Prep baseball: Knights top Wasilla 21-14

May 27, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - In his role as head coach of the Colony High football team, Colony baseball coach Jamie Mayo has seen plenty of 21-14 ball games - just not in May.

&#8220That was a fiasco,” Mayo said after watching his team defeat Wasilla by a pigskin-like margin Friday afternoon in Wasilla.

It was not an afternoon made for baseball purists.

The two teams combined for 15 errors on the game, which lasted almost three hours and featured numerous mental lapses, base-running blunders and enough comic gaffes to put the Bad News Bears to shame.

&#8220It was just an ugly all-around game by both teams,” Mayo said.

Wasilla coach Gene Sandone was even more to the point.

&#8220We just played like, well, you-know-what,” Sandone said.

Despite the sloppy outcome, the teams actually managed to fit some decent baseball in before all &#8220you know what” broke out.

Colony slugger Robert Fitch got the Knights off to the early lead when he blasted a Mike Shaw offering over the fence in left center for a three-run homer.

The Warriors got three in their half of the inning with singles from Chris Bydlon, Kenny McLellan, Shaw and Saywer Graber, along with an RBI sacrifice fly from Eric Washington.

Wasilla stretched its lead to 7-3 through four innings, and appeared to have the game in control. Then the floodgates opened.

Colony scored eight runs in both the fifth and sixth innings - only two of them earned - as Wasilla stumbled and bumbled the lead away. During one stretch of six Colony batters, Wasilla players managed to commit five errors, walk a batter and hit another. One errant throw even skipped beneath a fence and struck a fan.

&#8220It was ridiculous,” Sandone said.

Colony wasn't much better, failing to end the game by way of the mercy rule by giving up five runs on two errors, two walks and a passed ball in the bottom of the sixth.

Neither coach had much explanation for the sloppy play, other than general shoddy play by their respective teams.

&#8220It was a lack of focus,” Mayo said.

&#8220We just weren't playing our best baseball tonight, by far,” Sandone said.

Amidst the follies, several players managed to play well.

For Colony, Fitch finished the game 2-for-4 with four runs scored and four RBI. Josh Boring scored four times and had two hits. Blake Huppert went 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs. Chris Comerate was 3-for-5 with a run and two RBI, and Mike Wagner knocked in a pair of runs while scoring twice himself.

Colony's pitching also was better than the score would indicate, as only seven of the 14 Wasilla runs against Colter Peterson, Matt Packa and Wes Smith were earned.

&#8220All three pitchers pitched well,” Mayo said.

For Wasilla, Carl Brent had a big day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI. Chris Bydlon, Kenny McLellan and Mike Shaw each had two base hits for the Warriors, who actually outhit the Knights 14-12.

Fortunately for both teams, the two Valley rivals will have a chance to redeem themselves next week, when they'll face off again at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

Following Friday's ugly affair, both head coaches predicted a more fundamentally sound game next week than fans were treated to Friday.

&#8220We'll be back,” Mayo said.

Sandone agreed.

&#8220It'll definitely be a better game.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com.

COLONY

name ab r h bi

Breck rf 4 3 0 0

Boring ss 3 4 2 1

Fitch cf 4 4 2 4

Ziter c 5 2 1 0

Huppert 2b 5 2 2 2

Wagner 1b 4 2 1 2

Comerate 3b 5 1 3 2

Peterson p 4 1 0 1

Sinnett lf 5 1 1 0

Cuculla 1 1 0 0

Packa 1 0 0 0

Totals 41 21 12 12

WASILLA

Name ab r h bi

Byldon c 5 2 2 0

McLellan 2b 5 1 2 0

Shaw p 4 4 2 1

Brent ss 5 3 4 1

S.Graber rf 4 2 1 1

Washington lf 4 1 1 2

Briceland cf 2 1 1 2

Rodamer 1b 2 0 0 0

Ostrom dh 4 0 1 1

Sage rf 1 0 0 0

Totals 36 14 14 8

COLONY 300 088 2 - 21

WASILLA 303 105 2 - 14

E - Colony 5, Wasilla 10. LOB - Colony 7, Wasilla 6. 2B - Wagner. HR - Fitch. SB - Fitch (2), Packa, Sinnett, Boring, Briceland, Brent. CS - Sinnett.

COLONY IP H R ER BB SO

Peterson 4 8 6 3 2 1

Packa 2 4 5 4 3 2

Smith 1 2 2 0 0 1

WASILLA

Shaw 2 4 3 3 0 0

Briceland 2 1 7 0 3 1

Brent 1.2 2 8 1 1 2

Wisdom 1.1 5 3 2 1 1

HBP - Wagner by Briceland, Breck by Brent, Fitch by Brent, Ziter by Brent. WP - Brent (4), Wisdom, Peterson. PB - Ziter (2). Balk - Peterson, Smith.