Extra-base hits push Warriors past Stars

WASILLA — The Soldotna Stars used a bases-clearing triple to tie the score. But the Wasilla Warriors had an answer with a triple of their own.

Ben Werner tripled and James Arend hit a solo shot during four-run sixth that helped the Warriors hold on to a 12-9 win over the Stars Saturday afternoon at Wasilla High School.

“Soldotna came back and we put the pedal down,” Wasilla head coach Ken Ottinger said after the win.

With two on and no outs with the score knotted at 8, Werner knocked a ball into deep centerfield to score a pair of runs for the Warriors. It was the second triple of the day for Werner, who also scored three times in the win.

“It’s good to see,” Ottinger said. “What a kid to have in the three-spot. The kid has some power. He’s a kid that control the barrel on a hit-and-run. And the kid can drag bunt. Not many three hitters in the state can do (all of that).”

Jacob Gilbert and Balas Buckmaster each drew a walk with no outs, and both were moved into scoring position with a Kyle Gilbert sacrifice bunt.

“The bunting game for us has been 100 times better than last year,” Ottinger said.

Werner followed with the triple to give Wasilla the lead and later scored on a Soldotna wild pitch. Arend blasted a ball over the left field fence to and an insurance run late in the inning.

Wasilla needed the go-ahead runs after SoHi tied the game in the fifth. Trailing by three, Soldotna loaded the bases and used a two-out rally to tie the score. Austin Asp and David Michael each drew walks, but a key play for the Stars came midway through the inning. With two outs, Logan Smith hit a high pop fly to the right side of the infield. The wind hit the ball and pushed it back toward the third base line and the Warriors were unable to make the grab. That came between the to SoHi walks, and Michael’s base on balls loaded the bases.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Caleb Spence sent a ball into deep left center field. Asp, Smith and Michael all scored, and Spence made his way to third for the triple.

Soldotna — which scored 56 runs during its three-day weekend stay in the Valley — opened the game with three runs in the top of the first. The top three hitters in the lineup — Cody Quelland, Jeremy Kupferschmid and Matthew Daugherty — all scored. Quelland and Kupferschmid both walked and scored. Daugherty singled to drive in a run and scored later in the inning.

Wasilla was able to answer with six in the bottom of the first. Buckmaster led off with a walk and scored. Graham, Werner, Cyruss Lovell, Arend and Gavin Hannasch also scored as Wasilla battled around in the bottom of the first. Werner had a run-scoring single. Lovell and Caden Dudley each drove in two runs with singles in the first.

Werner and Arend led the Warriors with three hits each. Dudley was 2 for 2.

Spence was 2 for 2 with the three-run triple to lead Soldotna. Hunter Thompson drove in two runs, and Joel Sisson scored twice.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.