Prep baseball: Wasilla gets first win of season

May 11, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - What a difference a week can make.

In its season-opener last week, the Wasilla baseball team committed 11 errors in an embarrassing 16-run loss to the Homer Mariners. On Thursday, the Warriors played error-free baseball en route to a 14-4 thrashing of the Palmer Moose in Wasilla.

&#8220I'm very pleased,” Wasilla coach Gene Sandone said following the game.

Wasilla starter Corey Cowgill gave up just five hits in five innings of work to pick up the complete game victory, and the Wasilla offense pounded out 12 hits to end the game early due to the mercy rule.

Sandone said his team last week was nervous and unprepared against Homer, something the coach was not expecting from his ball club.

&#8220I just couldn't understand it because I knew we were a good team,” he said.

Sandone said he mixed up his infield by moving Carl Brent to shortstop, Danny Lyles to second base, Kenny McLellan to third and putting Mike Shaw on first. Sandone said those changes - along with some extra practice over the week - made all the difference.

&#8220It all gelled tonight,” he said.

Wasilla took the early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second off Palmer starter Garrett Pietrop when McLellan hit a bases-clearing double that just got over the head of Palmer right fielder Alex Roy. The inning was kept alive by a throwing error on Pietrop - the first of several costly miscues by the Moose on the game.

Palmer struck back with four runs in the top of the third, highlighted by a three-run home run by third baseman Michael Dotson.

Wasilla took the lead for good in the bottom half of the inning, scoring four runs on four hits. The Moose didn't help themselves in the inning, allowing runs to score on a walk from relief pitcher Cole Smith, a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly and a bloop single that should have been caught in shallow center field.

Miscommunication plagued the Moose, which allowed three routine fly balls to drop for base hits on the game.

&#8220It's extremely disappointing,” Palmer head coach David Combs said following the game.

Combs said his team - which features nine seniors and five juniors - had no excuse for its poor play.

&#8220This team hasn't shown up yet,” he said.

Wasilla finished off the Moose in the fifth. The Warriors opened the inning with three consecutive singles from left fielder Derek Ostrom, McLellan and Shaw before scoring a run on a Palmer error in the outfield. Brent followed with an RBI single, which was immediately followed by a run-scoring walk to Eric Washington.

Reliever Casey Smith then came into the game and retired one batter before hitting Wasilla catcher Chris Byldon with the bases loaded to score the final run. Byldon finished with a game-high four RBI.

Wasilla's offense was every bit as strong as its defense Thursday. Every player in the Wasilla lineup scored at least one run. Cowgill and Shaw each scored three times, while Brent went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Ostrom provided plenty of spark from the ninth spot in the order, going 2-for-3 with a run scored and three RBI.

&#8220Derek came off the bench for us tonight and got two hits,” Sandone said. &#8220He really helped us out.”

Sandone said getting a solid team effort from his entire team was a great way to erase the memory of last week's debacle.

&#8220It feels really good,” he said.

PALMER

name ab r h bi

Ca.Smith 3b 1 1 0 0

Christopher lf 2 0 1 1

Grover c 1 1 0 0

Dotson 3b 1 1 1 3

Alger 2b 2 0 0 0

Co.Smith 1b 2 0 0 0

Roy rf 1 0 1 0

Pietrok p 1 0 0 0

Ratcliff cf 2 1 1 0

Emery 1 0 0 0

Courson 1 0 0 0

Lite 1 0 1 0

Fullmer 1 0 0 0

Totals 17 4 5 4

WASILLA

Name ab r h bi

McLellan 3b 4 1 2 0

Shaw 1b 3 3 1 0

Cowgill p 4 3 2 0

Brent ss 3 2 3 1

Washington cf 2 1 0 2

Rodamer rf 2 1 0 1

Byldon c 3 1 2 4

Lyles 1b 1 1 0 0

Ostrom lf 3 1 2 3

Totals 25 14 12 11

PALMER 004 00 - 4

WASILLA 033 44 - 14

E - Palmer 2, Wasilla 0. LOB - Palmer 2, Wasilla 4. 2B - Ostrom. HR - Dotson. SB - Roy 2, Grover. CS - Brent, Pietrok, Christopher.

PALMER IP H R ER BB SO

Pietrok L 3 4 6 3 3 5

Co.Smith 1.2 8 8 5 2 1

Ca.Smith 0.1 0 0 0 0 0

WASILLA

Cowgill W 5 5 4 4 2 2

HBP - Dotson by Cowgill, Byldon by Ca.Smith. WP - Cowgill, Co.Smith. PB - Byldon.