Road Warriors no match

for Mustangs' ace

June 17, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/Frontiersman

WASILLA - Chugiak southpaw Connor Spink struck out 11 batters in seven innings of work as the Mustangs galloped to an 10-1 win over the Alaska Road Warriors Saturday at McManus Field in Wasilla.

&#8220He's one of the top pitchers in the state of Alaska,” Alaska coach Steve Mossburgh said following the game.

Spink allowed just one hit, a triple to Alaska catcher Wes Smith in the sixth inning. Smith later scored the Road Warriors' only run of the game after Chugiak's catcher made an errant throw following an Alaska strikeout.

&#8220He was our whole offense today,” Mossburgh said of his standout catcher, who plans to attend high school in Arizona next fall to pursue his baseball career.

While Smith was able to handle Spink - he finished 1-for-1 with a walk, Mossburgh said the prospect of facing the tall, hard-throwing Spink wasn't one the rest of his team appeared to relish.

&#8220A lot of these young guys, they see these guys and they're just intimidated,” Mossburgh said.

He said Chugiak was simply more than the Wasilla club was ready to handle Saturday.

&#8220They've got a good team,” he said.

Despite the loss - which ran the Road Warriors' losing skid to four in a row - Mossburgh said he's still optimistic Alaska will soon turn things around.

&#8220All we've got to do is cut down on our errors and we can play with anybody,” he said.

Now 2-4 on the young season, Mossburgh said he's not ready to hit the panic button just yet.

&#8220We'll keep trying,” he said.

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

frontiersman.com

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