Knights power way into state tourney

PALMER — With its power, pitching, monster heart of the order and senior leadership, Colony scored its third straight Southcentral Conference tile last week. Now the Knights are ready to make a run through the state tourney.

“Out of our three conference championship teams, this is potentially our best team,” said Colony head coach Jamie Mayo, who will lead his Knights on to the field to face Sitka in the first round of the ASAA/First National Bank Baseball Championships Thursday at 7 p.m. at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

There are a few reasons why Mayo believes the 2010 squad stands above the conference champs he coached in 2008 and 2009. It starts with the pitching.

“It’s definitely the deepest the pitching’s ever been,” Mayo said.

Mayo feels he has two aces on the squad — seniors Colter Peterson and Mike Wagner.

“1 and 1A,” Mayo said.

Freshman Jonathon Boyer has also stood out on the mound, and the Knights have received quality innings from the likes of JD Mayo, Kody Ziter and Dominick Commerate.

A heart of the order that stretches leads the Colony offense from the No. 2 batter to the hitter in the six-hole. Mayo has said his lineup, 2-6, could also be the best he’s ever had.

“I’d definitely be willing to bet that if we did all of the averages and figured it all out, they’d be in the mid to low .400s as a combined group,” Mayo said. “At least six or seven of our home runs have by hit by those guys.”

The left-handed JD Mayo, Peterson, Ziter and Wagner follow leadoff hitter Taylor Palmer in the order.

Mayo said this team possesses the most power of the three title-winning teams. Five players have home runs this season. Four of those hitters have knocked a ball out of Hermon Brothers Field.

In addition to Colony’s top talents — JD Mayo, Peterson, Wagner and Ziter — the Knights have received significant contributions from several other players.

Boyer has impressed during his freshman campaign.

“For a freshman that kids got a lot of poise,” Mayo said. “We’ve been pretty lucky with the freshmen we’ve had on varsity, and he’s definitely one of them.”

Mayo has also been impressed with the play of first baseman Nick Srebernak.

Colony’s first-round opponent, Sitka, is the No. 2 seed from the Southeast Conference. Stika suffered a 5-4 loss to Juneau in the conference championship game. The undefeated Crimson Bears needed a walk-off RBI to edge the Wolves.

Kodiak will also represent the Southcentral. Dimond and West Anchorage earned the Cook Inlet Conference’s two spots. Lathrop and West Valley will represent the Interior.

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