Moose win 2 to stay alive in baseball tourney

SOLDOTNA — The Palmer Moose suffered a rough 15-2 loss to Kodiak during the opening day of the Southcentral Conference tournament in Soldotna.

That Thursday loss forced Palmer into the loser’s bracket. But that didn’t seem to faze the Moose on Friday.

Palmer put together-back-to-back victories Friday to stay alive in the hunt for the conference’s final bid to the state tournament.

After beating Kenai Friday morning, Palmer got the best of Valley rival Houston, with a 17-6 win over the Hawks.

Palmer plated nine of its 17 runs during the seventh inning. Adam Christiansen was central to the offensive explosion. Christiansen hit a home run and doubled in the inning, and scored two runs. Cameron Jensen also had a double and scored a run in the seventh.

Wyatt McKechnie led the Moose with four runs scored. Christiansen and Jensen scored three runs each.

Six different Hawks scored a run for Houston.

Palmer started its day with a 10-9 extra-innings win over Kenai to stay alive in the tourney.

Daniel Jackson led off the ninth inning with a single, and scored to provide the game-winning run for the Moose. Christiansen scored three runs in the win. He also hit a home run for Palmer.

Palmer continues play against Kodiak Saturday at 10 a.m. in Soldotna. The winner of that game moves on to play Colony Saturday at 1 p.m. in the consolation final. That match will provide the second automatic state tournament bid for the conference.