-2 3RBI
Bubba Williams 2-4 RBI

Juneau (15-13)
Oliver Mendoza 5-5 2RBI
Kasen Ludeman  2-4 2R RBI
Landon Simonson 2-3 3RBI
Olin Rawson 1-4 2R RBI

As the new kid in town, Hunter Williams puts a lot of pressure on himself to perform well with the Kenai Post 20 Twins.

Nothing brings players together like success and Williams and the Twins had plenty to celebrate in Sunday’s 11-1 win over Bartlett Post 29 at Mulcahy Stadium.

The Class of 2023 right-hander threw a complete-game gem, recording 21 outs on 85 pitches to secure Kenai a spot in the semifinals of the Alaska Legion State Tournament.

Williams fired a 4-hitter with six strikeouts and faced one over the minimum across the final five innings in a brilliant performance when his team needed it the most.

“Yesterday after we won, I had a feeling I would pitch this game today and when I found out that I was I wanted to make sure I was on point,” Williams said. “I kind of stayed to myself at the beginning of the game. I wanted to be active but I also wanted to throw hard. I did whatever I could to make sure that happened.”

Williams also reached base four times and finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored as part of Kenai’s 13-hit attack.

A day after scoring four runs in the seventh inning in a wild 6-4 come-from-behind victory over No. 2 Chugiak Post 33, the Twins scored three runs in the first inning to draw first blood against the No. 6 Bears.

Kenai came in to the tournament seeded No. 7, but Williams believes the Twins are better than that.

“The games that we lost to bump us down were not by much,” he said.

Kenai won the Alyeska Pool in a three-way tie with South (2-1) and Bartlett (2-1). Kenai and South both advanced to the semifinals based on a tiebreaker of fewest runs in games between the three teams tied.

Williams, who is from Kodiak, joined the Kenai squad because his hometown Post 17 team hasn’t fielded a team in three seasons.

“A couple years ago I used to play against the Twins, and losing to them pretty bad, so joining them feels really nice,” Williams said. “It feels really nice to be part a team that is known for being good. A team people throw their best pitchers against them.”

That was the case against Bartlett, who threw Carl Colavecchio. The southpaw hadn’t pitched for most of the season as his coaches have eased him back, setting him up for this big start. It didn’t work out.

Six of the first 10 Kenai batters reached on walks and three of them scored on Andrew Pieh’s two-out, three-run double in the first inning that got the party started.

Williams’ two-out run-scoring single in the fourth inning made it 4-0.

Meanwhile, Kenai was in cruise control. Everything went right for the Twins, who picked off a runner (Williams) and threw out another trying to steal (Jacob Belger).

In the second, shortstop Gabe Smith made an error and on the next play made a spectacular 6-3 double play after diving for a liner and doubling up the runner at first.

“I definitely knew that I have a strong defense, but some surprised me, like that dive by my shortstop,” Williams said. “That was pretty cool. That saved a run, too.”

In the fifth, Kenai right fielder Simon Grenier made an error on a flyball but then threw out the batter pushing his luck trying to get to second base.

“It was just all the way around a great performance by my team. I feel so confident with them,” Williams said. “I think the biggest thing about this game was confidence.”

In the nightcap, Service Post 28 hung on for an 8-7 victory over Palmer Post 15 that clinched the Cougars the No. 2 seed in the Denali Pool with a 2-1 record. Eagle River won the pool with a 3-0 record.

It was a win-and-they’re-in scenario for the Cougars, who rallied from a 3-0 deficit early and then hung on for dear life as the Pioneers played three runs in the seventh and ended the game with the tying run on second base.

Service closer Hunter Christian pitched two innings to earn the save in relief of starter Sean Giffen, who earned the win with five innings.

Giffen was erratic early, and excellent late.

Nine of the first 14 batters he faced reached base as he gave up four runs in the first two innings before flipping the switch and racking up scoreless frames in the third, fourth and fifth innings.

“After the rough start it was my offense that really helped me bounce back,” Giffen said. “We were up by two in the second, so I just reset and put the first innings behind me. My teammates really picked me up.”

Service catcher Coen Niclai showcased his terrific two-way talent, throwing out two runners on the base paths and going 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

He twice threw out the leadoff runner after reaching base and then came up clutch with the bat with a two-run double in the sixth that proved to be the difference.

“Coen is a very special player,” Giffen said. “He is already an elite hitter and is the best defensive catcher in the state. But what makes him special is his leadership on the field at a younger age.

“The energy he brings to the field every game is crucial, and his double was the key play in tonight’s win. Just a big-time player making big time plays.”

Palmer’s Koen Leaders pitched all six innings and shut down Service over the third, fourth and fifth innings, thanks in part to a nice 4-3 double play from second baseman Owen Hayes, who caught a liner and doubled up the runner at first.

Bryant Marks was marvelous. The catcher went 2-for-3 with two walks, a double, a triple and two RBIs, including a two-out, two-run, two-bagger that brought Palmer within a run in his final at-bat of the season.

After not playing in the postseason since 1993, Palmer has qualified for state in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

State Tournament
Game 12

Kenai 11, Bartlett 1

Kenai (17-14, 2-1 Pool)

Hunter Williams 7IP 4H 6K 1PO 2-3 3R RBI

Andrew Pieh 3-5 4RBI

Atticus Gibson 2-3 3B RBI 3R

Jacob Belger 1-5 2B 2RBI 1CS

Bartlett (15-16, 2-1 Pool)

Connor Sessoms 2-2

Corey Gagnebin 1-2 RBI

Carl Colavecchio 1-3 R

Game 13

Service 8, Palmer 7

Service (21-10, 2-1 Pool)

Sean Giffen 5IP 6K 3-4 2R

Coen Niclai 3-4 2B 3RBI 2CS

Owen Hickman 2-4 2RBI

Kolby Jensen 1-3 2RBI

Hunter Christian 2IP SV

Palmer (16-15, 0-3 Pool)

Bryant Marks 2-3 2B 3B 2RBI

Koen Leaders 6IP 3K 2-2 2RBI

Brayden Parrent 2-4 2RBI

State Tournament

@ Mulcahy Stadium

Monday's Semifinals

2:15pm - Kenai (17-14) vs. Service (21-10)

5:30pm - South (24-8) vs. Eagle River (26-10)

Tuesday's Title Game

5:30 pm - Semifinals winners

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

State Tournament
Game 10 of 15
Eagle River 8, Palmer 2

The Wolves jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back, getting a pair of RBIs from Noah Lower, Karson Kolberg and Connor Johnson to beat Palmer Post 15 8-2 on Day 3 of the Alaska Legion State Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Liam Lierman went 3-for-4 two runs scored and an RBI on a beautifully executed squeeze bunt that scored Charlie Wallace from third to make it 6-1.

Johnson knocked in two runs to give him a tournament-leading eight RBIs in three games.

Jack Molloy started on the mound and went three innings. 

But his play of the game came on defense when he snagged a comebacker with the bases loaded to rob Dylan Garrettson of a hit with the bases loaded and keep the game at 3-1.

Eagle River relievers Alex Mullen and Killian Johannes each threw two innings.

Palmer loaded the bases in the second, third and sixth innings but came away with just two runs and left 11 runners on base.

Garrettson's run-scoring single pulled Palmer within 3-1 in the second inning, but the Pioneers could draw no closer.

Eagle River (26-10, 3-0 Pool)
Liam Lierman 3-4 RBI 2R
Noah Lower 1-3 2RBI
Karson Kolberg 1-2 2RBI
Connor Johnson 1-1 2RBI
Josh Thompson 1-1 2R

Palmer (15-13, 0-2 Pool)
Nate Wilson 2-4 2B R
Landon Guggenmos RBI 2SB
Landon Kitzman 1-2 R
Dylan Garrettson 1-3 RBI
Bryant Marks 1-3 2SB

Wasilla 5, Ketchikan 2

Karsen Spradling hit a 2-RBI single in the bottom of the 6th inning to highlight a 5-run Road Warrior rally as Post 35 marched to the Matson invitational championship game. 

Ketchikan’s Bubba Williams rolled through the Wasilla lineup for 5 innings strong, pitching a shutout until the Wasilla bats came alive. 

Karsen Spradling for the Road Warriors hit a clutch 2-out, 2-run single, scoring a third during the play due to his aggressive and heads up base running. 

Jace Crall pitched 5 2/3 strong for Wasilla, after reaching the maximum 105 pitch count. Colton Haase came in and slammed the door on the Kings, striking out 3 of 4 batters he faced. 

Wasilla advances to the Matson Invitational championship game Tuesday at Mulcahy Stadium for the second straight year, chasing their 3rd title in program history.

Wasilla (11-13)

Jace Crall 5.67IP, 6K, 2ER

Karsen Spradling 1-3 2RBI, BB

Alex Bond 2-2 BB

Colton Haase 1.33IP, 0ER, 3K, W

Ketchikan (7-16)

Bubba Williams 5.33IP, 2-3, 2B, BB

Terik Brown 2-4 RBI

McKinley Hamilton 2-4

Juneau 2, Fairbanks 1

A pitchers duel broke out at Bartlett High School, just 6 hits and 15 strikeouts throughout the game. 

Olin Rawson and Christian Nelson for Juneau and Shaun Conwell for Fairbanks pitched masterfully, having allowed a total of 2 hits through 4 innings. 

Rawson finished his six-inning start with a clutch strikeout with the tying run at third and the leading run at second to close out the potential rally. 

The sixth inning also held a great play by Oliver Mendoza of Juneau, who threw out the tying run at the plate for the 5-2 tag out. 

Juneau got the first run, breaking through on a suicide squeeze from Kasen Ludeman, driving in Mendoza. 

Kai Schmidt, who came in relief behind the plate in the fourth inning, made a beautiful throw in the seventh inning to throw out a 49er trying to advance on a ball in the dirt. 

Christian Nelson then closed the door in the 7th, picking up the save for the Midnight Suns. 

Conwell pitched a complete game, striking out seven and allowing only one walk throughout the game against the Juneau lineup. 

Juneau stays alive, playing in their only Matson appearance since rejoining American Legion baseball in 2013. 

Juneau (14-12)

Olin Rawson 6IP, ER, 8K

Christian Nelson 1IP, SV

Kasen Ludeman RBI

Oliver Mendoza 1-2, R

Fairbanks (6-17)

Shaun Conwell 6IP, 7K, BB, 2ER

Landon Bicknell-Long 1-3, R

Dylan Swarthout 1-3, 2B

Christopher Luskleet 1-3

West 6, East 2

West Anchorage Post 1 had solid pitching to advance in an elimination matchup against the East Anchorage Post 34 on Day 3 of the Matson Invitational.

Beckett Stolp started, allowing just two hits and two earned runs through 3 1/3 innings. Evan Fitzgerald cleaned it up with 3 2/3 of scoreless ball to secure the win. 

Defense from the Eagles came up big in the 6th, completing a 1-6-3 double play to end the inning stall the Thunderbirds. 

Blake Yawit had the only two hits for the T-Birds, along with stellar outfield play patrolling center field. 

West (8-23) 

Beckett Stolp 3.33IP, 2ER, 4K, 1-3, 2B, R

Paul Dittrich 2-3 RBI

Evan Fitzgerald 3.67 IP, 0ER, 1-2 RBI

Gabe Catternichio 1-3 RBI, R

East (6-25)

Edison Polanco 3IP, 2ER, RBI

Blake Yawit 2-4, R, 2SB

Eduardo Rodrigues 4IP, 5K, 3ER

State Tournament
Game 9 of 15
Kenai 6, Chugiak 4

Kenai Post 20 scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to stun Chugiak Post 33 by a 6-4 score on Day 3 of the Alaska Legion State Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Jacob Belger, Andrew Pieh and Simon Grenier each had RBIs in the remarkable rally that keeps alive the Twins' state title hopes.

Kenai trailed 4-2 going into the seventh inning.

Atticus Gibson led off the seventh with a single and went to third on Hunter Williams' single. Belger's sac fly pulled the Twins within 4-3.

Gabe Smith walked and Pieh doubled in the tying run.

Kenai scored the go-ahead run on an error before Grenier's fielder's choice provided a little cushion.

Gibson tied the tournament record with a 3-pitch seventh inning, getting a flyout and two groundouts in the span of about 30 seconds.

Gibsonn went  the distance, throwing a 7-hit complete game with four strikeouts.

The loss spoiled a strong pitching performance by Cam Costanios, who struck out six batters of 5.1 innings and left with a 4-2 lead.

Kenai (16-14, 1-1 Pool)
Scored 4 runs in 7th
Andrew Pieh 2-4 2B RBI
Atticus Gibson 7IP 4K 102 3R
Jacob Belger RBI
Simon Grenier RBI

Chugiak (16-15, 0-3 Pool)
Cam Costanios 5.1IP 2R 6K
Jayden Steckel 3-3 RBI

State Tournament
Game 8 of 15
Bartlett 5, South 2

Bartlett Post 29 pitchers Nick Brandal and Corey Gagnebin held South Post 4 off the scoreboard for the final six innings to highlight a 5-2 upset in a No. 6 vs. No. 3 matchup on Day 3 of the Alaska Legion State Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

This is the first time Bartlett has won two games in the postseason since 2007. This was also the first time Bartlett had defeated South at the state tournament.

The Bears took a 4-2 lead in the fourth inning after scoring three runs on RBIs by Brandal and Connor Sessoms, who later scored to make it 4-2.

Brandal struck out the side in the bottom of the fourth and left after five innings, giving way to Gagnebin.

Gagnebin retired six of seven batters he faced to earn the save, ending the game on a fly ball to left field.

Gagnebin also pitched four innings and picked up the win in Bartlett's 7-3 win in 10 innings over No. 2 Chugiak on Day 1.

Bartlett (15-15, 2-0 Pool)
Nick Brandal 5IP 2R 3K RBI
Corey Gagnebin 2IP SV 3K 1-4 2B RBI
Connor Sessoms RBI
Luke Helgeson 1-2 2R

South (24-8, 2-1 Pool)
Kaden Bevegni 1-4 2RBI
Maddux Soland 2-3
Gavin Partch 1-3 R
Garrett Gross 3.1IP 1R

State Tournament
Game 7 of 15
Service 9, Dimond 1

Jake Rafferty threw 6.1 innings with five scoreless frames and Service Post 28 banged out five extra-base hits in a 9-1 win over Dimond Post 21 on Day 3 of the Alaska Legion State Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Sean Giffen and Coen Niclai each doubled and tripled, and were in the middle of a four-run fifth inning explosion that allowed the Cougars to break away.

Dimond's Garrett Lick ripped an RBI double in the second inning to give the Lynx an early 1-0 lead.

Niclai doubled and scored on Owen Hickman's groundball to tie the game in the fourth inning. Hickman later scored on a passed ball to give Service the lead for good.

Service was 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position before Giffen's RBI's double, Rafferty's RBI single and Niclai's RBI triple in consecutive at-bats.

Dimond's Chase Mathews struck out seven batters over 4.1 innings, including back-to-back Ks looking to end the first inning with a runner on third.

He also ended the third with a strikeout and carried a shutout into the fourth inning.

Service (20-10, 1-1 Pool)
Jake Rafferty 6.1IP 6K 1-3 2RBI
Sean Giffen 3-4 2B 3B 2RBI 2R
Coen Niclai 2-3 2B 3B RBI 3R SB
Owen Hickman 1-3 3RBI SB

Dimond (18-13, 1-2 Pool)
Garrett Lick 1-2 2B RBI
Chase Mathews 4.1IP 7K
Shane Stephan 2-4 SB

State Tournament
Game 6 of 15
South 11, Chugiak 1

Skyler Sugita set the table and Ben Neuberger cleared it as South Post 4 cleaned up with an 11-1 win over Chugiak Post 33 on Day 2 of the Alaska Legion State Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Sugita, the leadoff man, went 3-for-4 with an RBI and four runs scored. Neuberger, the two-hole hitter, went 3-for-4 with a run and four RBIs.

Together, they set the tone for the Wolverines, who improved their winning streak to seven games.

Starter Luke Ivanoff was in complete control, throwing 1-2-3 frames in the first and third innings, and carrying a shutout into the fourth inning.

In the third inning, Kaden Bevegni's bases-loaded walk gave South a 1-0 lead and Isaac Johnson's two-run single made it 3-0. 

