Hawks, Warriors look to dethrone CHS

PALMER MOOSE

The Palmer Moose earned their first victory of the young season Saturday night against Kodiak behind an encore performance from an unexpected source. Cameron Jensen touched up Joe Levan for a round-tripper in the first game of the afternoon, in which the Moose fell 7-4. Then, just for good measure, on his way to pitching a complete game and picking up the win, Jensen took an Alex Pace pitch out of the park to provide offense for Palmer’s 9-4 victory in the second game.

“I knew as soon as he hit it that it was gone,” said teammate Adam Christiansen of Jensen’s homer.

The Moose fell to Houston and Wasilla to start the season, and have suffered injuries to the starting roster. With players in unfamiliar positions, defensive woes plagued Palmer through their first couple of losses.

Jensen earned the first victory of the season as part of a group of underclassmen who will see a lot of varsity playing time this year for the Moose. Head Coach Dave Combs is excited about the experience his young squad will be able to get early in their careers.

Christiansen earned first team all-conference honors last season after finishing the year on an offensive rampage. The Moose only have two seniors on the roster, Daniel Jackson and Braden VanAusdal. Combs said he sees Jackson as a potentially powerful offensive weapon.

Palmer’s most experienced ballplayer, Elias Stratton, will handle the catching duties this season. Combs says Stratton is comfortable playing anywhere on the diamond, and will pitch frequently. The junior took the opportunity to play baseball outside the state last summer, and Combs says he is already reaping the benefits.

“He improved by 50 percent or more,” Combs said. “His understanding of the game has increased, baseball IQ wise.”

The Moose will need the leadership of Stratton and offensive boost from Jackson if they are to have postseason hopes this year.

WASILLA

WARRIORS

The Wasilla Warriors may be the most prepared for the long haul of the fast-paced high school baseball season. Armed with just that, arms, and a stellar defense, the Warriors aim to dethrone the Colony Knights as region champions and punch their ticket to the state tournament in Sitka.

The Warriors are 4-0 after collecting a pair of wins in Anchorage and sweeping Valley rivals Colony and Palmer in their first meetings of the season. Defense and pitching led Wasilla to their hot start, but the offense needs to follow up, says head coach Jason Terryberry.

“The victories were nice,” Terryberry said. “You want to win, but we weren’t demanding that we win. We want to see what we could do and improve on, so it showed us we need to improve on our hitting.”

Terryberry said he expects Mitchell Chauvin to lead the way offensively, along with Blake Marks. Sam Loyer has been reaching base frequently in the early going.

The Warriors feature battle-tested arms like Tyler Boensch and lefties Tyler Hansen and Nolan Monaghan.

“Everybody contributes some way on the mound,” said Terryberry. “It’s a group effort, everybody is willing to step up when they need to. They’ve put in the time and effort to get better.”

COLONY

KNIGHTS

The Colony Knights are the defending region champs, but are still figuring out who they are as a team. The Knights are 3-2 through their first five games, and 1-1 in the conference after beating Homer twice last weekend.

The Knights only start two seniors, but still fill the diamond with experience. Dalton McHuhgill will have plenty of chances to pitch this season, as he has since his freshman year. McHuhgill is part of a strong junior class that will sink or swim with the Knights this year.

Matt Palmer receives high praise from head coach Jordan Chadwell. Palmer has been hitting well for Colony, driving the ball to the opposite field.

Chadwell hopes his team can find a way to gain a competitive mental edge, as he believes all the physical tools for excellence are already there.

“We are still looking for a little bit of leadership,” said Chadwell. “I feel like we have the tools (to repeat), but we get sloppy sometimes.”

The Knights started the season off like Wasilla, with a non-conference win. The Knights beat Dimond 6-3, but lost to West 12-7. The champs have shown a weak spot in their armor, but to continue their reign at the top, they will need more offense.

“We make mental mistakes. Every night it’s been a different guy. Matt Palmer is going to hit, Ben Ross is a heck of a good baseball player,” said Chadwell. “We’ve got some other guys who made a difference, but we’ll figure it out as the season goes along.”

HOUSTON

HAWKS

The Houston Hawks are hungry. Adopting the mantra “worst to first” after a tough season last year, the Hawks have the most experience in the conference, and may just go worst to first. With only one non-senior on the infield and a deep pitching staff, the 2-0 Houston Hawks set their sights on the region championship currently held by Colony.

Senior Devan Elson earned an impressive complete game victory over Palmer in the team’s first outing of the season, fanning 10 batters and ending his day 4-4 at the plate as well. Jaden Sears drove in four runs in that game. The Houston defense gave up only one error in the game and started the season off with loud bats, winning 16-3.

The Hawks scored a tougher victory over Kodiak. Cody Buntin threw a complete game for the win. The Hawks defense was not as strong against Kodiak, but Buntin was able to get out of several tough situations with the bases loaded to win 6-5.

Elson, Buntin will handle pitching duties for the Hawks this year, along with Mitch Ruta, whom head coach Bill Kramer describes as a “crafty righty.” Jace Taylor will also pitch, when he is not behind the plate defensively.

The Hawks have been hitting the cover off the ball, with a batting average over .500 –.580 with runners in scoring position. Timely hitting is producing runs in bunches for Houston.

“It’s a luxury we haven’t experienced much in the past to have that depth as far as a senior group goes,” Kramer said.

The Hawks have all the pieces to be a force on the diamond this year. Kramer loaded his coaching staff with winning experience this year. His team certainly has the athletes, too, and maybe even an attitude feeling like they may be underestimated by other teams.

That could be a dangerous combination when facing the Hawks.