Road Warriors within one win of state title game

Web posted August 6, 2007

Frontiersman staff

ANCHORAGE - Matt Packa's go-ahead, two-run single in the top of the eighth inning helped the Alaska Road Warriors to a wild 12-9 victory over East Anchorage Monday evening and a trip to the American Legion state semifinals against No. 2 seed South at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

A win Tuesday would advance the Wasilla-based American Legion team to Thursday's state final for the first time since the team won state in 1990.

The Road Warriors led throughout until East tied the game at 6-6 on an RBI double by Brian Campos to score Billy Forsythe in the bottom of the seventh inning, then took the lead when Alaska catcher Wes Smith threw the ball into left field on Campos' steal of third.

Packa then put the Road Warriors in front for good when his single scored left fielder Corey Cowgill and right fielder Tyler Eli, who had opened the inning with back-to-back hits. Eli - who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday by knocking in four runs in the Road Warriors' tournament opener against Service - was again hot with the bat, finishing with a single, double and triple.

Alaska later ran its lead to 12-7 heading into the bottom of the ninth, but got a scare when Campos ripped a two-run home run off Packa over the left field wall to cut the lead to 12-9.

Cole Smith came on in relief afte Campos' blast, and allowed the tying runner to reach the plate before getting Tyler Moore to pop out to second base and end the East rally.

The victory moved Alaska to 2-0 in the tournament - matching the team's win total at state over the course of the decade. The Road Warriors entered the tournament with a 2-14 record since 2000 and had lost five consecutive state games.

But the fifth-seeded Road Warriors proved they're a force to be reckoned with, pounding out 20 hits and committing just two errors on the night. The T-Birds - who advanced to Monday's game with an upset win over No. 1 seed Chugiak on Saturday - made six errors and also hurt themselves with a couple crucial baserunning blunders.

Smith earned the save for his one inning of work, while Packa picked up the win.

The T-Birds struck first in the game with an unearned run against starter Eli in the bottom of the first inning, but the Road Warriors quickly came back with three of their own in the top of the second behind a 2-RBI single by third baseman Carl Brent.

Brent's single came after Alaska loaded the bases behind a leadoff walk to designated hitter Kody Ziter and infield singles by center fielder Rob Fitch and second baseman Chris Breck. The Road Warriors then made it 3-1 on an RBI sacrifice fly by shortstop Casey Smith to bring Breck across.

Road Warriors first baseman Mike Dotson added an RBI single in the top of the third to score Fitch after the speedy Alaska center fielder reached second on a costly two-out East throwing error.

East cut the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the third on RBI singles from Tyler Moore and Austin Cassidy.

Eli then ripped an RBI triple to center with two outs in the top of the fourth to score Cowgill, and came in to score when the East relay throw to third sailed high to give the Road Warriors a 6-3 advantage.

But the T-Birds chipped away at the lead, picking up a run each in the fourth and sixth innings before going ahead with two in the seventh.

After Packa pulled the Road Warriors back in front in the eighth, Brent added a crucial insurance run with his third hit - and third RBI - of the game, scoring Fitch from third to put Alaska up 9-7.

Brent finished the game 3-for-6 to earn Player of the Game recognition.

Alaska broke things open with three runs on five hits in the top of the ninth, including an RBI double by Cowgill and run-scoring singles from Fitch and Dotson, but still had to sweat out the final half inning before beginning the team's biggest post-game celebration in more than a decade.

Alaska 031 200 033 - 12 20 2

East 102 101 202 - 9 16 6