Prep softball: Time runs out on Knights

ANCHORAGE — Colony’s softball season came to a quick end Friday, as the Knights bowed out of the state softball tournament in two games.

“Our bats just weren’t going today,” Colony senior pitcher Michelle Stratton said following the team’s 5-4 loss to Service in the elimination round.

The close loss to the Cougars came on the heels of a 10-1 thrashing by eventual champion Juneau-Douglas.

Despite getting shut out in the tournament, Colony coach Mike Stewart said he was pleased with his team’s attitude both throughout the tournament and the season overall.

“They never gave up,” Stewart said. “They came out and worked all the way through.”

Stratton’s solo home run in the sixth inning was the lone bright spot for the Knights against Juneau, which lost just two games all season.

Things were different against Service, as Colony was able to battle through a tricky time situation to bring the tying run to the plate in the seventh.

High school softball games are only allowed to go 90 minutes, and with Service coming to the plate in the sixth with a 5-3 lead, all the Cougars needed to do to ice the game was stay at bat for more than five minutes. But Stratton and the Knights had other ideas, mowing down three consecutive Service batters to force another inning. Stratton, who finished with five strikeouts in the game, struck out the first Service hitter on three straight strikes, then got a groundout to third and fly out to center to end the inning.

“We were running out of time and had to get that inning started,” Stratton said.

The senior All-Railbelt Conference pitcher said she just tried to throw strikes and rely on her defense.

“If I could do it with three pitches, great, if I could do it with one … even faster,” she said.

Down two runs, leadoff hitter Dani Buckley reached base on a double. After Desi Diselrod lined out, Stratton hit an awkward fly ball that was caught behind first base by the Service second baseman. Buckley tagged up on the play, then came around to score when the throw to third sailed out of play.

But Service pitcher Kelly Detzler forced catcher Kelsey Stein to pop up, ending Colony’s season with a 10-14 overall record.

“I think we could have had that game,” Stratton said. “It could have gone either way.”

Stratton went 2-for-3 in the game with a run scored and an RBI, Buckley was 2-for-4 and third baseman Lindsey Haralson was 1-for-3 and drove in a run.

Four players on Colony’s squad — Stratton, Diselrod, Haralson and center fielder Kristen Coan — played their final high school game Friday.

“No one wants it to end like that,” Stratton said.

Despite hitting her first home run of the season and pitching both of her team’s state games — including being named MVP against Service — Stratton said she would have rather have been able to play for one more day.

“It would have been nice to win a game.”