Colony moves into baseball title game

WASILLA — A career performance has left the Colony Knights just one win away from a conference title and a trip to the state tournament.

Jacob Butcher used a 10-inning, 126-pitch performance to help Colony score a 10-6 win over Kenai in 11 innings during the Southcentral Conference semifinals at Wasilla High School Thursday.

“It’s the best game I’ve seen a high school kid throw,” Colony head coach Jordan Chadwell said Thursday evening.

Chadwell said Butcher got better as the game wore on.

“From the sixth on he was throwing harder,” Chadwell said. “Nine of his 12 strikeouts came in the last five innings.”

Butcher’s work on the mound and Colony’s four-run 11th at the plate set up a date with Kodiak in the title game, slated for 7 p.m. at Wasilla High.

Kenai was able to take an early 4-0 lead, but Colony climbed back to tie the game at 4. Kenai jumped ahead again, taking a 6-5 lead. But the Knights tied it up to force extra innings.

“We were able to get some guys moving finally,” Chadwell said of his team’s work in the final inning. “It came down to a team effort.”

The win capped a long day for Colony. The Knights opened play Thursday morning with a 12-8 win over Soldotna. The Southcentral bracket features the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds on Day 1. Colony entered the tournament undefeated and the top seed.

Kodiak beat Homer 9-2 in the late game Thursday.

Colony was the lone Valley team to score a win during the first round.

Kenai moved into the semifinals with a 10-4 win over Palmer. The Kards jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the third inning. Palmer scored three of its four runs in the seventh.

Kevin Christopher led the Moose with two hits and an RBI. Adam Christiansen scored two runs.

South Division teams swept the bottom side of the bracket. Homer beat Wasilla 7-2 and Kodiak got past Houston.

All eight teams in the tournament are still alive. The winner of tonight’s title game with clinch the first of the conference’s two state tournament berths.

The final berth will be decided in the bracket’s second-place game, which is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. at WHS.

A pair of elimination games start off today’s action. Soldotna will face Palmer today at 10 a.m. at Houston High School. Wasilla meets Houston at 10 a.m. at Wasilla High.

Homer will face the Soldotna/Palmer winner today at 3 p.m. at Houston. Kenai meets the Houston/Wasilla winner today at 3 p.m. at Wasilla.