The next inning the Wolverines pushed their lead to 5-0 on Neuberger's two-run single.

Chugiak struck for its lone run in the fourth inning after Hunter Rau reached and came home on Michael Boudreau's two-out RBI triple down the right-field line.

In the fifth, Ivanoff tripled and scored and Sugita added a two-run single that opened the flood gates.

South (24-7, 2-0 in Pool)
Ben Neuberger 3-4 4RBI
Skyler Sugita 3-4 4R RBI
Kaden Bevegni 1-2 2RBI
Issac Johnson 1-4 2RBI
Luke Ivanoff 4.1IP 1H 4K 1-2  3B

Chugiak (16-14, 0-2 in Pool)
Michael Boudreau 1-2 3B RBI
Hunter Rau 1-1 R
Gabe Gruszynski 1-2

Matson Invitational

Wasilla 15, West 11

In a game that had 26 runs and 27 hits, Wasilla Post 35 downed West Post 1 in a Matson Invitational title game rematch of 2021, and a state title rematch from 2020. 

The Road Warriors scored at least one run in every inning, including 5 in the bottom of the first. 

Helped out by the steady bat of Pedro Camacho, who doubled and drove in 3, Wasilla had contributions from Jared Venie and Breandan O’Donnell, who had two RBI a piece. 

Venie pitched fantastic in relief, in a game filled with so many runs, he went 3 1/3 innings without allowing one, letting up 1 hit and striking out 6.

Gabe Catternichio led the way out of the leadoff spot for the West side Eagles, going 4-5 with 3RBI. Beckett Stolp also added 3 hits in the effort for Post 1. 

West (8-24)

Beckett Stolp 3-5, 2B, 3R

Gabe Catternichio 4-5 3RBI, 2B

Orion Halliburton 2-4 2RBI

Cyrus Clendaniel 1-3 2RBI, 2B

Wasilla (11-13)

Pedro Camacho 2-4 3RBI, 2B, 2R

Jace Crall 3-4 RBI, BB, 2SB, 3R

Jaren Venie 3.33 IP, 6K, 0ER, 2-3 2RBI

Karsen Spradling 2-4, R, BB

Ketchikan 2, Juneau 0

Colby Hanchey and Johnathan Scobic combined for a complete-game shutout as the Kings advance through the winners bracket in the Matson Invitational. 

No doubt the play of the game, and of the tournament so far, was Hanchey’s diving catch on a Juneau bunt attempt to start a double play in the 6th. 

With no outs and runners at first and second, the Midnight Suns attempted to move the runners into scoring position with a bunt. Being down only two and late in the game, this was a good choice. But Hanchey was ready for it. 

Quick off the mound, Hanchey makes an incredible diving catch by the first base line, then throwing over to Chase Harris at first base to complete the double play. 

The battle of Southeast supremacy was dominated pitching, not just from Ketchikan. 

Pitcher Kai Schmidt and Landon Simonson did their part, allowing one earned run and racking up 8 punch outs. 

An RBI groundout from Ben Phillips and a timely Terik Brown RBI double is all Ketchikan needed. 

The Kings advance to face the Wasilla Road Warriors tomorrow in the winner’s bracket final, with both of the teams with two Matson titles, trying to make it three. 

Ketchikan (8-15)

Terik Brown 3-4 RBI, 2B

Colby Hanchey 4IP, 0ER

Johnathan Scobic 3IP, 0ER

Juneau (14-12)

Kai Schmidt 2-3, BB, SB, 4IP, 6K, 0ER

Olin Rawson 1-3

Landon Simonson 3IP, 1ER

East 10, North Pole 9

The Thunderbirds of Post 34 held off the Post 30 North Pole Wild comeback attempt. After leading 8-1 after the 4th inning, East stayed alive and eliminates the Wild in the 9th annual Matson Invitational. 

East was led by Bryce Erickson on the mound, who pitched 6 1/3 innings, striking out 8. Erickson also had 2 hits along with Andrew Hickman. 

Freshman Blake Yawit went off, reaching base 4 times, starting the game with a leadoff bunt, and ended the game with 3 hits including an RBI triple, scoring Jacob Pruitt which proved to be the game winning run. 

Yawit was also a menace on the base paths, tying an all-time Matson Record with 4 stolen bases. 

North Pole never gave up in the game, once being down 8-1 halfway through the game. Helped out by Jeremiah Forquer’s 4-inning relief performance only allowing 2 runs, North Pole caught up quickly with 5 runs in the bottom of the 5th highlighted by a Dalson Hines 2 RBI double. 

East Post 34 will play Fairbanks Post 11 on Saturday in a loser-out game. 

East (6-25)

Bryce Erickson 6.33 IP, 8K, 2-4, 2B, RBI

Edison Polanco 1-4 3RBI

Blake Yawit 3-4 RBI, Matson Record 4 SB

Andrew Hickman 2-4 RBI, 2B 

North Pole (8-18)

Remy Daravivanh 2-3 

Jeremiah Forquer 4 IP, 2 ER, 5 K

Dalton Hines 1-4 2RBI, 2B

State Tournament
Game 5 of 15
Eagle River 1, Dimond 0

Connor Johnson's sac fly in the bottom of the seventh inning drove in Liam Lierman with the winning run as Eagle River walked off with a 1-0 win over Dimond Post 21 on Day 2 of the Alaska Legion State Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Lierman led off the seventh with a walk and then stole second base before moving to third on Noah Lower's sac bunt. With a runner on third and one out, Dimond was forced to intentionally walk the next two batters to load the bases and hope to turn an inning-ending double play.

Johnson smacked the first pitch he saw to center field, deep enough to score Lierman with the winning run to move the defending state champions to 2-0 in this year's tournament.

Eagle River pitchers Karson Kolberg and Alex Mullen combined on a 2-hit shutout.

Kolberg threw only 56 pitches, incouding a six-pitch gem in the second inning.

This was the Wolves' second 1-0 win in their last three state tournament games, dating back to last year's state title game against South.

Dimond's Garrett Lick pitched five shutout innings to earn a no decision. He also delivered the game's only extra-base hit with a double in the fifth inning.

He made his biggest impact on the bump, striking out for of the first five batters and finishing with a half dozen punch outs.

Ryan Swanstrom pitched a clean sixth inning, getting a flyout with the bases loaded to end the threat. He also banged out his team's other base hit.

Dimond catcher Joe Moriarty threw out a base runner in the third inning.

Eagle River (25-10, 2-0 in Pool)
Karson Kolberg 5IP 2H 0R 1K
Alex Mullen 2IP 0H 0R 2K
Connor Johnson 1-3 SF GWRBI
Liam Lierman 1-2 R 2SB HBP BB

Dimond (18-12, 1-1 in Pool)
Garrett Lick 5IP 0R 6K 1-2 2B
Ryan Swanstrom 1-3 1.1IP

State Tournament
Game 4 of 15
Eagle River 15, Service 5

Connor Johnson drove in five RBIs to set the tone that carried top-seeded Eagle River to a 15-5 victory over Service Post 28 on Day 1 of the Alaska Legion State Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

The defending state champion Wolves didn't look sharp for most of the game but gashed the Cougars pitching staff for seven runs in the bottom of the sixth to end early by mercy rule.

Three Eagle River pitchers combined to issue 10 walks, helping Service put at least two runners on base in each of the first five innings.

Service scored four runs before getting its first hit with one out in the fifth inning. James Ivey singled and later scored to pull the Cougars within 7-4. Sean Giffen’s RBI single made it 7-5.

Johnson had a pair of two-run singles in each of the first and second innings to help Eagle River build an early 6-2 lead.

Josh Thompson, Noah Lower and Liam Lierman each had two RBIs for the Wolves, who touched up five Service pitchers for 14 hits and 15 runs.

Service's loss snapped a seven-game winning streak.
Eagle River  (24-10, 1-0 in Pool)
Connor Johnson 3-5 5RBI
Josh Thompson 2-3 2RBI 3R
Noah Lower 2-4 2B 2RBI 2R
Liam Lierman 2-4 2RBI 2R

Service (19-10, 0-1 in Pool)
Owen Hickamn 1-1 RBI
Sean Giffen 1-3 RBI
Had 7-game win streak snapped

State Tournament
Game 3 of 15
Bartlett 7, Chugiak 3 (10)
Carl Colavecchio's three-run triple in the 10th inning lifted Bartlett Post 29 over Chugiak Post 33 in a 7-3 marathon game that lasted 10 innings on Day 1 of the Alaska Legion State Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.
This not only was an upset with the No. 6 seed taking down the No. 3 Mustangs, but the Bears won their first game at the state tournament since 2013.
Blake Bacho's RBI walk with the bases loaded gave Bartlett a 4-3 lead and then Colavecchio cleared the bases with a triple to the gap.
This was the first time Bartlett beat Chugiak at the state tournament since 2004.
The historic effort was highlighted by several players, including Colavecchio's extra-base laser. Third baseman Luke Helgeson made a beautiful backhand, spin, throw across the diamond play and right fielder Connor Sessoms made a great catch to end the ninth inning and force extras.
And then there was Corey Gagnebin, who pitched four scoreless innings of relief to pick up the win.
Gagnebin also tied the game 1-1 with an RBI single in the fifth inning.
Down 3-1, Chugiak turned aa 6-4-3 double play to end the top of the sixth inning and then tied the game by scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth.
The Mustangs knotted the game at 3 on Jayden Steckel's sac fly that scored Fischer Sims.
This was Bartlett's first win over Chugiak in three meetings this season.
Bartlett (14-15, 1-0 in Pool)
Carl Colavecchio 3-5 3B 3RBI
Corey Gagnebin 4IP 1H 0R RBI
Blake Bacho 6IP RBI
John Grantier 2-5 RBI
Chugiak (16-13, 0-1 in Pool)
Cam Costanios 3IP 0ER 
Preston Rau 4.1IP 4K
Tyler Cage 1-3 2B

West 13 Fairbanks 3

Makai Baylous and Joey Walker combined for 1 run allowed through 5 innings on the mound and a pair of RBI each, as the Eagles topple the 49ers in the opening round of the 9th Annual Matson Invitational. 

West Anchorage (5-12) brought down the rain in the 6th, plating 8 to put the mercy rule into effect and send the Eagles to the winners bracket in the double-elimination tournament.

The pitching staff from the West-siders was helped out by Orion Halliburton all day at shortstop. Making it look easy, including a great diving catch in the 5th to stymie a 49er potential rally. 

Christopher Luskleet provided most of the offense for Fairbanks (6-23), going 2-4 with 2 RBI. 

Ketchikan 10, North Pole 2

Chase Hanis threw a complete game, allowing 1 earned run, for the Ketchikan Kings as Post 3 was victorious over the North Pole 30 Wild in the opening round at the Matson Invitational. 

Ketchikan (6-15) had 6 different players drive in runs, but none bigger than a 2 RBI double by Terik Brown in the 2nd inning. The Kings later added on 5 runs in the final 2 innings to seal it. 

For North Pole (8-17), they had 11 hits including 2 from each of Jorge Pagan, Ethan Frollo, John Haas and Aiden Graetzsch. 

Juneau 9, East 6

Juneau Post 25 scored 4 in the bottom of the 6th to halt the East Thunderbirds upset attempt in the first round of play at the Matson Invitational. 

Porter Nelson had two triples and an RBI to add on to his 3 inning relief on the mound as Juneau (13-11) had a first round scare to the 15 seed Thunderbirds. 

East Post 34 (5-25) had a great day at the plate by the switch hitting power bat or Edison Polanco, who ended with a game-high 3 hits and an RBI. 

Juneau will head the winners bracket in their first time competing in the Matson Invitational since rejoining Alaska Legion Baseball in 2013. 

State Tournament

Game 2 of 15

South 3, Kenai 2

Isaac Johnson pitched six strong innings and watched the South Post 4 bullpen nail it down with a nervous seventh inning to seal a 3-2 win over Kenai Post 20 on Day 1 of the Alaska Legion State Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Relievers Blake Peterson and Hunter Manderson combined to wiggle out of a wild seventh, leaving the bases loaded on a slow chopper to third to end the game. Peterson got the first two outs and Manderson got the save, but it didn't come easy.

Kenai bookended the game with runs, scoring the first with no outs in the first inning and the second with two down in the seventh.

Johnson made it tough for the Twins, scattering three hits and one walk while striking out six. At one point he recorded more outs (10) than he threw balls (9).

In the sixth inning, he helped turn a 1-2-3 double play to escape a two-on, one-out jam.

Kenai's Daltyn Deborski opened the game with a triple on the first swing of the game and scored on a throwing error on the same play.

South's Kaden Bevegni tied the game at 1 with an RBI triple in the bottom of the first.

In the second inning, nine-hole hitter AJ Sawicki and leadoff hitter Skyler Sugita had RBI base knocks to put the Wolverines ahead for good.

Even if Kenai didn't win, the Twins made winning plays. Take the catcher Jacob Belger, who backed up first base and helped turn a 4-6-2-6 double play to end the sixth.

South (23-7, 1-0 in Pool)

Isaac Johnson 6IP 6K

Hunter Manderson SV 1-3 2B R

Kaden Bevegni 1-3 RBI

Ben Neuberger 2-3 2B R

Gavin Partch 2-3

Kenai (15-14, 0-1 in Pool)

Hunter Williams 3IP 0R

Daltyn Deborski 1-3 3B R

Charlie Chamberlain HBP R

State Tournament

Game 1 of 15

Dimond 3, Palmer 2

Miah Eneix, Adam Boyce and Peyton Montagna each had RBIs in an explosive sixth inning that carried Dimond Post 21 to a 3-2 win over Post 15 Palmer on Day 1 of the Alaska Legion State Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Eneix's double tied the game at 1-1, Boyce's sac fly gave his team its first lead and Montagna's infield single provided the winning run.

This was Dimond's first Day 1 win at state since 2018, snapping a three-game losing streak.

The Lynx played solid defense and recorded four outs on the base paths - two rundowns, a pick off and an outfield assist.

That just made life easier for Dimond pitchers Eneix and Alex Bruce.

Eneix pitched the first six innings and struck out nine batters, including a stretch of five consecutive early on.

Bruce earned a one-inning save, getting a pickoff and two strikeouts. He ended the game with a strike out with the tying run on second base.

Palmer took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Koen Leaders' RBI single three batters into the game. 

Brayden Parrent pulled the Pioneers within 3-2 with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Both teams threw out base runners trying to steal home, each time coming with two outs.

Dimond (18-11, 1-0 Pool)

Miah Eneix 6IP 9K 1-2 2B RBI

Alex Bruce 1IP Sv 1-1 2B

Shane Stephan 2-4 4SB R

Peyton Montagna 1-3 RBI

Palmer (15-12, 0-1 Pool)

Landon Guggenmos 6IP 7K

Koen Leaders 1-2 RBI

Brayden Parrent 1-3 RBI

Even though Anchorage’s Brody Jessee knew he would get drafted at some point today, the moment still caught him off guard.

Seeing your name scroll across the bottom of the TV screen will do that.

“It's all kind of just setting in now,” he said after getting picked in the 10th round by the Cincinnati Reds. “It’s very cool.”

It’s also historic.

Jessee was selected with the 303rd overall pick, making him the eighth-highest Alaskan among the 38 players from the state to be taken in the MLB Draft.

When it comes to Anchorage, only Brian Montalbo (4th round, Braves), Jonny Homza (5th round, Padres) and Trajan Langdon (6th round, Padres) have been drafted higher than Jessee.

The 21-year-old rocket right-hander out of Gonzaga University knew he would get drafted because of previous conversations he had had with his agent and scouts from different teams around the league.

“They were projecting second day,” he said.

“I was sitting there watching all of my teammates get drafted and just taking phone calls from everybody, thinking about where I might land and talking to my agent.”

The buildup to the moment he got drafted was crazy as he heard from the Phillies, Reds, Cubs and Yankees.

His phone kept ringing and ringing.

“They were calling talking numbers,” he said. “How about 7th, the 8th? How about 9th, how about after the 10th, trying to figure out what they were going to sign for as the picks were flying by. I was trying to talk to my agent about them, and he was hearing things. It was a whole thing.”

Jessee felt like he was living out a movie about the draft, with plot twists, nervous moments and a happy ending.

