Alaska Road Warriors enjoying a busy month of July

WASILLA — With one phone call, the month of July became a heck of a lot more busy for the Alaska Road Warriors.

Last week, just as the local American Legion baseball program was preparing to host its annual Todd Ryan Memorial tournament, Road Warriors head coach Steve Mossburgh received a phone call from an organizer of the annual BP Invitational. A squad from San Diego, Calif., had pulled itself out of the eight-team invitational, which starts today at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage. BP organizers needed another team to complete the bracket, and Mossburgh said he jumped at the opportunity.

“It’s a good opportunity for the guys to get extra games,” Mossburgh said. “We can pick up another seven to eight games.”

The invitation didn’t include just the chance to play in the BP Invite, a tourney seen as the premier American Legion event for Alaska teams during the regular season. It also included the chance to participate in the Bill Miller Wood Bat Invitational, which ended Thursday in Kenai.

The addition of those two events to the Road Warriors schedule gives the Wasilla-based team 12 games during an 11-day stretch and 20 games during the final 18 days of the regular season.

“It’s a lot of games in a short amount of time, but the kids are holding up good,” Mossburgh said.

The month started with the Todd Ryan tourney during the holiday weekend at McManus Field in Wasilla. After just one day off, the Road Warriors hit Kenai for the three-day Bill Miller before starting the BP in Anchorage today.

Mossburgh said the extra games have allowed for ample playing time for his players. He has also been able to rotate a variety of pitchers on and off the mound, and in and out of the batting order.

Two of those pitchers who earned time on the mound during the additional games on the schedule helped the Road Warriors post a runner-up finish in the Bill Miller tourney. David Newman, a Wasilla High School product, threw a complete game shutout in an 11-0 win over host Kenai on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Josh Grissom, who recently completed his sophomore season at Houston, pitched a complete game during a 13-4 win over Service.

Newman and Grissom were also helped by a bit of an offensive explosion and the Road Warriors posted a total of 24 runs during the two games of the wood bat tournament.

“The guys hit the ball pretty well,” Mossburgh said.

The Road Warriors only losses in the tourney came to a team from West Warwick, R.I. West Warwick beat Alaska 10-0 on Wednesday and 8-2 in the title game on Thursday.

The Road Warriors also played West Warwick during the Todd Ryan, losing 5-3. Mossburgh said there was one common theme throughout all the meetings.

“It seemed like they always had one big inning,” Mossburgh said.

The Road Warriors begin BP tourney play today at 7:30 p.m. against Chugiak. The Wasilla squad has a pair of games Saturday, meeting Fairbanks at 2:15 p.m. and Dimond at 7:30 p.m.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.