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The Wasilla Road Warriors faced more than their fair share of adversity during the 2021 Alaska Legion Baseball summer season. But despite all of the obstacles, the Road Warriors earned a postseason tournament title.
Wasilla scored a 9-0 victory over West Anchorage during the championship final of the Matson Invitational Jul 27 at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.
“All the way back to (the high school season), kids were getting hurt left and right,’ Wasilla head coach Ken Ottinger said.
Ottinger said the Warriors lost about six starters to season-ending injuries. But Ottinger, who leads both the Wasilla prep and legion programs, said the Warriors worked to find the positive.
“It’s given a chance for some of our younger kids to get some reps,” Ottinger said. “It’s been a good chance for all of us to learn and grow, and learn from adversity and get through it. I’m pretty proud of my kids for sticking together.”
The win also kept the Warriors’ summer season alive. Wasilla has qualified for the Northwest Class A Regional Tournament, which starts Aug. 6 at Mulcahy.
“Any chance to be able to go to regions is just a great experience for the kids,” Ottinger said. “It’s a good way to end the season. We’re all excited.”
It’s the third straight year that the Warriors earned a berth in the tourney. Wasilla finished as the region runner-up in 2019. The tourney was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dayton Greer tossed six shutout innings, while allowing only three hits, to lead the Warriors on the mound. He also fanned six.
Andre Brown drove in two runs and Will Plowman scored three times for the Warriors. Ty Dudley and Jacob Hansen also scored twice.
Greer was named the top pitcher in the tournament, Wasilla’s Pedro Camacho earned the Big Stick award, finishing with a tourney-best nine RBI. He also hit .538 in the tournament.
Wasilla’s Nolan Murphy, who has committed to play at Central Washington, was named the Matson MVP. Murphy led the tournament with two home runs and nine runs scored, and was second with eight RBI.
Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontiersman.com.
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