“The whole dramatic thing that you see on TV ended up happening to me,” Jessee said with a laugh. “But it was fun. It’s a lot of relief, a lot of excitement. My whole life for the next four or five years got decided today.”

The former South all-star is coming off his sophomore season at Gonzaga, where he ranked second with 18 appearances on a 37-19 team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The 6-foot-4 reliever furnished a 4.58 ERA in 35.1 innings with 48 strikeouts to 19 walks.

“My season itself, result wise, was a little underwhelming for myself just because I had set some lofty goals,” he said.

Still, there were marvelous moments like his two takeover performances, first against No. 4 Oklahoma State and then against West Coast Conference opponent Pepperdine.

He showcased a 97-mph fastball at Oklahoma State, mowing through the order on his way to racking up seven Ks in 3.2 scoreless inning and earning the win in a 2-1 victory.

A month later he racked up a career-high 10 strikeouts in four frames against Pepperdine – the first Alaskan to record double-digit Ks against a NCAA Division I opponent since Sitka’s Matt Way of Washington State had 12 against Washington in 2009.

Jessee finished with 48 Ks, one more than Montalbo had with California in 2001.

“It was kind of a ‘prove it’ season, where scouts could see me go length over four innings, show them that I could be a starter potentially,” Jessee said. “From that standpoint the season went really well.”

Already armed with a flaming fastball and disappearing slider, Jessee this year added a changeup to his arsenal. Having a third pitch to consistently lean on for outs is a game changer for a pitcher. It’s an element he’s worked hard on that didn’t come easy.

“I was always tinkering with a third pitch but I could never really call it my third pitch,” he said. “It just didn’t have a consistent shape and it wasn’t coming off the same, and I’d lose it for months on end.”

But that’s changed with his changeup.

“I’m understanding the way the ball is supposed to move now and how it’s supposed to feel out of the hand,” Jessee said. “I’m learning along the way.

“Compared to everybody I’m competing against, I have minimal experience, so it’s a matter of making every inning count, every bullpen count.”

Jessee didn’t play in a summer league like the ABL, opting instead to wait for the draft and work out with his personal pitching coach, Johnny Meszaros – a former MLB draft pick in 2013 – of Anchorage.

“He started training me after my freshman year in college and that’s the full reason why I’m here now,” Jessee said of Meszaros. “I’ve been training with him, working the slider, working the changeup and just really trying to refine my shapes, and stay healthy, lifting hard and staying on pace.”

Jessee was not ranked among the top 250 players entering the draft, before going No. 303 to Cincinnati.

“(This) definitely validates all the work I put in wasn’t for nothing,” he said. “At least someone, somewhere, sees the value and potential in that, so it’s a nice way for me to get my foot in the door to hopefully play in the bigs someday.”

South Post 4 slugger Luke Ivanoff drove in eight runs Tuesday night to carry the Wolverines to a 13-1 victory over Wasilla Post 35.

Ivanoff hit a grand slam in the first inning at McManus Field and finished with eight RBIs – the most in Alaska Legion since 2017 when Kenai’s Paul Steffensen had seven RBIs.

Ivanoff went 3-for-4 with a home run to lead South’s 12-hit attack in five innings.

Also on Tuesday, the Palmer Post 15 Pioneers beat the Bartlett Post 29 Bears 2-1 and the Fairbanks Post 11 49ers knocked off the North Pole Post 30 Wild 15-3.

At Bartlett, Palmer pitching ace Owen Hayes threw another gem in the win over upstart Bartlett.

Hayes went six innings to earn the win, allowing three hits and striking out three. Bryant Marks threw the final inning to earn the save.

Five days ago, Hayes threw a 6-hit shutout to beat South 6-0.

This time he outdueled Bartlett’s Eli Corwin, who allowed one earned run over 5.1 innings.

In Fairbanks, Dylan Swarthout went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and four stolen bases to highlight the win for the 49ers.

This Week’s Legion AA League Games

South 13, Wasilla 1

South (19-7, 9-4)

Luke Ivanoff 3-4 HR 8RBI SB

Blake Peterson 5IP 6K

Maddux Soland 1-4 2RBI

Gavin Partch 2-3 RBI 3R HBP

Wasilla (9-12, 8-7)

Logan Bean RBI

Colton Haase 1-2 R BB

Breandan O'Donnell 1-2

Palmer 2, Bartlett 1

Palmer (15-10, 9-7)

Owen Hayes 6IP 3H 3K 1-2 BB

Koen Leaders 2-2 2B RBI BB

Landon Guggenmos 1-3 3B R

Nate Wilson R

Bryant Marks 1IP Sv

Bartlett (13-14, 10-6)

Eli Corwin 5.1IP 1ER 2K

Luke Helgeson 1-3 2B R

Corey Gagnebin 1.2IP 0R

Fairbanks 15, North Pole 3

Fairbanks (5-13, 2-10)

Dylan Swarthout 3-4 4RBI 4SB

Olav Moeller 3IP 0H

Bryson Roon 2-3 2RBI

Shawn Conwell 1-3 2RBI

North Pole (7-13, 3-9)

Dylan Earl RBI

Ethan Frollo 3BB R

Hunter Clements 2BB R

Bartlett 10, East 3

Bartlett (13-13, 10-5)

Carl Colavecchio 3-4 2RBI 2R SB

Corey Gagnebin 2-4 2RBI 2R 2SB

Nick Brandal 3.1IP 0R 2-4 SB

Connor Sessoms 1-2 RBI 2SB

East (4-21, 1-13)

Angus Nicholson 1-3 2RBI

Bryce Erickson 6IP 6K 1-2 2B

Blake Yawit 2-3 2R 2SB

Kenai 13, Palmer 6

Kenai (13-13, 7-7)

Jacob Belger 2-4 3B 3RBI

Hunter Williams 2-5 RBI 2.2IP 1ER

Simon Grenier 2-3 2RBI 2R

Gabe Smith 2-5 2RBI

Palmer (14-10, 8-7)

Kaesen Buzby 1-3 2RBI 4IP 3K

Koen Leaders RBI

Owen Hayes 2-4 2B

Landon Guggenmos 2-5 2B 3IP

Dimond 4, Ketchikan 3

Dimond (14-9, 9-4)

Miah Eneix 5IP 1ER 11K

Peyton Montagna 1-4 RBI SB

Joe Moriarty 1-2 2B RBI

Eli Lipinski 2IP 0R

Garrett Lick 2-3

Ketchikan (4-11, 1-10)

Bubba Williams 7IP 6K

Thomas Kroscavage 1-3 2B RBI

Trevor Sayer RBI

Colby Hanchey 1-3 SB

Chugiak 6, South 5

Chugiak (14-10, 11-2)

Preston Rau 7IP 2K

Michael Boudreau 1-1 2RBI

Landon Luebke 1-2 RBI

Connor Lanehart 1-2 2BB SB

South (17-7, 7-4)

Ben Neuberger 2-3 2B 2RBI

Kaden Bevegni 2-4 2RBI

Gavin Partch 1-3 RBI

Luke Ivanoff 3IP 1R

Bartlett 9, Wasilla 0

Bartlett (12-13, 9-5)

Blake Bacho 6IP 1H 5K

Corey Gagnebin 2-4 2B 2RBI 2R 2SB

Carl Colavecchio 2-4 2RBI 1IP

Connor Sessoms 1-3 2B 2RBI

John Grantier 3-4 RBI

Wasilla (9-11, 8-6)

Jace Crall 1-3

Dayton Greer 2.1IP 0R

Jaren Venie 3.2IP 4K

Service 19, Fairbanks 1

Service (16-9, 9-5)

Jake Rafferty 3IP 0H 1-3 3RBI

Sean Giffen 2-4 2B 2RBI 2IP

Hunter Christian 2-4 2B 3R

Landon Martindale 1-3 2RBI 3R

Carson Maltby 3R

Fairbanks (4-13, 1-10)

Grant Swarthout 1-3

Bryson Roon BB

Landon Bicknell-Long BB

Backed by a 23-hit attack, the Napoleon Post 300 River Bandits of Ohio used a late-game rally to propel them to a 22-8 victory in the championship game of the Todd Ryan Memorial Tournament in Wasilla.

The Buffalo Post 270 Cobras of Minnesota and Napoleon combined for 30 runs and 10 extra-base hits.

The teams were tied 7-7 entering the sixth inning before the Bandits got busy.

Napoleon (28-4) scored eight runs in the sixth and six more in the seventh in a 14-run explosion that carried the team to the title.

DJ Newman went 4-for-5 with a home run, double and three RBIs. Wade Liffick was 4-for-5 and drove in two runs.

Sluggers Luke Krouse (2-for-5) and Abram Delano (3-for-6) each had four RBIs.

Buffalo (11-9) banged out 11 hits and tied the game at 7 after scoring four runs.

Evan Soeffker had a game for the ages – home run, two doubles and six RBIs.

Caleb Breuer was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

Buffalo wrapped up its Alaska trip with a 6-6 record, finishing sixth in Anchorage, third in Kenai and second in Wasilla.

Yesterday, the Cobras handed Napoleon its only loss in 12 games in Alaska, snapping the Bandits’ 14-game winning streak in The Last Frontier dating back to 2019.

Napoleon stole the show this year, becoming just the third team in 20 years to win the Alaska Airlines Tournament Tour triple crown in Anchorage, Kenai and Wasilla.

Alaska Airlines Tournament Tour Triple Crown Winners

• 2011 – Napoleon (OH)
• 2015 – Castroville (TX)
• 2022 – Napoleon (OH)

Napoleon became the first team to win the Todd Ryan Memorial Tournament four times, snapping a tie with Wasilla Post 35.

This was the highest scoring tournament title game since 2018, when Lone Peak (UT) beat Ketchikan 18-11.

In 2016, Wasilla beat Lanakila (HI) 15-7.

Todd Ryan Memorial Tournament Champions

• 2022 – Napoleon (OH)
• 2020-2021 – No Tournament
• 2019 – Napoleon (OH)
• 2018 – Lone Peak (UT)
• 2017 – Walla Walla (WA)
• 2016 – Wasilla (AK)
• 2015 – Castroville (TX)
• 2014 – Team Avenue (CA)
• 2013 – Napoleon (OH)
• 2012 – Castroville (TX)
• 2011 – Napoleon (OH)
• 2010 – Rained out
• 2009 – Dimond (AK)
• 2008 – Rained out
• 2007 – Excelsior (MN)
• 2006 – Wasilla (AK)
• 2005 – East (AK)
• 2004 – West Warwick (RI)
• 2003 – Wasilla (AK)
• 2002 – Kenai (AK)
• 2001 – West Warwick (RI)
• 2000 – Service (AK)

Lower 48 teams took over Day 2 of the Todd Ryan Memorial Tournament at McManus Field in Wasilla.

The Buffalo Post 270 Cobras won two games to improve to 3-0 in the tournament, while the Napoleon Post 300 River Bandits of Ohio went 1-1 with a victory over the Palmer Post 15 Pioneers.

The Cobras have been the story in this tournament, taking a bite out of competition for a 31-14 scoring advantage.

They handed Napoleon an 8-5 loss, snapping the Bandits’ 14-game winning streak in Alaska dating back to 2019.

Buffalo (11-8) trailed 5-0 entering the fifth inning before coming alive offensively.

Evan Soeffker went 3-for-4 with a triple, double and three RBIs. Eric Johnson was 2-for-3, scored a run and pitched 1.1 scoreless innings.

Broc Mutterer came out of the bullpen to throw 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.

Make Butler drove in two runs for the Bandits, while DJ Newman was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Wade Liffick added an RBI.

Earlier in the day, Napoleon (27-4) rallied from a three-run deficit to plate six runs in the third inning and pull away from Palmer 10-7.

Napoleon slugger Breven Deckrosh went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.

Deckrosh's dinger at McManus Field in Wasilla was his fourth home run in 11 Legion games in Alaska. He also hit bombs in Anchorage and Kenai.

Nobody had homered in all three tournaments in the same season in 20 years of the Alaska Airlines Tournament Tour before Deckrosh.

Newman was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs, and Nolan Schafer drove in a pair of runs.

Palmer’s Landon Guggenmos went 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs. Bryant Marks continued his torrid tournament, going 2-for-3 with a double and four runs.

Koen Leaders went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs for the Pioneers (10-8).

In the nightcap, Buffalo blanked Wasilla 12-0.

Caleb Breuer was 2-for-2 with a triple, double and two RBIs. Justin Johnson went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Jack Henry pitched four scoreless innings.

Alex Bond, Karsen Spradling and Chase Sivulich had base hits for Wasilla (9-9).

Monday’s Title Game

McManus Field, Wasilla

Napoleon (OH) vs. Buffalo (MN) 12:00pm

The Todd Ryan Memorial Tournament got started at McManus Field in Wasilla with three games.

In the first game, the Buffalo Post 270 Cobras of Minnesota rallied to beat the Palmer Post 15 Pioneers in an 11-9 slugfest.

Buffalo scored four runs in the sixth inning to take the lead for the first time.

Justin Johnson and Evan Soeffker each went 3-for-4 and hit home runs. They also combined for five RBIs.

Eric Johnson had a base hit, an RBI and scored three runs for the Cobras (9-8).

Palmer’s Bryant Marks doubled, tripled and had two RBIs.

Landon Guggenmos and Brayden Parrent each had two base hits, including a double, and combined for three RBIs for the Pioneers.

In the second game, the Napoleon Post 300 River Bandits of Ohio beat up Wasilla Post 35 Road Warriors by a 23-0 score.

Napoleon’s pitching staff extended its scoreless streak to 28 games dating back to tournaments in Anchorage and Kenai.

Luke Krouse went 3-for-3 with five RBIs for the Bandits (26-3).

Tylor Yahraus and Abram Delano each had two hits and three RBIs.

In the third game, Palmer defeated Wasilla 12-7 in Valley grudge match.

The Pioneers plated seven runs in the first inning and never looked back.

Koen Leaders went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and Marks reached base three times and scored twice.

Malachi Mukaabya had an RBI double for Palmer (10-7).

For Wasilla, Colton Haase had two RBIs and two runs scored. Karsen Spradling went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Alex Bond batted 2-for-3 with a double and RBI for the Road Warriors (9-8).

Todd Ryan Memorial Tournament @ Wasilla

Sunday’s Games

McManus Field, Wasilla

Napoleon (OH) vs. Palmer 12:00pm NL

Napoleon (OH) vs. Buffalo (MN) 3:00pm NL

Buffalo (MN) vs. Wasilla 6:00pm NL

If Napoleon Post 300 looked unbeatable at the Alaska 529 Midseason Classic, the River Bandits looked untouchable in Kenai.

The Ohio team outscored opponents 28-0 in four games of the Bill Miller Big Fish Wood Bat Tournament, capped by a 3-0 win over the Kenai Post 20 Twins at Oiler Park.

Napoleon improved to 4-1 in Bill Miller title games since 2008.

Bandits ace DJ Newman spun a 4-hit shutout with eight strikeouts on the bump and went 2-for-4 with a double and RBI in the box.

Earlier this week he was named Midseason Classic MVP. As an encore he was the MVP of the Bill Miller title game.

Newman is a NCAA Division I-bound player headed to Bowling Green State University.

The Bandits (25-3) have four D1 pitchers, and two of them didn't throw.

Nevertheless, Napoleon's staff was lights out in the tournament, recording four straight shutouts and building a 25-inning scoreless streak while improving to 9-0 on its Alaska road trip.

Here's a breakdown of the 25-inning scoreless streak:

• 7 - DJ Newman
• 7 - Jayden Jerger
• 4 - Breven Deckrosh
• 4 - Wade Liffick
• 2 - Abram Deano
• 1 - Dade Robinson

Newman and Nolan Shafer combined for four of Napoleon's five hits as Kenai pitchers Attitcus Gibson and John Brinner pitched well. Gibson started and allowed two runs in four innings, including two scoreless frames. Brinner came out of the bullpen and allowed just one run over two innings.

Malakai Olson, Jacob Belger, Gabe Smith and Hunter Williams had base hits for the Twins (10-8).

Next up for Napoleon will be the Todd Ryan Memorial Tournament at Wasilla, the third and final tournament of its Alaska tour.

