Colony softball team doing its best to hang with state’s elite

WASILLA — Despite rolling to a perfect 5-0 record in the Railbelt Conference to put a state tournament berth within reach, the Colony softball team has had one Achilles heel this season: Anchorage.

City teams have now handed the Knights (8-4 overall) all four of their losses on the season after taking three of four from Colony over the weekend.

The Knights dropped a pair to East Anchorage Friday before bouncing back Saturday to split with Service and Dimond.

In Friday’s opener, East pitchers Shaylie Night-Crask and Amanda Ng combined for a two-hit shutout as the Thunderbirds rolled to a 13-0 win. Night-Crask and Ng struck out just six batters between them, but the East defense was solid, committing just one error in the game.

“They’ve been playing together for a long time,” Colony coach Mike Stewart said of the T-Birds, which entered Friday’s double-header undefeated on the season.

Colony catcher Kelsey Stein and shortstop Desi Diselrod managed the only two hits for the Knights in the game. Pitcher Michelle Stratton had an uncharacteristic rocky start, giving up 13 East hits in the loss.

In the second game, the Knights kept things a bit closer, but still couldn’t get the bats working against East’s deep rotation. The T-Birds used three pitchers — Devin Chapman, Ginny Rosser and Night-Crask — to hold Colony to just five hits in a 9-6 win. Stein was Colony’s best option at the plate, collecting two more hits and picking up a pair of RBI for the Knights, which scored five runs in the final three innings to make a game of things.

“Kelsey’s been hitting the ball really well all year long,” Stewart said.

Kristen Coan started the game, but was relieved by Stratton to start the fifth. In two games, Colony’s top pitcher got nine innings of work — something Stewart said she’s going to have to get used to as the Knights prepare for the final two weeks of the season.

“When we get down to the nitty gritty, she’s going to be it,” he said.

Although the Knights were swept, Stewart said he saw plenty to be happy with in the disappointing doubleheader. The Knights held their own in the second game against an elite team, and Stewart said he believes Colony can use the experience to its advantage.

“We know we can play with them,” he said. “We’ve just got to get our bats going.”

On Saturday, Colony proved Stewart correct by earning a tight 2-1 win over Dimond. Coan and Stratton combined for the win, with Stratton starting the game, giving way to Coan midway through, then returning late in the game to close out the Lynx.

Colony wasn’t as fortunate against Service, falling 7-5 in the second game Saturday. Coan again helped keep Stratton’s arm fresh, logging several more solid innings in the loss.

“Kristen pitched pretty much the whole game and did an outstanding job,” Stewart said.

Warriors pick up first

win of the season

FAIRBANKS — Wasilla’s Ashley Enderson knocked in the go-ahead run as Wasilla picked up a 10-7 win over Monroe Catholic Saturday in Fairbanks. The win was Wasilla’s first of the season. The Warriors’ Zandra Christensen-Vavalis also had a stand-up triple in the game.

Besides the Monroe win, the Warriors didn’t have much else to cheer about during their four-game swing through the Interior. On Friday, Wasilla fell 12-0 to West Valley and 7-4 to North Pole. The Warriors also fell 15-0 to Lathrop on Saturday afternoon.

“It wasn’t a pretty weekend,” Wasilla coach Sue Allen said.