Knights hold on for win over Moose

PALMER — The Colony Knights dropped a tough loss to Wasilla Tuesday night. But a few days later, Colony was able to bounce back against its other Valley rival.

The Knights used a few early runs and another gritty effort from senior Trace Severson on the mound, and grabbed a 5-3 win over Palmer Friday afternoon at Hermon Brothers Field.

“We had a rough one on Tuesday. We were just trying to bounce back,” Colony head coach Jordan Chadwell said after the win. “There’s a lot of competition in the Valley this year. Any team can beat any team this year.”

Severson, one of Colony’s senior leaders, worked a complete game, scattering eight hits and three earned runs. He fanned eight and walked only two.

“He’s been a beast all year long,” Chadwell said of Severson. “He’s a competitor. He wants to pitch every day of the week.”

Palmer scored all three of its runs in the top of the sixth. Chadwell said, regardless, Severson wanted to grind it out.

“He wants the ball in his hands,” Chadwell said. “I told him his pitch count was getting high, but he wanted to finish.”

Kaden Ketchum also provided a key insurance run for the Knights. After the Moose cut Colony’s lead to 4-3 in the top of the sixth, Ketchum notched a leadoff double in the bottom of the inning. He later scored on a Zach Satterly single to give the Knights the two-run lead.

“That was big for confidence. When the other team scores it’s easy to get down. Getting another run on the board made everybody feel we can finish it,” Chadwell said.

Ketchum, who was recently promoted to the leadoff spot, finished with two hits and two runs.

“He’s been really solid all season. We put him at the top of the lineup last week and he’s really excelled,” Chadwell said.

Bryant Marks, Evan Walker and Ben Alley also drove in runs for Colony. Marks, Satterly and Walker also scored runs.

Colony took a quick 3-0 lead in the first.

Walker drove in Marks to give Colony a 1-0 lead. Alley followed with a run-scoring single, and Walker scored on an error to give Colony the 3-0 lead.

Palmer senior Luke Guggenmos sparked a Palmer rally with an RBI-double in the sixth. Anthony Jones scored to put the Moose on the scoreboard. Owen Hayes drove in Guggenmos later in the inning. Cade Holland also had an RBI-single in the inning.

Holland and Brady Shults had two hits each. Guggenmos finished with a run, hit and RBI.

Palmer 14, Lathrop 4

Palmer rebounded from the loss to Colony with a 14-4 nonconference win over Lathrop Friday evening at Hermon Brothers Field.

Kaj Taylor drove in three runs to lead Palmer to the win. Holland and Jason Gunderson added two RBI each. Holland also scored a team-best three runs. Keagen Norman scored twice. Hayes, Shults and Gunderson added two runs each.

Hayes pitched five innings of relief, and earned the win on the mound. He fanned five and didn’t walk a hitter.

Wasilla 15, Homer 5

Wasilla continued to dominate Southcentral Conference opponents, clubbing Homer 15-5 Friday night at Wasilla High School.

Nolan Murphy led the Warriors with three hits, two runs and two RBI. Clayton Boyett added three hits, two runs and an RBI. Clancy O’Donnell scored three times. Jacob Gilbert finished with two hits, two runs and an RBI.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.