Bill Miller Big Fish Wood Bat

Champions Since 2004

• 2022 – Napoleon (OH)
• 2021-2020 No Tournament
• 2019 – Auburn (RI)
• 2018 – Columbia (TN)
• 2017 – Napoleon (OH)
• 2016 – Columbia (TN)
• 2015 – Castroville (TX)
• 2014 – Rained out – Service (AK) vs. Columbia (TN)
• 2013 – Texarkana (TX)
• 2012 – Rained out – Kenai (AK) vs. Columbia (TN)
• 2011 – Napoleon (OH)
• 2010 - N/A
• 2009 - West Warwick (RI)
• 2008 - Napoleon (OH)
• 2007 - N/A
• 2006 - Tuscaloosa (AL)
• 2005 - Niwot (CO)
• 2004 - Gresham (OR)

The Buffalo (MN) Post 270 Cobras came back to beat the Bartlett Post 29 Bears 9-2 in the third-place game of the Bill Miller Big Fish Wood Bat Tournament at Oiler Park.

Buffalo (8-8) trailed until the fourth inning as the bottom of the order orchestrated the comeback.

The team's 6-9 batters went a combined 7-for-13 with five RBIs and six runs scored.

Six-hole hitter Jack Henry was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs; Max Hartke was 1-for-3 with three runs; Caleb Breuer was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Caleb Schwartz was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run.

Buffalo pitchers - starter Caleb Johnson and relievers Brady Anderson and Evan Soeffker - held Bartlett off the scoreboard for the final six innings.

Bartlett's Carl Colavecchio went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. John Grantier went 2-for-3 with a run; he also pitched 1.1 innings.

Colavecchio's base knock gave his team a 2-0 lead in the first inning, a lead the Bears (10-10) held until the fourth inning.

A day earlier, Colavecchio made his season debut on the mound with one inning of work out of the bullpen. The standout pitcher had been hurt since the spring and didn't pitch during the high school season.

Next up for Buffalo will be the Todd Ryan Memorial Tournament at Wasilla, the third and final tournament of its Alaska road trip. The Cobras are 3-6 so far, but two of those losses are to 25-3 Napoleon (OH).

While on the Kenai Peninsula, the team did some fishing and enjoyed themselves off the field. This is why so many teams come to The Last Frontier.

Sometimes it's about more than just baseball.

The Kenai Post 20 Twins pulled out two one-run wins while the Napoleon (OH) Post 300 River Bandits stayed unbeaten in Alaska on the first day of the three-day Bill Miller Big Fish Wood Bat Tournament at Oiler Park in Kenai.

The Twins edged Buffalo (MN) 5-4 with Daltyn Debroski scoring the winning run in the first of two games for Kenai. 

In the nightcap, Gabe Smith came out of the bullpen to throw six shutout to highlight a 3-2 win over Bartlett.

Napoleon - on the heels of winning the Alaska 529 Midseason Classic in Anchorage - continued its winning ways, improving to 7-0 on this trip in The Last Frontier.

The River Bandits blanked Buffalo (MN) 4-0 behind the 1-2 punch of pitcher Jayden Jerger and slugger Breven Deckrosh.

Jerger threw a 3-hit shutout and Deckrosh hit a home run, his third in six games in Alaska.

Napoleon beat Bartlett 10-0 in five innings on the strength of four shutout innings by Wade Liffick.

Game 1
Napoleon (OH) 4, Buffalo (MN) 0

Napoleon (22-3)
Jayden Jerger 7IP 3H 6K
Breven Deckrosh 2-3 HR 3RBI
Nolan Schafer 2-3 3B

Buffalo (6-7)
Taylor Morrissette 6.2IP
Justin Johnson 1-3 2B
Logan LaPlante 1-2 BB

Game 2
Napoleon (OH) 10, Bartlett 0

Napoleon (23-3)
Yylor Yahraus 3-4 2R
Breven Deckrosh 2-2 2B RBI
Wade Liffick 4IP 0H

Bartlett (10-7)
Nick Brandal 1-1 BB
Blake Blacho 4IP 3ER

Game 3
Kenai 6, Buffalo (MN) 5

Kenai (9-6)
Simon Grenier 1-1 2RBI
Daltyn Debroski 2-4 3B 2R
Atticus Gibson 3IP 1ER 

Buffalo (6-8)
Justin Johnson 2-4 2B RBI
Carson Schwartz 1-2 2B BB RBI
Broc Mutterer 4IP 0ER

Game 4
Kenai 3, Bartlett 2

Kenai (10-6)
Gabe Smith 6IP 0ER 5K
Charles Chamberlain 1-3 RBI
Jacob Belger RBI
Atticus Gibson 1-2 2B 2R

Bartlett (10-8)
Eli Corwin 6IP 2ER 6K
John Grantier RBI
Luke Helgeson 1-3 2B R BB

Alaska 529 Midseason Classic @ Mulcahy Stadium Day 4 of 4

Game 17
Title Game
Napoleon (OH) 11, Eagle River 8

The Post 300 River Bandits made tournament history by winning a record fourth title in a slugfest victory to cap a 5-0 showing, beating the top Legion teams from Anchorage along the way.

Napoleon banged out 12 hits, scored in six of the seven innings and led from start to finish.

The team has now won Midseason Classic championships in 2022, 2019, 2013 and 2011 under longtime manager Randy Bachman.

Napoleon (21-3) was uncharacteristically sloppy defensively with five errors, but the River Bandits countered with five extra-base hits.

Breven Deckrosh provided the main power source, going 3-for-4 with a home run, double and three RBIs.

It was his second homer of the tournament, the first time that's happened since Kaleb Keith of Castroville (TX) in 2012.

Deckrosh had an RBI single in the first inning, a RBI doublein the fifth inning and a solo home run in the seventh inning.

Tylor Yahraus went 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs, and Mark Butler was 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Butler's two-run double pushed Napoleon's lead to 10-2.

Napoleon's Luke Krouse had a pair of doubles and drove in a run, capping quite the day for the southpaw sensation.

Earlier in the day, he helped the River Bandits beat Service 8-1 in the semifinals as he carried a perfect game into the seventh inning. He lost his bid at history with one out in the final frame after Service's Sean Giffen doubled down the third-base line.

Napoleon had everything working, advancing to the tournament title game for the fifth time and improving to 27-5 at Mulcahy Stadium since 2005.

Eagle River made the title game interesting after the Wolves came alive with four runs in the fifth inning and two more in the sixth, bringing the tying run to the plate.

Noah Lower led the charge, going 4-for-4 with two RBIs. He singled in each of the first, third, fifth and sixth innings.

Back-to-back RBIs by Lower and Josh Thompson pulled Eagle River (14-2) within 10-8, cutting what was an eight-run deficit down to a deuce.

Eagle River was making its first appearance in the Midseason Classic championship game after winning its first four tournament games, including a 17-9 beat down of Chugiak in the semifinals held earlier in the day.

Alaska 529 Midseason Classic 
All-Time Champions

• 2022– Napoleon (OH)
• 2021-2020 No Tournament
• 2019 – Napoleon (OH)
• 2018 – South (AK)
• 2017 – Walla Walla (WA)
• 2016 – Columbia (TN)
• 2015 – Castroville (TX)
• 2014 – Columbia (TN)
• 2013 – Napoleon (OH)
• 2012 – Columbia (TN)
• 2011 – Napoleon (OH)
• 2010 – Dimond (AK)
• 2009 – Chugiak (AK)
• 2008 – Fairfield (CA)
• 2007 – Chugiak (AK)
• 2006 – Rained out - Tuscaloosa (AL)
•  vs. Dothan (AL)
• 2005 – Niwot (CO)
• 2004 – West Warrick (RI)
• 2003 – San Francisco (CA)
• 2002 – Phoenix (AZ)
• 2001 – West Warrick (RI)
• 2000 – Lewiston (ID)
• 1999 – Service (AK)
• 1998 – Tacoma (WA)
• 1997 – Chugiak (AK)
• 1996 – Yakima (WA)
• 1995 – Kennewick (WA)

Alaska 529 Midseason Classic @ Mulcahy Stadium Day 3 of 4

Game 12
Napoleon (OH) 7, Dimond 1

We won't forget the name Jackson Bergman anytime soon after the big right-hander flirted with the tournament strikeout record in six dominating innings.

The 6-foot-6 pitcher racked up 13 strikeouts, one shy of the record set in 2011 by Zach Ferntheil of Service Post 28.

Bergman allowed three hits and one walk. He struck out the side in the third and fifth innings, and had two Ks in each of the first, second and fourth innings.

The River Bandits (19-3, 3-0 Pool A) banged out 11 hits and flexed some muscle with three doubles and a triple, with two of them coming on back-to-back at-bats.

DJ Newman went 3-for-3 with two doubles, two RBIs, a stolen base and three runs.

Tanner Rubenstein was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and Dan Schmetz was 2-for-3.

Napoleon can beat opponents many ways, like blasts or bloops. Or bunts.

Tylor Yahraus executed a sensational safety squeeze to drive in a run and make it 3-1 in the second inning. Newman's RBI double made it 4-1 in the fourth inning when the River Bandits pulled away.

Dimond flashed some glove love, turning a 5-2-3 double play to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and getting nice catches from left fielder Eli Lipinski to end the second, third, and fourth innings.

Lipinski's best catch was a sliding grab near the warning track to rob slugger Breven Deckrosh of extra bases.

Catcher Kenton Cooke went 2-for-3 and threw out a runner trying to steal second for the Lynx (6-8, 0-3 Pool A).

Game 11
Napoleon(OH) 11, Chugiak 1
Nate Atkins pitched all five innings and Chase Clark drove in four runs, keyed by a three-run triple in the second inning. Clark, Ethan Steinke and Nolan Schafer each went 2-for-3.

Alaska 529 Midseason Classic @ Mulcahy Stadium Day 3 of 4

Game 10
Service 5, Buffalo (MN) 4
Landon Martindale's two-run triple put the Cougars up in the sixth inning and Sean Giffen made it stick with a six-out save.

With the win, Service (10-4, 2-1 Pool B) clinched a spot in Sunday's semifinals while Buffalo will play in the fifth-place game.

Locked in a scoreless pitcher's duel through four innings, the teams warmed up the bats down the stretch.

There were three lead changes in three consecutive at-bats, first with Service taking a 2-0 lead only to see Buffalo storm back for a 4-2 lead only to see Service storm back to reclaim the lead for good.

Martindale mashed a shot over the right-fielder's head to score the go-ahead runs.

Giffen - the only high school graduate among the young Cougars - worked around a runner in scoring position in the sixth inning and wiggled out of a two-on jam in the seventh inning.

Buffalo (5-5, 1-2, Pool B) tied the game in the fifth inning on Justin Johnson's two-run double.

Johnson would later come around to score the go-ahead run followed by another run scored by Evan Soeffker that made it 4-2.

Jack Henry went 2-for-2 with an RBI for the Cobras.

Nine-hole hitter Zach Salonek made his tournament debut and went 2-for-2 with a double and sac bunt.
 

Alaska 529 Midseason Classic @ Mulcahy Stadium Day 3 of 4

Game 9
Eagle River 7, Buffalo (MN) 0
Pitcher Jack Molloy was marvelous, throwing a 1-hit shutout with five strikeouts as the Wolves punched their ticket to Sunday's semifinals.
Molloy was perfect through 11 batters, walked one and never allowed a runner to reach scoring position.
Liam Lierman continued his torrid tournament, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. The Class of 2025 standout is now batting .727 in three games on 8-for-11 hitting with two triples and a double.
Josh Thompson was 2-for-3 with a RBI single in the fifth inning that gave Eagle River (13-1, 3-0 Pool B) a 4-0 lead.
The Wolves jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning with one run coming home on Landon Hudson's single and two on wild pitches.
Buffalo starter Evan Soeffker settled down and threw scoreless frames in the third and fourth inning.
Eagle River - the defending Legion state champion - extended its lead to 5-0 on Charlie Wallace's RBI and took a commanding 7-0 lead on Lierman's two-run triple.
This is Leirman's first taste of the Midseason Classic. His dad Bill played in the tournament's inaugural championship game in 1995 with Chugiak in a 5-4 loss to Kennewick (WA).
Buffalo (5-4, 1-1 Pool B) got its lone base hit from Justin Johnson with two outs in the fourth inning.
Johnson, the catcher, also threw out a runner trying to steal second base in the seventh inning.
Jack Henry drew an eight-pitch walk in the fifth inning and Brady Anderson tossed 2.2 innings of scoreless relief for the Cobras.
Eagle River won two games on Saturday, outscoring opponents 24-0.

Eagle River 17, West 0
Liam Lierman drove in four runs and Charlie Wallace pitched a five-inning shutout as the Wolves outhit West 15-1 in five innings.
Lierman finished 3-for-4, so did Jack Molloy, who added three RBIs. Alex Mullen batted 2-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs for Eagle River.
West's Liam Gunn had his team's lone base hit. Relief pitcher Paul Dittrich didn't allow an earned run in two innings for the Post 1 Eagles (5-11, 0-3 Pool B).

Napoleon (OH) 5, South 3

Wade Liffick drove in Dade Robinson with the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning in the first extra-inning game of the tournament.

Napoleon added another run when Liffick scored on a wild pitch to provide a two-run cushion.

Relief pitcher Jayden Jerger closed it out with a 1-2-3 bottom half of the eighth, ending the game on a flyout to right field.

Jerger pitched the final three innings, striking out five as the Napoleon staff combined for 13 Ks.

Starter DJ Newman had five and reliever Nate Adkins had three - all three coming in the fifth inning and all three called third strikes.

Liffick finished 3-for-4 for Napoleon (17-3, 1-0 Pool A), which got a home run from Breven Deckrosh.

Deckrosh drilled a laser over the left-field wall in a no-doubter that got out in a hurry.

South starter Garrett Gross was good. Better than good, Gross was great.

He struck out Deckrosh to end the sixth inning for his first K of the day.

Gross pitched 7.2 innings, holding a Napoleon team coming into the game hitting .346 to just one run over the first four innings. He followed that up with scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh innings.

Trailing 3-1, South struck for a pair of runs in the sixth inning to tie the game at 3.

It came on a blast and a bloop. First, Luke Ivanoff smoked an RBI double to left center and then Gavin Partch executed a beautiful bunt single to plate the tying run for the Wolverines (11-3, 1-1 Pool A).

Chugiak 6, South 1

Pitchers Tyler Cage, Preston Rau and Jayden Steckel combined on a 6-hitter and carried a shutout into the seventh inning.

The Mustangs struck for four runs at the plate in the top of the first inning and tied the tournament record by turning three double plays in the field.

Landon Luebke's two-run single gave Chugiak a 2-0 lead. Michael Boudreau's RBI groundout made it 3-0 and then Luebke scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0.

The pitchers took it from there.

Cage started and threw 2.1 scoreless innings. Rau entered and threw 3.2 scoreless innings. Steckel closed it out with the final frame for the Mustangs (5-4, 1-0 Pool A).

South scratched out a run across in the seventh inning to avoid being blanked, which was kind of a big deal. The Wolverines have been shut out just one time in the last four seasons - in last year's Legion state title game.

Chugiak will settle for another milestone - first Alaska team not named Eagle River to beat South since Ketchikan defeated the Wolverines 9-4 on July 3, 2021, in Ketchikan.

The Mustangs turned three double plays in each of the first three innings, the first time that's happened in the tournament since 2014 when Columbia (TN) did it in the title game against South.

Chugiak third baseman Connor Lanehart was part of two twin killings, both 5-3 numbers when he fielded a grounder, stepped on the bag and fired across the diamond.

South's Jared Krison drove in the lone run for South (11-4, 1-2 Pool A), scoring Connor Lowe.

Chugiak 7, Dimond 6

Jayden Steckel drove in the winning run in the seventh inning with a sac fly and pitched the final frame for the save as the Mustangs punched their ticket to Sunday's semifinals.

Fischer Sims' two-run single put Chugiak up 5-4 in the seventh and Steckel's sac fly made it 7-4.

Relief pitcher Cam Costanios picked up the win with two innings of work. The hard-throwing southpaw was wild, but effective.

Other standouts for Chugiak (6-4, 2-0 Pool A) included Colter Thomas and Andrew Gruszynski.

