Knights score walk-off win in state baseball tourney

ANCHORAGE — As he stepped up to the plate, Kolten Ketchum knew exactly what he needed to do. And the Colony senior delivered.

Ketchum drove a pitch deep into the right center field gap with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning and a pair of Knights scored to give Colony a 9-8 walk-off win over the Chugiak Mustangs during the ASAA/First National Bank State Baseball Championships quarterfinals Thursday night at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

“I was envisioning it as I was going up to bat,” Ketchum said after the win.

Ketchum said he was looking for any pitch to drive up the middle. Once he made contact, Ketchum said, he had a good feeling the game might be over.

“I knew it was going to score two,” Ketchum said. “I was pretty excited.”

Colony erased a five-run deficit to rally past Chugiak, the Cook Inlet Conference champions, and move into the semifinals, where the Knights will face Juneau-Douglas Friday at 4 p.m. at Mulcahy.

“I knew we could do it,” Ketchum said. “We’ve got heart.”

Ketchum said the Knights, the Southcentral Conference runner-up, focused on offense during the days leading up to the state tournament.

“We did a lot of batting practice over the week,” Ketchum said.

The work paid off. Colony finished with a dozen hits in the victory. Colony head coach Jordan Chadwell said everyone contributed.

“All through the lineup,” Chadwell said. “They did great especially in those last couple innings. We had a few hard balls that just didn’t go down. But they didn’t let that get to them. They kept trusting the process, and they were able to get those balls to drop in the last inning.”

Colony fell behind 4-0 in the top of the first, but was able to answer with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Chugiak was able to stretch its lead to 8-3 in the fifth. Chadwell said he felt his team’s focus improved as the game progressed.

“They were more mentally engaged as the game went on,” Chadwell said. “The kids buckled down, tried to make good plays and they did.”

Colony climbed back into the game with four in the sixth and two in the seventh.

In the bottom of the seventh, with the Knights trailing 8-7, Ben Alley and Joe Ryan drew walks with one out. Trace Severson reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases. Ketchum followed with his double to right center. Alley scored easily to tie the score, and Ryan scored from second to provide the game-winner.

Ryan also started Colony’s rally in the sixth with a triple.

“Joe’s the energy on our team for sure,” Chadwell said. “He hits the ball so hard, but I put him in the leadoff spot because I want him to start the game for us.”

Ketchum also doubled in the sixth to drive in Ryan and Severson. Ketchum scored in the sixth on a Cooper Smith double. Kaden Ketchum added a run-scoring single late in the inning to score Smith and cut Chugiak’s lead to 8-7.

Kolten Ketchum finished with two doubles and four RBI. Smith was 3 for 3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Ryan had two hits and scored three times. Kaden Ketchum added two RBI.

Severson earned the win on the mound in relief, scattering four hits and an earned run over 4 2/3 innings.

“He pitched really, really well for us,” Chadwell said. “He’s a really good pitcher. I save him for relief because he’s so mentally tough. He doesn’t mind stepping into crummy situations and throwing the ball. He did a great job for us in a tough situation.”

With the win, Colony advances to the semifinals for the first time since the Knights beat Lathrop 7-6 in the 2014 quarterfinals. Colony will face a Juneau-Douglas squad that finished first in the Southeast Conference, and opened the tourney with an 16-4 win over North Pole Thursday.

Wolverines get past Moose

South Anchorage opened its tournament with a 14-0 win over Palmer in the quarterfinals Thursday.

Palmer was held to just a pair of hits in the loss, a James Nelson triple and an Owen Hayes double. The Moose continue play against West Valley Friday at 1 p.m. in the consolation semifinals.

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