Ready to go

PALMER — With double-digit run totals in half of their 12 regular-season games this season, the Colony Knights have certainly shown the ability to put up some lofty scores.

But Colony needed only two runs on Thursday to show head coach Jamie Mayo that the Knights are ready to face Alaska’s top teams in the ASAA/First National Bank State Baseball Championships, which start Thursday at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

“It was one of the greatest high school games I’ve been involved in,” Mayo, Colony’s 16-year head coach, said of the Knights’ 2-1 extra-innings win over Kodiak.

It was a pitchers’ duel. Colony’s starter Colter Peterson had a strong outing, pitching the entire nine innings, and Kodiak’s starter and reliever equaled Peterson’s work on the mound.

There was solid defense. Mayo believed there were six to seven plays on defense that prevented runs from scoring. And both teams combined for just one error, but that mistake led to the Colony win.

Eddie Lee scored on the Kodiak catcher’s wild throw to third base in the bottom of the ninth to mark the game’s winning run, giving the Knights the Southcentral Conference title.

“That was literally our conference championship,” Mayo said.

That win was among a handful of victories in which the Knights proved to Mayo that Colony is a championship-caliber ball club.

Despite 10-2 overall record and perfect 9-0 conference mark, the Knights did find themselves trailing in several games throughout the season.

Colony erased a 3-0 deficit to Homer and beat the Mariners 7-3. The Knights also trailed Soldotna 3-0, but wound up with a lopsided 14-4 win.

Wasilla also led the Knights, before Colony could claim a mid-season win.

“It would be real easy for some other teams not to fight through those situations,” Mayo said. “It’s somewhat of a testament to the kids on our team.”

Colony will take the confidence built by fighting through that adversity into a tournament that features five teams the Knights did not see during the regular season.

“You can look at it two ways,” Mayo said. “We haven’t seen them, but they haven’t seen us either.”

Colony was also somewhat unknown last year, and the Knights claimed a third-place finish at the state tourney.

One of those five teams is Colony’s first-round opponent, Chugiak.

“It’s a typical Chugiak team,” Mayo said of the Mustangs who were the runners-up in 2004 and 2006, and finished fourth last year. “Good pitching, good hitting, good defense.”

Overall, Mayo expects parity to be a theme for the 2009 state event.

“I don’t think there’s any one dominant team in the tournament,” Mayo said.

A new champion will also be guaranteed, after defending champ Juneau-Douglas failed to make it out of conference play. Ketchikan and Sitka, which won titles in 2005, 2006, and 2007, are the teams from the Southeast. Dimond joins Chugiak as the Cook Inlet Conference representatives. Lathrop and West Valley qualified from the Mid-Alaska. Homer joins Colony as the Southcentral squads in the state tourney.

Mayo said his squad — which is loaded with veteran talents such as Peterson, Kody Ziter, Matt Packa and Rhowe Stefanski — is healthy.

“We have 15 guys ready to go,” Mayo said.

Prep softball

Knights in state

tourney

PALMER — The Colony Knights softball squad is also preparing for its state tournament. The Knights, the lone Valley team to advance to the ASAA/First National Bank State Softball Championships, will open tourney play Friday at 11 a.m. against Chugiak at Cartee Fields in East Anchorage.

With a win over the Mustangs, who finished third in the state tourney last year, the Knights would move ahead into the winners’ bracket and face either Dimond or the defending state champion Juneau-Dougals Crimson Bears at 3 p.m. that day.

With a loss, Colony would be kicked into the losers’ bracket of the double elimination event and play at 1 p.m. Friday.

Colony is led by seniors Dani Buckley and Reanna Stewart, who were both named All-Railbelt Conference this season.

Buckley anchors the Colony infield at shortstop, while Stewart is the Knights’ ace on the mound.

Colony earned the Railbelt’s third seed after finishing 6-5 overall and 5-4 in conference play.

The tournament continues through Saturday, with the last game scheduled for 3 p.m.

The Wasilla Warriors, the only other Valley squad to feature a softball team this season, finished the season winless.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.