Thomas, a mid-game substitute in right field, threw out a runner at the plate trying to score from second base in the seventh inning, preserving his team's 7-6 lead.

Gruszynski started the game in right field but moved to catcher in the fourth inning after Hunter Rau left with an apparent shoulder injury. Gruszynski ended the sixth inning after backpicking a runner off first base.

Dimond took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning after Alex Bruce singled in Eli Lipinski and later scored on a wild pitch.

Lipinski started on the mound and pitched 6.1 strong innings, striking out eight batters and picking off two baserunners.

In the fifth inning, Chugiak stormed back with three runs and went ahead 3-2 after Gruszynski doubled and scored on Costanios' RBI single.

Dimond (6-7, 0-2 Pool A) responded with a pair of runs to take a 4-3 lead, keyed by Chugiak errors. Pama Brito singled and scored and Miah Eneix walked and later scored.

Buffalo (MN) 11, West 0

Taylor Morrissette was masterful, striking out seven batters and allowing only one hit in four innings of work on a day when his team won in five.

Morrissette fanned five of first six batters and retired the first 10. He also had a four-pitch third inning.

The Post 270 Cobras (5-3, 1-0 Pool B) struck for eight runs with two outs in the first inning, highlighted by Broc Mutterer's two-run single, Logan LaPlante's two-run single and Caleb Brewer's two-run double.

Mutterer and Max Hartke each had three RBIs. Justin Johnson went 2-for-3 with a double.

West's Evan Fitzgerald had one of his team's two base hits and threw out a runner trying to steal second base.

Cyrus Clendaniel broke up Morrissette's no-hit bid with a soft single with one out in the fourth inning.

Relief pitcher Makai Baylous allowed just two runs over three innings for the Post 1 Eagles (5-9, 0-1 in Pool B).

He entered an 8-0 game and kept things respectable the rest of the way, throwing strikes and trusting his defense.

Service 13, West 0

Coen Niclai, Sebastian Fournier and Chase Mascelli each drove in two runs to lead an 8-hit attack.

Owen Hickeman and Landon Martindale combined to throw a five-inning shutout.

Hickman struck out five of the first nine batters he faced for Service (9-4, 1-1 Pool B).

Niclai now has five RBIs in two tournament games. Carson Maltby walked five times, scored three times and stole two bases.

Fournier finished 2-for-4 with a double, stolen bag and two runs.

Sean Giffen, Kolby Jensen and Hickman also had RBIs.

Cyrus Clendaniel and Michael Halpern banged out base hits for West (5-10, 0-2 Pool B).

Alaska 529 Midseason Classic

Pool A

2-0 Chugiak

1-0 Napoleon (OH)

1-2 South

0-2 Dimond

Pool B

1-0 Eagle River

1-0 Buffalo (MN)

1-1 Service

0-2 West

SCORES & SCHEDULE

THURSDAY

South 15, Dimond 13

Eagle River 9, Service 8

FRIDAY

@ Mulcahy Stadium

Buffalo (MN) 11, West 0

Service 13, West 0

Napoleon (OH) 5, South 3 (8)

Chugiak 6, South 1

Chugiak 7, Dimond 6

SATURDAY

@ Mulcahy Stadium

9:15am Eagle River vs. West

11:30am Eagle River vs. Buffalo (MN)

2:15pm Service vs. Buffalo (MN)

5:00pm Napoleon (OH) vs. Chugiak

7:30pm Napoleon (OH) vs. Dimond

SUNDAY

Consolation Games @ K fields

10:00am 7th Place Game B4 vs. A4 @K3

10:00am 5th Place Game A3 vs. B3 @K4

Championship Round @ Mulcahy

1:00pm Semifinals B2 vs. A1

3:30pm Semifinals A2 vs. B2

6:30pm Championship Game

There was no such thing as a comfortable lead on Day 1 of the Alaska 529 Midseason Classic at Mulcahy Stadium.

South held off Dimond 15-13 after leading 15-7 in the seventh inning.

Eagle River survived Service 9-8 after leading 9-2 in the fourth inning.

Both winners improved to 1-0 in this the first of three pool-play games to set the table for Sunday’s championship round.

In Pool A, South’s Skylar Sugita went 2-for-2 with a double, two sac flies, three runs and three RBIs.

He also pitched four innings of relief to pick up the win.

Kaden Bevegni went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs. His double in the fifth inning gave South a 9-6 lead.

Isaac Johnson – better known for his pitching – flashed a hot bat with a 2-for-2 day with three RBIs.

South Post 4 (11-2, 1-0 Pool A) banged out six extra-base hits, including a triple by Ben Neuberger.

Dimond Post 21 (6-6, 0-1 Pool A) got RBIs from seven players, including Garrett Lick, who went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs.

Pama Brito went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and Miah Eneix added two RBIs.

The teams combined for 24 hits across seven innings and set a tournament record for most runs in a game.

In Pool B, Eagle River rode some two-out magic to hold off the Post 28 Cougars.

The Wolves scored seven runs with two outs, including three by Jack Molloy and two by Liam Lierman.

Molloy finished 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. His two-run two bagger in the third inning gave Eagle River a 4-1 lead.

In the fourth inning, the Wolves (11-1, 1-0 Pool B) struck for five runs thanks to seven straight batters reaching base on six hits and a walk.

Noah Lower recorded a one-inning save, getting the final two outs with the tying run in scoring position.

Service’s Coen Niclai went 3-for-4 with a home run, double and three RBIs.

With his team down 9-2, he launched a rocket to left field to ignite a rally.

In the sixth inning, Carson Maltby and Nicali delivered back-to-back RBIs to get Service (8-4, 0-1 Pool B) within a run.

Alaska 529 Midseason Classic
Pool A

1-0 South
0-0 Dimond
0-0 Napoleon (OH)
0-1 Dimond
Pool B

1-0 Eagle River
0-0 Buffalo (MN)
0-0 West
0-1 Service

THURSDAY

South 15, Dimond 13

Eagle River 9, Service 8

FRIDAY
@ Mulcahy Stadium

9:15am Buffalo (MN) vs West

11:30am Service vs. West

2:15pm South vs. Napoleon (OH)

5:00pm South vs. Chugiak

7:30pm Dimond vs. Chugiak

SATURDAY

@ Mulcahy Stadium

9:15am Eagle River vs. West

11:30am Eagle River vs. Buffalo (MN) 

2:15pm Service vs. Buffalo (MN) 

5:00pm Napoleon (OH) vs. Chugiak

7:30pm Napoleon (OH) vs. Dimond

SUNDAY

@ Mulcahy Stadium

10:00 B4 vs. A4 (@K3)

10:00 A3 vs. B3 (@K4)

1:00pm Semifinals B2 vs. A1

3:30pm Semifinals A2 vs. B2

6:30pm Championship Game

The Alaska 529 Midseason Classic has a new sponsor and a new name, but the tournament remains the granddaddy of the Alaska Legion Baseball summer series.

It all gets started today with the first of four days at Mulcahy Stadium. The tournament wraps up with Sunday night's championship game.

Five of the eight teams in the field are former winners, giving this year’s event a ‘Tournament of Champions’ vibe.

The three-time champion Napoleon River Bandits of Ohio are back, looking to add to its collection of titles from 2019, 2013 and 2011.

They will be joined by fellow three-time winner Chugiak, the only team from Alaska with multiple titles (2009, 2007, 1997).

Other winners from The Last Frontier that are in this year's field include South (2018), Dimond (2010) and Service (1999).

Rounding out this year’s field will be the Buffalo Cobras of Minnesota in addition to West and defending Alaska state champion Eagle River.

Alaska 529 Midseason Classic
Past Winners
2021-2020 No Tournament
2019 – Napoleon (OH)
2018 – South (AK)
2017 – Walla Walla (WA)
2016 – Columbia (TN)
2015 – Castroville (TX)
2014 – Columbia (TN)
2013 – Napoleon (OH)
2012 – Columbia (TN)
2011 – Napoleon (OH)
2010 – Dimond (AK)
2009 – Chugiak (AK)
2008 – Fairfield (CA)
2007 – Chugiak (AK)
2006 – Tuscaloosa (AL)
            Dothan (AL)
2005 – Niwot (CO)
2004 – West Warrick (RI)
2003 – San Francisco (CA)
2002 – Phoenix (AZ)
2001 – West Warrick (RI)
2000 – Lewiston (ID)
1999 – Service (AK)
1998 – Tacoma (WA)
1997 – Chugiak (AK)
1996 – Yakima (WA)
1995 – Kennewick (WA)

Bartlett Post 29 won the Midnight Sun Tournament with a 12-2 win over Fairbanks Post 11 in the title game.

John Grantier pitched six inningsand drove in two runs in a player-of-the-game performance.

He scattered six hits and one walk while striking out a half dozen.

The Golden Bears improved to 7-5 on the season, a huge improvement for a team that has averaged just 4.4 wins over the last five years.

Luke Helgeson and Corey Gagnebin each went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Connor Sessoms went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI, and Wyatt Rust was 2-for-3 with a run.

Dylan Swarthout of Fairbanks pitched five innings and recorded a base hit.

Grant Swarthout was 2-for-2 with a run and RBI, and Chris Luskleet also had an RBI.

The Midnight Sun Tournament is the first of four stops on the Alaska Airlines Tournament Tour. Next up is the Alaska 529 Midseason Classic, which starts Thursday and runs through Sunday night's championship  game.

After that the Tour goes to Kenai for the Bill Miller Big Fish Wood Bat Tournament and then the Todd Ryan Memorial tournament in Wasilla.

Santa Clara slugger Michael Diaz homered and drove in three runs to power the Anchorage Bucs to an 8-0 victory over the Legion camp all-stars in the annual Sladen Mohl Game at Mulcahy Stadium.

The left-handed hitting Diaz launched a moon shot to right field in the fifth inning that landed on the Kosinski field beyond the wall and across the street. It was impressive.

The only other extra-base hit of the game came off the bat of another Santa Clara batter in Jon Jon Berring, who ripped a two-run double over the right-fielder’s head in the seventh inning.

The Bucs of the Alaska Baseball League scored five runs in the final two innings. Before that, however, the Legion all-stars battled to keep the game close.

The game was a culmination of the four-day College Coaches Camp, which celebrated its 28th year.

Eli Lipinski of Dimond Post 21 and Liam Lierman of Eagle River each threw scoreless frames and each recorded a strikeout – the only two Ks for the Legion staff.

Andrew Hickman of East Post 34 retired the only batter he faced to end the fifth inning.

Eagle River’s Alex Mullen could have thrown a scoreless frame but a two-out error with the bases loaded led to a pair of unearned runs.

It was the only error of the game.

Bucs starter Peyton Stiers from Parkland Community College was sensational, pitching four hitless innings and facing the minimum of 12 batters. He racked up five strikeouts, four of them looking.

The only baserunner Stiers allowed was a leadoff walk to Lierman to open the game, but Lierman was easily erased trying to steal second base by Oklahoma State-bound catcher Derek Smith, a 2022 high school grad from Scottsdale, Arizona.

For Lierman, playing in the game for the first time carried special significance as the College Coaches Camp is named after his grandfather Bill Lierman Sr. and the camp director is his father Bill Lierman Jr.

Stiers gave way to reliever Chandler Brooks, who closed it out for a three-inning save.

Dimond’s Shane Stephan delivered the Legion team’s lone base hit with one down in the fifth inning, hitting a slow roller deep in the hole for an infield single. It was a clean hit.

The Bucs featured several familiar faces in former Legion players Reid Brock, Ricky Gatter and Dylan Maltby.

Brock played the whole game at second base and went 0-for-1 with two walks, including an 11-pitch battle with his former teammate Gavin Partch of South Post 4.

Gatter went the whole way at shortstop and made two beautiful plays, including one in the hole to rob Palmer Post 15’s Brayden Parrent of a base hit in the third inning.

Maltby played the entire game at third base and made several slick, on-the-move throws, and robbed Chugiak Post 33’s Hunter Rau of a base hit in the sixth inning.

For the Legion all-stars, right fielder Carl Colavecchio of Bartlett Post 28 and Lierman both made web gems with nice catches on the run.

Cooper Irinaga and Bailey Layral drove in runs and Shawn Conwell pitched a clean inning for the Legion camp all-stars during a 9-3 exhibition loss to the Fairbanks Goldpanners at Growden Park.

The Goldpanners banged out 12 hits and got six strong innings from pitcher Jake Taylor, who also had an RBI.

The game was a culmination of the two-day College Coaches Camp in Fairbanks, featuring players from North Pole Post 30 Wild and the Fairbanks Post 11 49ers.

Hunter Clements led the Legion all-stars with a 3-for-4 effort. Irinaga and Layral had RBIs to fuel a two-run frame in the sixth inning.

Taylor scattered seven hits and three runs while striking out 10.

Conwell started for the Legion all-stars and pitched a scoreless first inning. Reliever Chris Luskleet took the loss.  

Among the Panners with base hits were former Legion players Alex Garcia and Alex Troppman.

The annual Midnight Sun Tournament begins late tonight, with the Wild hosting the 49ers at 12:05 a.m. at Arco Field.

Brody Jessee’s sophomore season at Gonzaga University was historic by Alaska baseball standards.

There were incredible individual performances like his 10 strikeouts against Pepperdine and his lights-out outing at fourth-ranked Oklahoma State.

There were also accomplishments like his 48 strikeouts on the season, tied for seventh on Alaska’s all-time top 10 list among players at the NCAA Division I level.

His 18 appearances, 1.53 WHIP and 4 wins were also good enough to break into the top 10 while he just missed with a 4.58 ERA, which he trimmed by a full run over the final month of the season.

Jessee played a pivotal role on a 37-19 Zags team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament and was eliminated in the Blacksburg Regional.

The hard-throwing reliever ranked second on the team with 18 appearances, illustrating his importance coming out of the Zags’ bullpen.

He showcased a 97-mph heater against Oklahoma State, mowing through the order on his way to racking up seven Ks in 3.2 inning and earning the win a 2-1 victory in one of the greatest pitching performances by an Alaskan on the college stage.

A month later he registered a career-high 10 strikeouts against Pepperdine – the first Alaskan to record double-digit Ks against a Division 1 opponent since Sitka’s Matt Way of Washington State had 12 against Washington in 2009.

Jessee finished with 48 strikeouts in 35.1 innings, one more than Anchorage’s Brian Montalbo had with Cal-Berkeley in 2001 and seventh on the all-time list.

MOST STRIKEOUTS BY ALASKAN IN NCAA DIVISION I SEASON
124 – Matt Way (Sitka) Washington State 2009
76 – Corey Madden (East) St. Mary’s 2006
69 – Anton Maxwell (East) Oregon State 2005
68 – Matt Way (Sitka) Washington State 2008
62 – Chad Bentz (Juneau-Douglas) Long Beach State 2001

Last season, he cracked the top-5 with 4 saves. This year, he cracked the top-10 in wins and appearances.

In just two seasons, Jessee has established himself as one of the best college pitchers from Alaska.

He is one of three guys from the state – joining Matt Way and Kenai’s Mike Smith – to collect 7 wins and 4 saves at the Division 1 level.

Jessee ranks ninth all-time with 36 appearances and seventh with a 4.69 ERA.

Most impressive, though, is how quickly he’s climbed into the top-5 on Alaska’s all-time strikeout list. Jessee already ranks No. 4 and is the only reliever on the list, surrounded by MLB Draft picks.

MOST STRIKEOUTS BY ALASKAN IN NCAA DIVISION I CAREER
239 – Matt Way (Sitka) Washington State 2006-2009
134 – Brian Montalbo Cal-Berkeley (Dimond) 2001-2003
114 – Anton Maxwell (East) Oregon State 2005-2007
*85 – Brody Jessee (South) Gonzaga 2021-2022
84 – Corey Madden (East) St. Mary’s 2005-2006
*-Active

South has turned into a baseball factory and senior Curtis Hebert is the latest star to earn Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year honors.

This makes five winners in seven years for the Wolverines.

The NCAA Division I signee at Portland produced an outstanding season on the mound, behind the dish and at the plate to help South finish 26-0 and capture a second straight state championship.

South also extended its state-record winning streak to 44 games dating back to 2019 when he was a freshman in high school.

