‘He’s crafty’: Wasilla pitcher tosses one-hitter in win over Chugiak

WASILLA — Jacob Gilbert flirted with perfection Friday night.

The Wasilla right-hander took a perfect game into the sixth inning and a no-hitter to the seventh as he led the Road Warriors to an 8-0 American Legion win over the Chugiak Mustangs at Wasilla High School.

“So close,” Wasilla head coach Ken Ottinger said.

Gilbert retired the first 16 batters he faced and didn’t allow a baserunner until Chugiak’s Cameron Butler coaxed a walk with one out in the sixth. In the top of the seventh, after Chugiak’s Ian Frizelle reached on an error, DJ Davis put a ball into left field to give the Mustangs their first hit of the day. Gilbert responded by getting the final three outs to notch the one-hit, complete game shutout.

“He’s one of our top pitchers,” Ottinger said. “He doesn’t have a cannon, but he’s crafty.”

Ottinger said it’s all about location for Gilbert.

“He just his spots, he hits location. He’s probably one of our best guys on our team for doing that,” Gilbert said. “He’ll try to hit the perfect spot, not just a strike.”

Ottinger said that’s the key to success in the league.

“That’s one thing about Alaska baseball. Throw strikes and play defense. That’s all you really got to do,” Ottinger said. “There’s nothing that overpowers people.”

Gilbert, an incoming junior at Wasilla High, has already established himself as a key part of the pitching staff for both the Wasilla prep and American Legion programs, Ottinger said.

“He proved himself to me last year,” Ottinger said.

As Gilbert cruised on the mound, the Warriors jumped out to a quick lead at the plate. Jeffrey Forster notched a two-run single in the first and Hank Boyer added an RBI single to give the Warriors an early 3-0 lead. Taylon Ottinger reached on an error and scored on a Kyle Graham double in the second to give Wasilla the 4-0 lead. Cyrus Lovell added an RBI double in the third.

The Warriors started the fourth with three straight singles. Forster and Lovell both had an RBI in the inning, and Jimmy Arend scored on an error.

Wasilla improved to 15-9 overall with the nonleague win over the Mustangs. But it’s the league standings Ottinger and the Warriors are paying most attention too. As of Friday night, Wasilla was locked in a three-way tie for second at 9-5 with Dimond and West in the Alaska American Legion American Division. As of Friday night, South led the division with an 11-4 mark, and Kenai was in fifth, but just behind the three teams in second with an 8-6 mark.

The top four teams in the American and National divisions earn bids to the state tournament.

“Our division is crazy tight right now,” Ottinger said.

The Warriors will have a big final week of the regular season with league games against Kenai, Palmer, Dimond and East. The stretch starts Sunday in Kenai.

“It’s crunch time,” Ottinger said.

The Warriors are moving into the final stretch with some momentum. Wasilla is 5-1 in its last six league games. Two of those five wins came over division leaders. The run started with a big 7-2 win over South on July 4. Wasilla also handed Service, the top team in the National Division, it’s first league loss of the season. The Warriors topped the Cougars 6-3 on Thursday.

“Last week it started with South. I told them it’s playoff time,” Ottinger said. “That was a huge win against Service the other night. I think that kind of proved to them what us coaches have been talking about. We believe in them. They have a shot this year.”

Before the recent run, Wasilla sat at 4-5 in league play.

“It was a rough start to the year,” Ottinger said. “We’re starting to turn a tide.”

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