Kodiak uses late push to get past Wasilla

WASILLA — For about five innings, Wasilla starter David Newman and Kodiak hurler Matt Chavarria were locked in a bit of a pitching duel. But Kodiak put together three insurance runs during the final two innings to hold on to a 6-2 win over the Wasilla Warriors at the Wasilla Senior Field on Thursday.

“Newman threw a good game, but got a little tired there at the end,” Wasilla head coach Jason Terryberry said. “We don’t have a lot of pitching depth, but we’re trying to get the most out of them we can.”

Newman held the Bears to just a run on two hits through four innings.

“He was keeping the ball down, getting some good groundouts,” Terryberry said. “That’s what got him deep into the game.”

Kodiak was able to push its lead to 3-0 in the fifth. Chavarria opened the inning with a single and later scored on an error. Austin Cowley reached on a bunt single and later scored on Eddie Arellano Jr.’s sacrifice squeeze. The Cowley run gave the Bears the three-run lead.

“They’re a good program. They bunted well, ran the bases well. They’re fundamentally sound,” Terryberry said.

Wasilla was able to cut into Kodiak’s lead in the bottom half of the fifth.

“A couple of guys had some key plays,” Terryberry said.

Freshman Cooper Hanson singled and scored to put the Warriors on the board. Hanson, who was called up to the varsity squad for the game, legged out an infield single to start the bottom half of the inning. He scored when senior Brody Coleman reached on a Kodiak error. Coleman later scored on a Kodiak passed ball to cut the Bears’ lead to 3-2.

“Kodiak made a couple errors and we had guys running hard,” Terryberry said.

Kodiak extended its lead in the fifth. Austin Frick singled and scored on a Cowley single. Dylan Kavanaugh reached on an error and scored on a fielder’s choice.

Mikel Garner homered to left field in the seventh to round out the scoring.

Garner homered and tripled in the win. Pat Pickett collected a pair of singles for the Bears and drove in a run in the first inning. Six different Bears scored for Kodiak.

On the mound, Chavarria allowed four hits and fanned five. Closer Raphael Matautia struck out six of the seven batters he faced to record the two-inning save.

Kodiak stays in the Valley to face Colony at 7 p.m., tonight at the Wasilla Senior Field.

Moose open with win

HOUSTON — The Palmer Moose used nine unanswered runs to open their varsity season with a 12-3 win over the Houston Hawks at Houston High School on Wednesday.

Palmer scored those nine runs during the sixth despite recording only four hits in the inning.

“We kind of blew their doors off,” Palmer head coach Dave Combs said.

Combs said junior Augustus Topp sparked the surge with a run-scoring single in the sixth. Junior David Media also hit a two-run homer down the left field line in the inning. Seven of Palmer’s 10 hits in the game went for extra bases.

Senior Tim Rockey doubled twice and drove in four runs. Senior Kevin Montgomery tripled twice, and sophomore Luke Huen singled three times during the win.

Rockey was also strong on the mound, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning.

Hawks’ game suspended in Kodiak

KODIAK — The Houston Hawks saw their game with the Kodiak Bears suspended in the sixth inning with the score knotted at 6 last Saturday on Kodiak Island.

Eddie Arellano Jr. used a run-scoring single in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game before it was suspended due to weather. The teams’ game on Friday was rained out.

Houston took an early 2-0 lead with a pair of first inning runs, and brought a 3-1 advantage into the fifth. The Bears scored four times in the bottom of the inning to go ahead,

The Hawks were able to rebound in the top of the sixth. Zach Lovelace and Russ Ruta each collected an RBI during the rally.

Knights run past Warriors

WASILLA — The Colony Knights scored a 19-7 win over the Wasilla Warriors at the Wasilla Senior Field on Wednesday.

The game was called in the sixth inning due to the 10-run mercy rule. Wasilla walked 13 Colony batters and hit two others during the loss.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.