Hebert won state player-of-the-year honors, threw the 15th no-hitter in Cook Inlet Conference history and matched the conference record with eight RBIs in one game.

At pitcher, Hebert posted a 4-0 record with one save in six appearances and a 0.00 ERA in 26 innings. He struck out 46 batters and walked 20.

The right-hander didn’t allow a base hit on the season until the second inning of the state title game, ending a hitless streak of 20.2 innings.

Hebert batted .429 batting on 30-of-70 hitting in 26 games. He drove in 27 runs, scored 22 and stole 22 bags. He had 10 extra-base hits, including a pair of home runs.

His versatility and efficiency are what separate him from the other players in the state.

Hebert’s future might be at catcher, where he has developed nicely and has a rocket of an arm. His throws on stolen-base attempts are so precise his infielders barely have to move their glove.

Hebert started catching when he was 13 but played the position off and on until this year.

He credited former MLB draft pick Johnny Meszaros of Anchorage for accelerating his progression over the last two years.

Gatorade Alaska Baseball Player of the Year
2022 – Curtis Hebert, South
2021 – Dylan Maltby, South
2020 – Leland Wilson, West
2019 – Jacob Woodall, South
2018 – Michael Cesar, Juneau-Douglas
2017 – Jonny Homza, South
2016 – Jonny Homza, South
2015 – Nathan Bonck, Ketchikan
2014 – Scooter Bynum, Monroe Catholic
2013 – Erickson Fish, Sitka
2012 – Zach Ferntheil, Service
2011 – Adam Manzer, West
2010 – Dylan Baker, Juneau-Douglas
2009 – Ross Venneberg, Sitka
2008 – Joe Kohan, Juneau-Douglas
2007 – Ryan Skillern, South
2006 – Chad Nading, East
2005 – Zach Mixson, Juneau-Douglas
2004 – Craig Thibodeaux, Chugiak
2003 – Anton Maxwell, East
2002 – Antoine McLeod, East
2001 – Corey Madden, East
2000 – Brian Montalbo, Dimond
1999 – Chad Bentz, Juneau-Douglas

Alaska 529 is an education savings plan designed to make it easy for families and friends to save for education in and out of Alaska. Their new incentive programs Dash to Save and Dash to Save More offer unique benefits that are aimed at reducing the burden of paying for higher education.

For more than 20 years they have been committed to providing families with the tools for success when it comes to Alaska's youth and that is exactly why we are grateful for their sponsorship of Alaska Legion Baseball. 

While it may seem like our focus is on the ballfield, the goal of our organization is to provide after school and summer programs that will provide Alaska's youth with the life skills that will help them succeed in whatever path they choose.

We also strive to open as many doors as possible for players to continue playing baseball at the next level and potentially earn a scholarship towards a higher education. With this goal in mind The Alaska 529 became the perfect organization to partner with and what better way to highlight our common goals than to award players with the Alaska 529 Smart Play/Player of the Game.  

This award is given to one player from each team during each live streamed game, which can be watched on www.alaskalegion.com.  

Alaska 529 Midseason Classic is back and better than ever. With the continued support of Alaska 529, we are excited to announce that this year's Alaska Legion AA tournament will feature six of the top teams from the state as well as teams from Buffalo, Minnesota; and Napoleon, Ohio.  

This year's field is sure to turn up the heat for the last weekend in June.

We want to thank Alaska 529 for all they do for families across the state and especially for their continued support of Alaska Legion Baseball.

Curtis Hebert pitched a complete-game gem and the Wolverines capped a 26-0 season with a 6-0 victory over Sitka in the championship game of the ASAA Division I state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

With the win, South pushed its state-record winning streak to 44 games and secured the Cook Inlet Conference team's second straight championship and fifth in school history.

Hebert tossed a 4-hitter with eight strikeouts, needing 117 pitches to record 21 outs.

He retired nine of the first 11 batters and eight of the final nine in a dominating performance. He allowed only one runner to third base, and that was because of a balk.

Five different South players had RBIs and the Wolverines scored in each of the final four frames to pull away from the Southeast Conference champions.

Hebert drove in the game-winning run as well with a third-inning groundout that made it 1-0. Ben Neuberger added another RBI groundout to make it 2-0.

A sac fly by Kaden Bevegni in the fourth inning pushed South's advantage to 3-0.

Neuberger doubled to open the fifth inning to signal the end of the road for Sitka starter Bryce Calhoun, a freshman who didn't wilt under pressure.

The slow-throwing southpaw mixed breaking balls beautifully to keep the Wolverines off balance and give the Wolves (15-8) a chance.

It never happened.

Hebert snuffed it out, shutting down a Sitka offense that had scored 20 runs over the first two games of the state tournament. The right-hander got stronger as the game went and racked up more strikeouts in the second half of the game, including five of the last eight batters.

Calhoun pitched four innings and kept South off the scoreboard in the first two innings, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the first thanks to a 4-6-3 double play. He in the second inning he got Oliver Brown to ground out with a runner in scoring position. No small task.

In the end, South just had too much. Too much pitching, too much hitting, too much depth. Not just for Sitka, but the entire state of Alaska.

Koen Leaders went 4-for-4 and Drake Gallagher drove in four runs as Colony doubled up Chugiak 14-7 in the third-place game of the ASAA Division I state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Colony banged out 12 hits and improved to 3-1 against Chugiak all-time at the state tournament dating back to 2009.

Leaders, Colton Haase and Brayden Parrent also had two RBIs for the Knights (12-6).

Colony had four extra-base hits as Nate Wilson, Leaders, Gallagher and Karsen Spradling doubled, and Bryant Marks tripled.

Chugiak got doubles from Andrew Gruszynski, Hunter Rau, Tyler Cage and Landon Luebke.

Cage's RBI single tied the game at 3 in the third inning. Gruszynski, a center fielder, threw out a runner at the plate for the Mustangs (14-9).

Jesse Loughman pitched a 108-pitch complete game with eight strikeouts and got two double plays behind him as Ketchikan beat Wasilla 5-1 in the fourth-place game of the ASAA Division I state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Loughman scattered seven hits and two walks and gave up his lone run in the fifth inning, when the Warriors had a runner reach third base for the first time in the game.

Van McGarrigan, Kyle Klinger and Max Malouf had RBIs for the Kings (17-7).

This game was a rematch of the 2019 state title game won by Wasilla, 8-6.

Wasilla's Jace Crall and Logan Bean each went 2-for-4 and combined for their team's lone run with Crall knocking in Bean.

Reliever Colton Savala threw three scoreless frames, third baseman Alex Bond turned a 5-3 double play after catching a liner and catcher Pedro Camacho make a slick bare-handed snag on a pop up for the Warriors (16-8).

NCAA Division 1 signees Oliver Brown and Curtis Hebert each had two hits, a two-bagger and two RBIs to spearhead a Wolverines’ offense that continues to be in sync as seven different players recorded base hits.

Brown, who is headed to Holy Cross in the Patriot League, played his usually steady game at shortstop, in the box and on the bases. He has a smoothness about his game, making the tough plays look easy.

Take the grounder he fielded in the second inning when he threw a bull’s-eye of a throw on the move, off one leg. Later in the frame he doubled and later scored from third base on a wild pitch, just beating the play at the plate.

He added a two-out, two-run single in the third inning that made it 7-1, scoring Hebert and Ben Neuberger.

Undefeated defending state champion South (25-0) extended its state-record winning streak to 43 games and will play in Saturday’s state title game against Sitka (15-7).

South’s early-strike offense was the perfect complement to the pitching of starter Luke Ivanoff and reliever Gavin Partch, who danced around trouble all night as Colony left 10 runners on base.

Ivanoff scattered six hits and four walks over six innings. His catcher, Hebert, threw out a baserunner at second base and Ivanoff turned a double play after catching a line drive and doubling up the runner at first base. Ivanoff also escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third, and Partch wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth.

Colony's Karsen Spradling went 3-for-4 and scored on Bryant Marks' two-out single in the third inning.

Knights' starter Koen Leaders went the whole way and kept South off the scoreboard in each of the final three innings, including a five-pitch sixth inning.

The Colony defense produced several web gems by the catcher (Marks), first baseman (Malachi Mukaabya), center fielder (Nate Wilson) and left fielder (Colton Haase). 

Colony (11-6).will play in tomorrow's third-place game against Chugiak (14-8).

Dylan Marx doubled, tripled and drove in five runs to lead Sitka’s 9-hit attack as the Wolves came alive late to pull away from Chugiak 12-3 in the semifinals of the ASAA Division I state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Marx finished 4-for-6 and scored three runs to help Sitka reach the state final for the first time since 2017. The Wolves ranks No. 2 in Alaska high school baseball history with five championships, one behiond archrival Juneau-Douglas.

Sitka (15-7) will play in tomorrow’s state final against the winner of the other semifinal between South and Colony.

Sitka trailed 3-1 going into the sixth inning before turning the game on its head, kickstarted by Marx’s three-run, bases-clearing triple to put the Wolves ahead for good. He scored on a balk to make it 5-3.

The Wolves weren’t done feasting on the Mustangs, chewing up three relief pitchers for seven runs in the seventh inning. Marx again came up big with a two-run double. At one point, five straight Sitka batters recorded RBI.

Sitka starter Grady Smith was sensational, throwing a 90-pitch complete game with five scoreless frames. He ended the game by retiring nine of the final 12 batters.

Marx didn’t just swing a smoking hot bat he also made the defensive play of the game in the sixth inning when he threw out a Chugiak baserunner from right field trying to go first to third base.

Chugiak led 3-1 after five innings.

Michael Boudreau went 2-for-3 and scored a run. Fischer Sims and Gabe Gruszynski each singled and scored.

Mustangs' starter Landon Luebke allowed one unearned run in the first 3.2 innings and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning.

The Mustangs turned two double plays, including an 8-3 twin killing after center fielder Andrew Gruszynski caught a flyout and doubled up the runner at first base, beating the runner trying to score from third base to negate a run.

Chugiak (14-8) will play in tomorrow's third-place game.

Wasilla 8, Eagle River 7

Logan Bailey scored from third base on Pedro Camacho’s bunt with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning as Wasilla walked off with an 8-7 victory over Eagle River in consolation action on Day 2 of the ASAA Division I state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Wasilla scored two runs in the seventh inning after Eagle River had scored two runs in the top of the seventh.

The game featured six lead changes.

Bailey, who got the win in relief, doubled and scored on Camacho’s RBI single to five Wasilla a 6-5 lead in the fifth inning.

In the seventh, Eagle River took a 7-6 lead after Dallin Roberts and Noah Lower walked and later scored. Roberts scored on a passed ball and Lower came home on Landon Hudson’s groundout.

Camacho went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and threw out a baserunner from behind the plate. Bailey went 2-for-4 with two runs and Jace Crall had two RBIs.

Eagle River’s Alex Mullen had three RBIs, Josh Thompson went 2-for-4 and Lower scored twice and made a beautiful bare-handed grab on Alex Bond’s chopper to short and threw him out.

Wasilla (16-7) advanced to Saturday’s fourth-place game. Eagle River (15-6) saw its season come to a close. The teams split their two-game series this season.

Ketchikan 10, Service 9

Kegan Moore's two-run double in the sixth inning proved to be the difference as Ketchikan rallied from a six-run deficit in an 10-9 victory over Service in consolation action on Day 2 of the ASAA Division I state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Down 6-0 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, the Kings caught fire with a 10-run rally over the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

Van McGarrigan had an RBI triple and two-run double in the come-from-behind win in the first-ever meeting in high school baseball between Service and Ketchikan.

Ketchikan tied the game at 6 on Kyle Congdon's bases-loaded walk, then scored a run on a wild pitch and another on a passed ball before Moore's two-out, two-run single to make it 10-6. Moore also got the win in relief.

Service pulled within 10-8 in the seventh inning on Landon Martindale's two-run triple and got within 10-9 on Sebastian Fournier's RBI bloop single.

The Cougars' bullpen blew it for starter Owen Hickman, who carried a shutout into the fourth inning and left with a 6-1 lead.

Ketchikan (16-7) has advanced to the fourth-place game against Wasilla (16-7) in a rematch of the 2019 state title game.

Service - a team with zero upperclassmen - lost both games at the state tournament by one run to finish the season 12-8.

Isaac Johnson spun a six-inning 2-hitter and the Wolverines ended the game early after scoring six runs in the sixth to wrap up Day 1 of the ASAA Division I state tournament with an 11-1 victory at Mulcahy Stadium.

Johnson allowed the first three batters to reach and fell behind 1-0 on a sac fly before going in shutdown mode. He allowed only two baserunners the rest of the way, tossing shutout frames over the final five innings. He struck out seven and pushed his personal record to 8-0.

South extended its state-record winning streak to 42 games and will play in Friday’s semifinals against Colony in a rematch of last year’s state title game.

Oliver Brown and Ben Neuberger each drove in three runs for South (24-0) while Sean Giffen had two RBIs and Carson Maltby and A.J. Sawicki had one RBI.

Catcher Curtis Hebert went 2-for-2 with a triple, two runs and a beautiful head-first dive to grab a pop up behind the plate.

Brown's two-run triple in the sixth inning made it 8-1. Brown also drove in a run on a sac fly - one of three by South; the others came on flyouts by Neuberger and Maltby.

Ketchikan (15-7) came into the game hitting .317 as a team but hit the wall against Johnson, going 2-for-20 against the right-handed ace.

Colby Hanchey doubled and scored his team's lone run. He also pitched five innings, getting glove love from his catcher, Dylan Nedzwecky, who threw out a baserunner in the first and third innings.

Jayden Steckel drove in two runs and pitched a three-out save to help Chugiak defeat Wasilla 7-5 on Day 1 of the ASAA Division I state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

The game featured six lead changes, with the Mustangs plating two runs in the top of the seventh to pull ahead for good.

Chugiak Tyler Cage and Fischer Sims set the table for the seventh-inning rally and Gabe Gruszynski and Seth Strange knocked in the go-ahead and insurance runs.

Strange, the nine-hole hitter, reached base three times, scored two runs and had an RBI for the Mustangs (14-7).

Starting pitcher Preston Rau racked up the win with six strong innings, scattering eight hits.

His battery mate Hunter, who doubles as his younger brother, threw out two baserunners behind the plate and the Mustangs turned a 6-3-5 double play.

Wasilla (15-7) got two RBIs apiece from Pedro Camacho and Alex Bond. Camacho had run-scoring base knocks in the first and third innings. Bond's two-run single tied the game at 5 in the sixth inning.

Steckel ended the game after getting back-to-back outs with the tying run on first base.

Dylan Marx drove in the tying run in the sixth inning and threw a shutout frame in the seventh inning to seal the deal and secure Sitka’s 8-6 victory on Day 1 of the ASAA Division I state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Sitka rallied from a 6-4 deficit in the bottom of the sixth with a four spot, capped by Tanner Stinson’s two-out, two-run single.

Sitka (14-7) has advanced to the state semifinals for the first time since 2017.

The Wolves had three players with two hits in Marx, Nik Calhoun and Chance Coleman. Coleman, the nine-hole hitter, added an RBI and run.

Calhoun pitched five innings, allowing just two hits while racking up a half dozen strikeouts. The right-hander dominated the first four innings and retired 10 straight at one point.

Meanwhile, the offense was doing its part, building a 3-0 lead through four innings on the strength of RBIs from Bridger Bird and Coleman.

Eagle River (15-5) scratched across a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning and Sitka answered with a run in the bottom half.

The sixth inning was crazy, with each side making a comeback.

Eagle River scored two runs and got the benefit of two bang-bang plays on fielder's choice to extend the inning. That's when nine-hole hitter Charlie Wallace ripped a two-out, two-run single on the eighth pitch of the at-bat to put the CIC power ahead 6-4.

A year ago, Eagle River beat Sitka 12-1 in the first round of state. With the Wolves storming back to take the lead, it looks like maybe Eagle River just had Sitka's number.

It didn't happen.

Sitka flipped the script with a barrage of base hits in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by two-run base knocks by Marx and Stinson.

Bryant Marks led off the eighth inning with a triple and scored on Brayden Parrent's RBI single as Colony survived and advanced after edging Service 5-4 in extra innings on Day 1 of the ASAA Division I state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Marks and Parrent combined for all five RBIs and relief pitcher Zephon Rhowmine picked up the win with 1.2 innings.

