Rally answered

WASILLA — The Service Cougars answered one two-out rally with another.

The Alaska Road Warriors scored six runs with two outs in the fifth inning to take the lead, but Service tallied a pair of two-out runs in the seventh to tie the score and held on for an 8-6 win over the Wasilla-based American Legion squad at McManus Field in Wasilla on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s a work in progress,” Road Warriors assistant coach Gary Skan said after the loss.

Service pushed a pair of runs across the plate after an Alaska error in the seventh to tie the game at 6 and force extra innings, and scored twice in the top of the eighth to secure the win.

Alaska did all of its damage offensively in the fifth, scoring all six of its runs with two outs. The Road Warriors drew four walks and collected three hits in the inning, all after two quick outs. Skan said it all came down to pitch selection.

“Pitch selection is huge with this team,” Skan said. “It was good they were actually selective at the plate, and they hustled down the line.”

Patrick Fitzgerald and Taylor Palmer started the rally with consecutive walks. Fitzgerald scored on a David Newman single to put the Road Warriors on the scoreboard, and Scott Kramer legged out an infield single to drive in Palmer and keep the inning alive.

Dusty Wisdom and Jonathon Boyer also recorded back-to-back walks to load the bases.

With the Warriors trailing 4-3, Damon Hammer cleared the bases with a double to right center to give Alaska the 6-4 advantage.

The Warriors were able to tag Service starter Ryan Caron for six earned runs in the fifth, but Caron kept the Warriors quiet through the first four innings.

Caron only allowed two hits through four innings of work, and threw virtually nothing by fly-ball outs until Kramer singled to left field in the fourth.

During the first three innings, the lefthander forced five flyouts and a pair of pop-up outs, while fanning two.

“We didn’t hit the ball on the ground once during the first three innings,” Skan said.

Skan said the lack of success had to do with the approach at the plate.

“This could be a dominating team,” Skan said. “The situational hitting thing is our weakness right now. We get guys in scoring position and we leave them on base. It’s something we work on in the cage. But it’s a lot different in the game.”

Boyer started on the mound for the Warriors and pitched five innings. Skan liked what he saw from the lanky righthander.

“Boyer threw well today,” Skan said. “He was always getting ahead of hitters. He just got tired in the end.”

Service took a 1-0 lead in the second when Braden Mitchell led off the inning with a walk and scored on a Zach Ferntheil double. Mitchell doubled and scored again in the fourth to give the Cougars the 2-0 advantage, and Service added a pair of runs in the fifth.

Mike Choy singled to open the inning and Aaron Miller followed with a double. Choy scored on Stephen Ferntheil’s single, and Miller crossed home after an Alaska error.