Knights finish third in Division I state baseball tourney

Koen Leaders went 4-for-4 and Drake Gallagher drove in four runs as Colony doubled up Chugiak 14-7 in the third-place game of the ASAA Division I state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Colony banged out 12 hits and improved to 3-1 against Chugiak all-time at the state tournament dating back to 2009.

Leaders, Colton Haase and Brayden Parrent also had two RBIs for the Knights (12-6).

Colony had four extra-base hits as Nate Wilson, Leaders, Gallagher and Karsen Spradling doubled, and Bryant Marks tripled.

Chugiak got doubles from Andrew Gruszynski, Hunter Rau, Tyler Cage and Landon Luebke.

Cage’s RBI single tied the game at 3 in the third inning. Gruszynski, a center fielder, threw out a runner at the plate for the Mustangs (14-9).

South Anchorage, which won its second straight state title beat Colony 7-1 in the semifinals.

Colony’s Karsen Spradling went 3-for-4 and scored on Bryant Marks’ two-out single in the third inning.

Knights’ starter Koen Leaders went the whole way and kept South off the scoreboard in each of the final three innings, including a five-pitch sixth inning.

The Colony defense produced several web gems by the catcher (Marks), first baseman (Malachi Mukaabya), center fielder (Nate Wilson) and left fielder (Colton Haase).

Bryant Marks led off the eighth inning with a triple and scored on Brayden Parrent’s RBI single as Colony survived and advanced after edging Service 5-4 in extra innings on Day 1 of the ASAA Division I state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Marks and Parrent combined for all five RBIs and relief pitcher Zephon Rhowmine picked up the win with 1.2 innings.

Marks was 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs after his bases-loaded double in the third inning gave Colony a 3-0 lead.

Parrent was the next batter and singled in Marks to make it 4-0. That combo came up clutch again in the eighth inning to push Colony (11-5) into Friday’s final four.

Parrent finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs while Colton Haase, Karsen Spradling and Koen Leaders scored runs.

Haase started on the mound and threw 6.1 innings on 100 pitches. He scattered four hits and six walks while striking out four.

Service (12-7) forced extra innings after scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh, keyed by Jake Rafferty’s two-run double on an 0-2 count.

The Cougars tied the game when Rafferty scored on a two-out error.

Rafferty was remarkable, striking out 10 in five innings. At one point he struck out five straight batters. The big right-hander also struck out the side in the second and fourth innings.

His only hiccup came in the third inning after he loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batsman to bring up Marks, who left a mark with his extra-base knock.

Rafferty’s 2-hit, 3-RBI, 10-strikeout performance was strong. His double-digit Ks was the most at the ASAA D1 state tournament since 2018 when South’s Gage Webster had 13 Ks and Ketchikan’s Cody Kemble had 10.

Michael Sculley pitched two innings of scoreless relief and Hunter Christian retired three straight batters with Parrent standing on second base in the eighth inning to thwart further damage.

Logan Bailey scored from third base on Pedro Camacho’s bunt with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning as Wasilla walked off with an 8-7 victory over Eagle River in consolation action on Day 2 of the ASAA Division I state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

Wasilla scored two runs in the seventh inning after Eagle River had scored two runs in the top of the seventh.

The game featured six lead changes.

Bailey, who got the win in relief, doubled and scored on Camacho’s RBI single to five Wasilla a 6-5 lead in the fifth inning.

In the seventh, Eagle River took a 7-6 lead after Dallin Roberts and Noah Lower walked and later scored. Roberts scored on a passed ball and Lower came home on Landon Hudson’s groundout.

Camacho went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and threw out a baserunner from behind the plate. Bailey went 2-for-4 with two runs and Jace Crall had two RBIs.

Eagle River’s Alex Mullen had three RBIs, Josh Thompson went 2-for-4 and Lower scored twice and made a beautiful bare-handed grab on Alex Bond’s chopper to short and threw him out.

Jayden Steckel drove in two runs and pitched a three-out save to help Chugiak defeat Wasilla 7-5 on Day 1 of the ASAA Division I state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium.

The game featured six lead changes, with the Mustangs plating two runs in the top of the seventh to pull ahead for good.

Chugiak Tyler Cage and Fischer Sims set the table for the seventh-inning rally and Gabe Gruszynski and Seth Strange knocked in the go-ahead and insurance runs.

Strange, the nine-hole hitter, reached base three times, scored two runs and had an RBI for the Mustangs (14-7).

Starting pitcher Preston Rau racked up the win with six strong innings, scattering eight hits.

His battery mate Hunter, who doubles as his younger brother, threw out two baserunners behind the plate and the Mustangs turned a 6-3-5 double play.

Wasilla (15-7) got two RBIs apiece from Pedro Camacho and Alex Bond. Camacho had run-scoring base knocks in the first and third innings. Bond’s two-run single tied the game at 5 in the sixth inning.

Steckel ended the game after getting back-to-back outs with the tying run on first base.