Marks was 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs after his bases-loaded double in the third inning gave Colony a 3-0 lead.

Parrent was the next batter and singled in Marks to make it 4-0. That combo came up clutch again in the eighth inning to push Colony (11-5) into Friday's final four.

Parrent finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs while Colton Haase, Karsen Spradling and Koen Leaders scored runs.

Haase started on the mound and threw 6.1 innings on 100 pitches. He scattered four hits and six walks while striking out four.

Service (12-7) forced extra innings after scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh, keyed by Jake Rafferty's two-run double on an 0-2 count.

The Cougars tied the game when Rafferty scored on a two-out error.

Rafferty was remarkable, striking out 10 in five innings. At one point he struck out five straight batters. The big right-hander also struck out the side in the second and fourth innings.

His only hiccup came in the third inning after he loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batsman to bring up Marks, who left a mark with his extra-base knock.

Rafferty's 2-hit, 3-RBI, 10-strikeout performance was strong. His double-digit Ks was the most at the ASAA D1 state tournament since 2018 when South's Gage Webster had 13 Ks and Ketchikan's Cody Kemble had 10.

Michael Sculley pitched two innings of scoreless relief and Hunter Christian retired three straight batters with Parrent standing on second base in the eighth inning to thwart further damage.

There are no gimmies in the first round of the ASAA Division I baseball state tournament.

All four first-round matchups pack a punch as the road to the championship begins Thursday at Mulcahy Stadium.

The most intriguing opener pits defending state champion South Anchorage (23-0) against Southeast power Ketchikan (15-6) in a marvelous matchup between title contenders.

The Wolverines feature NCAA Division I signees Curtis Hebert (Portland) and Oliver Brown (Holy Cross) and are riding a state-record 41-game winning streak that dates back to 2019.

Hebert is an elite pitcher, catcher and hitter who was named CIC MVP after rewriting the record book. He pitched the 15th no-hitter in league history and tied the league’s single-game RBI record of 8.

The right-hander hasn’t allowed an earned run in 19 innings on the mound. At the plate, he’s batting .403 on 25-of-62 hitting with 2 home runs and 24 RBIs in 23 games.

Brown is a sharp shortstop and skillful baserunner who is batting .371 on 23-of-62 hitting with 32 runs, 26 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. A closer on the mound, he posted a 1-0 record and two saves with a 0.00 ERA and 11 strikeouts in seven innings.

South pitchers Isaac Johnson (0.41 ERA, 38 IP) and Luke Ivanoff (0.71 ERA, 28.1 IP) have combined to go 13-0 this year. Meanwhile, Ketchikan counters with a terrific trio of Van McGarrigan (2.49 ERA, 50.2 IP), Jesse Loughman (4.14 ERA, 44.0 IP) and Colby Hanchey (2.58 ERA, 35.1 IP).

Ketchikan is hitting .317 as a team to fuel an offense averaging 8.1 runs per game. Big bats Dylan Nedzwecky (.469 BA, 35 RBIs) and Loughman (.348 BA, 31 RBIs) lead the way while table setter Hanchey (.330 BA, 44 runs) has made 124 plate appearances this year – more than some varsity kids get in a career.

South and Ketchikan have met twice previously at the state tournament, with South winning in 2018, Ketchikan in 2012.

Schedule Change

ASAA made a slight change to the schedule, flipping time slots of the first two matchups to accommodate Sitka’s late-arriving travel. As a result, Colony/Service was moved to 10 a.m. and Sitka/Eagle River will now play at 1 p.m.

First National Bank Alaska

ASAA Division I State Tournament

At Mulcahy Stadium

10am - Colony (10-5) vs. Service (12-6)

1pm - Sitka (13-7) vs. Eagle River (15-4)

4pm - Wasilla (15-6) vs. Chugiak (13-7)

7pm - Ketchikan (15-6) vs. South (23-0)

Other First Round Previews

• Colony is making its fifth straight appearance at state while Service is back for the first time since 2017. This matchup is a clash of styles as Colony wins with offense and Service wins with defense. The Knights are led by Koen Leaders (.403 BA, 23 RBIs, 1.69 ERA) and Brayden Parrent (.409 BA, 22 RBIs). The Cougars, who received the lone at-large berth, own a .963 team fielding percentage. Owen Hickman (.409 BA) is one of five starters with a .600+ on-base percentage. Colony and Service have never met at the state tournament.
• Sitka and Eagle River will square off in the first round of state for the second straight year. Eagle River won last year’s meeting 12-1 for the team’s first victory in just its second appearance at the state tournament. This game has serious star power between Sitka’s Nick Calhoun (.471 BA, 32 SB) and Eagle River’s Noah Lower (.365 BA, 0.81 ERA). Sitka, the smallest school in the Division I field, has won 24 of 31 games all-time at state for a .774 winning percentage.
• Wasilla and Chugiak both finished the season on a tear, ripping off identical 7-2 records over the final nine games. Will Plowman (.455 BA) and Pedro Camacho (24 RBIs) are top hitters for Wasilla, which averages 9.6 runs per game and has four players with 20 RBIs or more. Chugiak’s Jayden Steckel (.444 BA), Michael Boudreau (.342 BA) and Hunter Rau (22 RBIs) spearhead the offense. Steckel also went 4-2 on the mound and a steady third baseman. Wasilla beat Chugiak 13-1 in the semifinals of the 2019 state tournament, their only other postseason meeting.

Notable Stat Leaders

BATTING AVERAGE

.471 (32-68) – Nik Calhoun, Sitka

.469 (45-96) – Dylan Nedzwecky, Ketchikan

.455 (20-44) – Will Plowman, Wasilla

.444 (20-45) – Jayden Steckel, Chugiak

.429 (21-49) – Bridger Bird, Sitka

.412 (21-51) – Ben Neuberger, South

.409 (18-33) – Owen Hickman, Service

.409 (27-66) – Brayden Parrent, Colony

.403 (25-62) – Curtis Hebert, South

.403 (25-62) – Koen Leaders, Colony

.381 (16-42) – Drake Gallagher, Colony

.377 (20-53) – Bryant Marks, Colony

.371 (23-62) – Oliver Brown, South

.365 (19-52) – Noah Lower, Eagle River

.364 (12-33) – Jack Molloy, Eagle River

.358 (19-53) – Alex Bond, Wasilla

.351 (13-37) – Connor Lanehart, Eagle River

.349 (15-43) – Connor Johnson, Eagle River

.348 (31-89) – Jesse Loughman, Ketchikan

.343 (24-70) – Kaden Bevegni, South

RBI

35 – Dylan Nedzwecky, Ketchikan

32 – Garren Henning, Sitka

31 – Jesse Loughman, Ketchikan

29 – Nik Calhoun, Sitka

26 – Oliver Brown, South

24 – Kaden Bevegni, South

24 – Pedro Camacho, Wasilla

24 – Jace Crall, Wasilla

24 – Curtis Hebert, South

23 – Koen Leaders, Colony

22 – Brayden Parrent, Colony

21 – Alex Bond, Wasilla

21 – Hunter Rau, Chugiak

20 – Logan Bailey, Wasilla

19 – Bridger Bird, Sitka

19 – Colby Hanchey, Ketchikan

19 – Nate Wilson, Colony

RUNS

44 – Colby Hanchey, Ketchikan

32 – Oliver Brown, South

30 – Colton Haase, Colony

29 – Logan Bailey, Wasilla

27 – Bubba Williams, Ketchikan

26 – Will Plowman, Wasilla

24 – Ben Neuberger, South

24 – Bryant Marks, Colony

23 – Pedro Camacho, Wasilla

23 – Hunter Christian, Service

23 – Van McGarrigan, Ketchikan

23 – Wyatt Walling, Wasilla

STOLEN BASES

32 – Nik Calhoun, Sitka

26 – Garren Henning, Sitka

20 – Logan Bailey, Wasilla

17 – Bubba Williams, Ketchikan

16 – Karsen Spradling, Colony

15 – Colby Hanchey, Ketchikan

14 – Oliver Brown, South

14 – Will Plowman, Wasilla

14 – Syker Sugita, South

13 – Drake Gallagher, Colony

12 – Brayden Parrent, Colony

11 – Hunter Christian, Service

10 – Sean Giffen, South

10 – Jonathan Scoblic, Ketchikan

10 – Jayden Steckel, Chugiak

INNINGS

50.2 – Van McGarrigan, Ketchikan (2-0, 2.49)

44.0 – Jesse Loughman, Ketchikan (1-0, 4.14)

43.0 – Isaac Johnson, South (7-0, 0.41)

35.1 – Colby Hanchey, Ketchikan (2-0, 2.58)

28.1 – Luke Ivanoff, South (6-0, 0.71)

27.2 – Grady Smith, Sitka (1.27)

27.0 – Nik Calhoun, Sitka (0.51)

27.0 – Jayden Steckel, Chugiak (4-2, 4.14)

25.0 – Jace Crall, Wasilla (5-0, 3.76)

25.0 – Preston Rau, Chugiak (3-2, 2.24)

24.1 – Dayton Greer, Wasilla (1-1 2.88)

24.0 – Landon Luebke, Chugiak (3-1, 2.30)

22.0 – Zephon Rhowmin, Colony (1-0, 1.56)

22.1 – Koen Leaders, Colony (1-1, 1.69)

19.0 – Curtis Hebert, South (3-0, 0.00)

19.0 – Jake Rafferty, Service (3-1, 1.84)

17.2 – Noah Lower, Eagle River (2-1, 0.81)

16.1 – Josh Westerman, Chugiak (1-0, 1.71)

15.1 – Bryce Calhoun, Sitka (3.65)

14.0 – Jack Molloy, Eagle River (2-0, 1.50)

13.2 – Dalton Smith, Eagle River (1-0, 2.56)

11.0 – Michael Sculley, Service (1-0, 0.63)

STRIKEOUTS

48 – Isaac Johnson, South

43 – Luke Ivanoff, South

39 – Nik Calhoun, Sitka

38 – Van McGarrigan, Ketchikan

34 – Curtis Hebert, South

34 – Jayden Steckel, Chugiak

25 – Colton Haase, Colony

25 – Grady Smith, Sitk

22 – Colby Hanchey, Ketchikan

21 – Jake Rafferty, Service

21 – Jarem Venie, Colony

20 - Koen Leaders, Colony

20 – Preston Rau, Chugiak

Trivia Question

Who was the last player to hit a grand slam and pick up the winning decision at pitcher in the state tournament title game?

The answer will be revealed during Third Inning Trivia in Thursday’s 1 p.m. live stream on nfhs.com with broadcaster Nate Sagan.

For the fourth time in five years, a player from South has earned MVP honors in the Cook Inlet Conference.

Senior all-star Curtis Hebert earned the 2022 Don Rabung MVP Award in a vote by head coaches over fellow finalists Oliver Brown of South and Noah Lower of Eagle River.

Hebert was a trifecta of terrific as an elite pitcher, catcher and hitter. He pitched the 15th no-hitter in CIC history and tied the league’s single-game RBI record of 8.

The right-hander hasn’t allowed an earned run in 19 innings on the mound. At the plate, he’s batting .403 on 25-of-62 hitting with 2 home runs and 24 RBIs in 23 games.

Hebert was also selected first-team pitcher and first-team catcher.

He’s the seventh South player to win MVP honors, including recent winners Jacob Woodall in 2019, Lian Lincoln in 2018 and Jonny Homza in 2017.

CIC MVPs Per School

8 - East

8 - Service

7 - South

4- Chugiak

4 - Dimond 

1 - Bartlett

1 - Eagle River

1 - Bartlett

Hebert was the MaxPreps Preseason Player of the Year and has signed to play NCAA Division I baseball at the University of Portland.

Brown was first-team shortstop and second-team pitcher while Lower was first-team utility and first-team pitcher.

South’s Isaac Johnson won the Wade Blasingame Top Pitcher Award. The right-handed ace posted league hits in wins (7), innings (34) and strikeouts (48).

Recent Top Pitcher Award winners from South include Parker Johnson in 2017 and Brody Jessee in 2019.

Bartlett outfielder Carl Colavecchio had a big night, taking home the Big Stick Award and sharing the Gold Glove Award with Service middle infielder Sebastian Fournier.

Colavecchio hit .420 on 21-of-50 hitting with 16 RBIs, 14 runs and seven-extra base hits in 18 games.

Colavecchio is the second Bartlett player to win the Big Stick Award, joining first baseman Logan Williams in 2015. He’s the fifth Golden Bear to win a Gold Glove.

Fournier is the fourth Service player to win a Gold Glove, the first since shortstop Jake Ridley in 2012.

The stars came out for the South baseball team in the Cook Inlet Conference Tournament title game.

The terrific trio of Isaac Johnson, Oliver Brown and Curtis Hebert played a huge role in helping the No. 1 seed Wolverines hold off No. 2 Eagle River 3-2 at Mulcahy Stadium to run their state-record winning streak to 41 games dating back to 2019.

Johnson dominated on the mound and carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, Brown drove in the winning run with a two-run triple in the fifth inning and Hebert threw out two baserunners behind the plate and then took the mound and earned a three-out save.

Eagle River held South (23-0) off the scoreboard for the first four innings, turned two double plays, hit a home run – and lost.

Baseball can be cruel sometimes.

Not if you’re a South fan, though. The Wolverines all season have showcased big bats, a dynamite defense and bionic arms on their way to racking up ten mercy-rule wins.

All of the games haven’t been easy, and when challenged, they have responded like a championship team. Thursday was no different, holding off an Eagle River (15-4) team that has challenged South better than any team in the state, losing three of the last four head-to-head matchups by 1 or 2 runs.

It helps to have three college-ready stars in Johnson (NCAA Division II Concordia University St Paul), Brown (NCAA Division I Holy Cross) and Hebert (NCAA Division I Portland).

With his team trailing 1-0 in the fifth inning, South’s Carson Maltby smacked a one-out double to get the party started. One out later, Skyler Sugita laid down a beautifully executed drag bunt for an infield since that advanced Maltby to third.

First came a bloop, then a blast.

Brown crushed an opposite-field, two-run triple to the right-center gap to score Maltby with the tying run and Sugita with the go-ahead run. It was a rocket shot that you don’t see off the bat of many high school players.

Unsung hero A.J. Sawicki of South provided what proved to be the game-winning run when he doubled in Luke Beard all the way from first base in the sixth inning. Earlier this season Sawicki filled in for Sean Giffen at second base and the defense didn’t miss a beat. Here, he didn’t miss the pitch.

A 3-1 lead with Johnson on the bump usually spells doom for opponents. Even though he trailed most of tonight’s game 1-0 after a runner reached on an error and later scored on a wild pitch in the second inning, the 6-foot-4 rocket right-hander was in total command.

He had three 1-2-3 frames and retired 13 of 16 in one stretch, with two of those runners being erased by his catcher, Hebert, catching two runners stealing second base.

He got Eagle River’s big stick Noah Lower to ground out to end the sixth inning in a best-on-best matchup to take his no-hit bid into the seventh inning.

Eagle River slugger Connor Johnson led off the seventh inning and turned on a fastball, crushing a solo home run that bounced off the top of the wall in left-center, some 365 feet away. This was his second bomb in three games.

Eagle River’s first hit came on the South ace’s 87th pitch.

Hebert closed it out with a runner in scoring position, striking out the final two batters to earn the save.

Johnson didn’t just hit a bomb for the Wolves; the slick second baseman also made a bare-handed snag on the flip from shortstop to turn a 6-4-3 double play in the second inning and was part of another DP in the fourth inning.

Both teams already punched their tickets to the next week’s ASAA Division I state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Chugiak (13-7) become the third CIC team to earn an automatic berth to state after doubling up Dimond 8-4 in the tournament’s third-place game.

The Mustangs pieced together four straight two-out base knocks to take the lead for good in the fourth inning and Josh Westerman delivered a remarkable relief pitching performance.

Westerman pitched six strong innings, scattering eight hits and allowing one run. He held the Lynx in check long enough for Chugiak to warm up on offense.

The same could be said for Steckel, who went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs. He also turned an unassisted double play to snuff out a fourth-inning rally.

