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PALMER— The Palmer Pioneers finished with only two league wins during the American Legion baseball season.
The Pioneers needed only three days to hit that total during the postseason.
Palmer, competing in the annual Matson Invitational, stayed alive in the tournament with a 5-3 victory over Fairbanks Post 11 Thursday afternoon at Bartlett High School in Anchorage.
“They improved. They used the season to get better. They didn’t just show up to the playoff game,” Palmer head coach Tim Rockey said by cellphone following the victory Thursday. “They wanted to be the best team they could be.”
It’s the second straight win for Palmer in the Matson, a double-elimination event that features eight teams that did not qualify for the Alaska American Legion State Tournament.
“It’s the first time we’ve had two consecutive victories without a forfeit,” Rockey said.
The Pioneers plated four runs in the top of the seventh to help notch the come-from-behind victory. Frank Urbano, Trace Severson and Cole Doss recorded consecutive singles with one out to spark the Pioneers. Doss drove in Urbano with his single to tie the game at 2. And then the Pioneers got some help from the Fairbanks defense. With two outs, Cooper McLaughlin reached on a Fairbanks error and two runners, Severson and Doss, scored to give Palmer the 4-2 lead. Kolten Ketchum reached on another error, and McLaughlin scored to give Palmer the 5-2 lead.
“It’s says something when they’re willing to battle up there,” Rockey said of his hitter’s effort at the plate in the clutch situation. “We rallied and put the pressure on them in the last inning.”
Fairbanks was able to tack on a run in the bottom of the seventh.
With the win, Palmer moves forward to play either East Anchorage or Fairbanks Post 30 Friday at 1 p.m. at Bartlett. A win Friday would put the Pioneers in the Matson championship game.
Overall, Rockey said he’s proud of the way his team battled.
“They’re willing to battle. They’ve got a little bit of me in them. They’ve got a little grit in them,” Rockey said.
Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.
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