He also delivered one of the RBI singles by the Mustangs in the fourth inning when seven straight batters reached base with two outs. Fischer Sims, Carter McCormick and Michael Boudreau also came up clutch with a little two-out magic.

Sims finished 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs. Andrew Gruszynski was hit by a pitch twice and scored two runs and twin brother Gabe Gruszynski got hit by a pitch and scored a run.

Dimond banged out 10 hits, led by Shane Stephan’s 4-for-4 night. Stephan batted 9-for-14 in four CIC Tournament games and played superb shortstop with several web gems.

Luke Ivanoff outdueled Logan Smith in a battle of flamethrowers and when the smoke cleared South's winning streak reached 40 after a 5-2 victory in the Cook Inlet Conference Tournament semifinals at Mulcahy Stadium.

Ivanoff was incredible, striking out 11 over a 99-pitch complete-game performance. He scattered four hits and four walks but also struck out nine of nine batters in one stretch.

Smith was sensational despite one forgettable inning, not allowing a base hit until his 96th pitch when beat out an infield single deep in the hole at short.

Together, Ivanoff and Smith made opposing batters look like tourists - combining for 11 caught-looking strikeouts.

Smith struck out two hitters in the bottom of the second. Ivanoff struck out two in the top of the third.

Smith struck out the side in the bottom of third. Ivanoff struck out the side in the top of the fourth.

The win advanced South to next week's ASAA Division I state tournament and punched its ticket to tomorrow night's CIC championship game against Eagle River at 7:30.

South (22-0) scored four runs in the fourth inning without the benefit of a base hit after the first six batters reached base - BB, HBP, BB, BB, HBP, E5.

The Wolverines tacked on another run in the fifth inning aided by Oliver Brown's walk, Giffen's single and Ben Neuberger's sac fly - South's first RBI in the last 10 innings dating back to last weekend.

Smith allowed one hit and struck out eight over five innings.

Two weeks ago, South swept Dimond in a doubleheader by a combined score of 26-0.

But this is a much different Lynx squad. 

Confidence restored after winning four of its last five, including back-to-back tournament games.

Peyton Montagna went 2-for-3 with a run, Eli Lipinski smacked a two-run double and Smith walked twice. Shane Stephan singled and scored.

Dimond (8-11) will play Chugiak in tomorrow's CIC Tournament third-place game at 5 p.m.

Alex Mullen and Dalton Smith combined for a 4-hitter and Josh Thompson drove in the winning run as No. 2 Eagle River pulled away to beat No. 3 Chugiak 6-1 in the Cook Inlet Conference Tournament semifinals at Mulcahy Stadium.

Mullen started and pitched 4.2 innings to earn the winning decision before giving way to Smith, who recorded a seven-out save.

The win punched Eagle River's ticket to next week's ASAA Division I state tournament as well as a trip to tomorrow night's CIC championship game against South at 7:30.

The Wolves got there by beating crosstown rival Chugiak for the third time this season.

With two outs and two on in the fourth inning of a 1-1 game, Thompson ripped a single to center field that scored Jack Molloy, who just beat the relay home in a play at the plate.

Eagle River (15-4) added two more runs in the fifth inning on RBIs from Connor Lanehart and Charlie Wallace.

Meanwhile, Mullen was mowing. After allowing an unearned run in the second inning, he retired nine straight batters before issuing a base on balls to Fischer Sims with two outs in the fifth inning.

Another walk signaled the end of the road for Mullen, who was replaced by Smith, a freshman, who got a strikeout to end the threat.

Smith pitched around a single in the sixth and then closed it out with a game-ending double play, thanks to shortstop Landon Hudson.

Eagle River’s two-run sixth inning was straight out of Hollywood as three-hole hitter Noah Lower - arguably the CIC's top hitter - laid down a surprise bunt with runners on second and third, with Thompson breaking from second base and never breaking stride to come around to score. It was reminiscent of the final play in the movie ‘Major League’.

Chugiak (12-7) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning after Tyler Cage doubled and scored on the third baseman's error. The Mustangs threatened with two on in the the fifth and seventh innings, but no dice.

The Mustangs will face Dimond in the CIC Tournament third-place game tomorrow night at 5.

They say you always see something different at the ballpark and today was no different as this game featured four outs on the base paths, three double plays and a batter's interference call.

Chugiak’s brother battery of pitcher Preston Rau and catcher Hunter Rau stole the show.

The No. 3 Mustangs’ twin powers took center stage in their team’s 2-1 victory over No. 6 West in the second round of the CIC Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium, as Preston threw a 70-pitch complete game and Hunter threw out two baserunners.

Preston Rau enjoyed a five-pitch first inning, had three baserunners wiped away on the basepaths, benefited from a 6-4-3 double play and racked up a trio of 1-2-3 frames.

West starter Caden Greenhalgh was just as sharp, holding the Mustangs off the scoreboard with five straight shutout frames.

The pitcher’s duel lasted all of 1 hour and 19 minutes.

Both teams did all of its scoring in the first inning before the pitchers turned Mulcahy into a bagel factory, exchange zeroes on the scoreboard.

West’s Beckett Stolp singled on the first pitch of the game. Cyrus Clendaniel singled on the second pitch of the game. By the third pitch, it was 1-0 on Orion Halliburton’s sac fly. Two pitches later the inning was over on a double play.

Chugiak tied the game after Jayden Steckel doubled down the third-base line and later scored on Hunter Rau’s sac fly. Michael Boudreau, who had walked, eventually scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-1.

From there, Preston Rau was rocking and rolling. He retired eight straight before Clendaniel singled in the fourth inning – and then got erased by Hunter Rau’s rocket right arm.

In the sixth inning Stolp singled and met the same fate on the basepaths as Hunter Rau chopped him down at second base.

Chugiak’s left fielder Carter McCormack made a head-first diving catch to rob Gabe Caternicchio of a base hit in the sixth inning to deny the Eagles a first and third situation, maybe even saved a run.

The next batter bounded a ball to shortstop Gabe Gruszynski, who went to third for the 6-5 putout to wipe away a runner in scoring position.

Preston Rau was loving it. He struck out four and walked zero over his sensational seven-inning performance.

Greenhalgh – who threw a no-hitter earlier this season – suffered a tough-luck loss as he struck out seven over six innings and didn’t allow a run after the first inning.

With the win, Chugiak advanced to tomorrow’s 5 p.m. semifinal against No. 2 Eagle River.

Garrett Lick and Alex Bruce set the tone that carried the No. 5 Lynx to a 5-3 victory over No. 4 Service in the second round of the CIC Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Lick ripped a two-out, two-run single in the top of the first inning and then made a diving catch on a pop up and was part of an inning-ending double play in the bottom half of the first.

Meanwhile, Bruce took it from there, pitching a complete-game with five scoreless frames and five strikeouts to keep Dimond’s season alive.

The Lynx will face top-seeded South in tomorrow’s 7:30 p.m. semifinal.

Dimond also got a sensational night from shortstop Shane Stephan, who played flawless in the field. He started a 6-4-3 double play in the first inning, saved a run with a beautiful play to end the second inning and was money on five other putouts.

He was so good he helped turn a 1-6-3 single play that looked like a double play. Bruce fielded a comebacker with a runner on second base and threw it to Stephan in an attempt to start a rundown, but Stephan fired to first base for the out.

Bruce scattered five hits and five walks and got error-free defense behind him. He walked the first two batters of the third inning before settling in and retiring the next seven straight batters.

After giving up runs in the fifth and sixth innings he shut the door in with a 1-2-3 seventh.

Stephan made the defensive play of the game in the second inning when he robbed Andrew Hickman of an RBI single after diving to snag a grounder, jumping up and throwing a rocket to first base.

Meanwhile, Service’s steady defense looked shaky at times and it cost the Cougars. They made back-to-back errors in the third but escaped after third baseman’s Jake Rafferty turned a 5-3 double play. A dropped pop up doomed them in the fourth inning as it opened the door to more Dimond runs as the Lynx took a 4-0 lead.

Joe Moriarty and Pama Brito collected those RBIs. Another Moriarty RBI in the fifth inning pushed Dimond’s lead to 5-0.

Service’s Payton Cole went 2-for-2 with a double, run and RBI. He doubled and scored in the fifth inning on Coen Niclai’s RBI and drove in a run in the sixth inning to score Owen Hickman, who had doubled, to make it 5-3.

This was Dimond’s first win in three meetings over Service on the year.

Ryan Swanstrom pitched a one-inning save, drove in a run and made a sensational catch in left field to highlight No. 5 Dimond in a 10-7 victory over No. 8 Bartlett in the first round of the CIC Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Starter Eli Lipinski earned the winning decision and went 2-for-5 with three RBIs for Dimond, which advanced to tomorrow's second round against No. 4 Service.

Dimond scored in every inning and held off a spirited Bartlett squad that scored the most runs versus the Lynx since 2006.

Luke Hoen tripled and scored on Pama Brito's RBI groundout for the winning run, making the score 8-5 in the fourth inning.

Swanstrom made maybe the defensive play of the year in the CIC when he made a diving catch and threw the ball all the way to first base to double up the runner for a rare 7-3 double play.

Lipinski's RBI gave Dimond a 4-1 lead in the second inning as the Lynx looked to repeat their 10-0 win over Bartlett earlier this season.

But the Golden Bears weren't going away.

Bartlett’s Carl Colavecchio’s RBI groundout made it 4-2 as he drove in both of his team’s first two runs. John Grantier’s triple drove in a run and he scored on an error to tie the game at 4.

Stephan and Lipinski each delivered RBIs in the third, just like they did in the second, to put Dimond ahead for good at 7-4.

But in the fifth inning, Bartlett pulled within 8-7 on Alex Egoak’s sac fly. And in the seventh inning the Bears brought the tying run to the plate with runners on second and third before Swanstrom ended the threat and the game.

Michael Tillman and Makai Baylous combined on a shutout as No. 6 West blanked No. 7 East 3-0 in the first round of the CIC Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Tillman struck out nine over six innings and Baylous earned the save with a white-knuckle seventh inning for the Eagles, who advanced to tomorrow’s second round game against No. 3 Chugiak.

Tillman and East starter Bryce Erickson were both dynamite, matching each other strikeout for strikeout through the first three innings.

Erickson didn’t allow a base hit until his 71st pitch with one out in the fourth inning.

Tillman didn’t allow a base runner to reach scoring position on his watch, getting glove love from his defense in the form of two double plays and a caught stealing.

Beckett Stolp walked to lead off the bottom of the first inning and eventually scored on a wild pitch for the game's first run.

West eight-hole hitter Sam Ziersel's RBI single in the fourth inning made it 2-0 and Gabe Caternicchio's two-strike, two-out base knock pushed West's cushion to 3-0.

East outhit West 8-3.

Jacob Pruitt, Kenton Cooke and Andrew Malone each had two hits for the T-birds. Malone threw out a base runner at third base in the first inning and Juan Franco made a nice bare-handed flip for an out in the sixth inning.

East's offense, which had been quite all night, came alive in the seventh inning.

Erickson reached after getting hit by a pitch, which ended Tillman's night. Baylous entered the game and struck out the first batter on three pitches before giving up back-to-back hits by Cooke and Austin Johnson.

But the Eagles cut down a run at the plate for the second out and Baylous ended the game with a strikeout.

Chugiak 16, East 1

Hunter Rau raked, going 3-for-3 with 5 RBIs to highlight Chugiak's four-inning victory at Mulcahy Stadium.

Jayden Steckel drove in three runs and scored twice while starter Landon Luebke and Preston Rau combined for a 2-hitter.

Other players with RBIs included Shayden Davis, Michael Boudreau, Luebke and Tyler Cage for the Mustangs (11-6, 5-2 CIC).

East's Austin Johnson doubled and Angus Nicholson tripled.

Kaleb Wegg drove in his team's lone run and Blake Yawitt scored for the T-birds (3-13, 1-6 CIC).

East also made some nice defensive plays, converting a 1-3 tagout after the ball hit starter Andrew Malone in the foot and ricocheted to first baseman Nicholson.

Willy Nunez made two web gems, finishing off a 6-2-5 rundown and making a beautiful throw on the move for another out.

South 9, Bartlett 0
Starter Issac Johnson fired a 3-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts in a dominating performance at Mulcahy Stadium.

But maybe the biggest star was Bartlett pitcher Nick Brandal, who came on in relief and tossed five consecutive shutout innings against the CIC's first-place team.

Brandal came on with the Golden Bears down 8-0 with one out in the first inning in what looked like a laugher.

He wasn't playing around, though.

Brandal allowed one run to score before throwing up a bunch of goose eggs in an excellent effort.

He pitched a 1-2-3 second inning, struck out two batters in the third inning and saw his defense cut down a run at the plate in the sixth inning.

South's 3-hole hitter Curtis Hebert - who has really come on in the last two weeks - went 4-for-4 with a double and three RBIs for the Wolverines (21-0, 7-0 CIC).

Sean Giffen went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs. AJ Sawicki was also 2-for-4 and Oliver Brown 2-for-3.

Bartlett's Eli Corwin went 2-for-3, including a single on the first pitch of the game. Luke Helgeson also had a base hit for Bartlett (6-11, 0-7 CIC).

Eagle River 11, West 1
Connor Johnson hit a big fly and Landon Hudson finished with four RBIs as Eagle River won by mercy rule in five innings at Mulcahy Stadium.

Johnson ripped a solo home run in the third inning to push his team's lead to 5-1.

Hudson, the No. 9 hitter, doubled in a pair of runs in the second inning and added an two-run single in the fifth inning.

Starter Karson Kolberg and reliever Josh Thompson combined for eight strikeouts for Eagle River (14-3, 6-1 CIC).

Kolberg also drove in two runs, as did Liam Lierman, who also scored twice.

West's Beckett Stolp went 2-for-2 with a walk and Gabe Caternicchio drove in a run for the second straight game.

The Eagles (4-15, 2-5 CIC) also turned a 5-4-3 double play in the fourth inning.

Today's CIC Schedule
At Mulcahy Stadium
4pm Bartlett vs. South
7pm East vs. Chugiak

Service 11, Dimond 1

The top of the Service lineup went a combined 8-for-12 and starter Jake Rafferty pitched five strong innings to power the Cougars at Mulcahy Stadium.

Hunter Christian, Sebastian Fournier and Coen Niclai also combined to score seven runs in a matchup to determine the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye at next week's CIC Tournament.

Fournier went 4-for-5 with a triple and double and two RBIs. Christian also tripled and doubled. The two of them combined to give Service a 1-0 lead four pitches into the game.

It set the tone as the Cougars (12-5, 4-3 CIC) scored seven runs in the first two innings.

Rafferty allowed six hits and one run over his five innings of work. Reliever Owen Hickman closed it out with two scoreless frames.

Dimond banged out seven hits and got an RBI from Eli Lipinski. Reliever Alex Bruce tossed three scoreless frames while Shane Stephan, Peyton Montagna and Garrett Lick each had two hits for the Lynx (6-11, 3-4 CIC).

 
Today's CIC Schedule
At Mulcahy Stadium
1pm Eagle River vs. West
4pm Bartlett vs. South
7pm East vs. Chugiak

Chugiak 10, West 5

Catcher Hunter Rau drove in two runs and threw out a baserunner to get it done for the Mustangs at Mulcahy Stadium.

Gabe Gruszynski went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Michael Boudreau and Landon Luebke each went 2-for-3 and scored a run. Boudreau also doubled.

Jayden Steckel struck out seven over four innings of work for Chugiak (10-6, 4-2 CIC). He also started a 1-6-3 double play in the first inning.

West's Caden Greenhalgh drove in two runs for West (4-14, 2-4 CIC).

Orion Halliburton and Gabe Caternicchio had RBIs. Halliburton and Sam Ziersel hit doubles.
 

Dimond 16, East 1

Shane Stephan, Peyton Montagna and Garrett Lick each had two base knocks in a 10-hit attack at Mulcahy Stadium.

Stephan and Pama Brite each scored three runs. Montagna and Joe Moriarty had two RBIs apiece for the Lynx (6-10, 3-3 CIC).

East's Blake Yawit scored the lone run for his team while Willy Nunez and Kenton Cooke had base hits for the T-birds (3-12, 1-5 CIC).
 

Service 10, Bartlett 0