Road Warriors work through joy, pain in state tourney

WASILLA — Four days. Four games. Two filled with elation. Two with agony.

A day after bitter rival Kenai stole a 4-3 win over the Road Warriors, Service walked off with a 5-4 extra-innings win over Wasilla during an elimination game of the Alaska American Legion Baseball State Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

“There are a lot of emotions going on right now,” Wasilla head coach Ken Ottinger said by cellphone Friday evening after Service plated a run in the top of the 10th inning to eliminate the Road Warriors.

Fifth-seeded Wasilla’s roller-coaster ride through the state tournament included a victory over fourth-seed Chugiak, the defending state champion, in the first round. The Warriors followed with a win over top-seed Juneau on Day 2. That came before consecutive losses to second-seed Kenai and finally the Cougars.

“It wasn’t our day,” Ottinger said of the loss to Service.

Ottinger has lauded the work and effort of his team throughout a season in which the Warriors lost their ace on the mound, Nolan Monaghan, to injury for the summer. The first-year head coach’s tune didn’t change during state tournament week.

“They played their hearts out,” Ottinger said.

The losses sting, Ottinger said, but the Road Warriors are already looking forward to next summer.

“Our future’s bright,” Ottinger said.

The Warriors have only two players on the roster — leaders Matt Palmer and Sam Loyer — in their final year of eligibility. Other than that, only Monaghan and catcher Jeffrey Forster have graduated high school. The duo is headed to Feather River Community College to play junior college baseball next season. That means the bulk of Wasilla’s talent is eligible to return next season. The Road Warriors boast four incoming high school seniors, six juniors and two sophomores.

The message the coaching staff gave to the players following the loss to Service, Ottinger said, focused on the future.

“The season didn’t end today, it starts today,” Ottinger said. “Starting tomorrow, we’re getting ready for next year.”

Cooper Bailey-Parsons singled and scored on a Derek Scoggins double in the top of the 10th to allow Service to get by Wasilla.

The Road Warriors trailed 3-1 early, but tied the scored with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. Ben Werner singled in the inning to drive in both Sam Loyer and Kyle Graham.

Werner led the Warriors with two RBI in the loss. Graham had two hits.

Twins slip by Warriors

Kenai found a way to slip past Wasilla, but Road Warriors head coach Ken Ottinger found a number of reasons to be proud of his players following a gritty performance during a 4-3 loss to the Twins.

“I’m still proud of my boys,” Ottinger said Thursday evening after the loss in the winner’s bracket, on the third day of the Alaska American Legion State Baseball Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage. “We hit the ball. A couple of those balls were hit straight on the screws but they went to somebody. That’s baseball. Like I just told them, that’s baseball.”

Kenai needed a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to squeeze past the Warriors.

Wasilla led early in the game. In the top of the first, Ben Werner led off the game with a double and scored on a Matt Palmer single. Palmer quickly scored on a Koby Burns single to give Wasilla the 2-0 lead.

After Kenai cut Wasilla’s lead in half, with a run in the bottom of the first, Sam Loyer used his speed to give Wasilla a 3-1 lead. Loyer scored from second base when Werner reached on an infield single.

“That kid’s got wheels,” Ottinger said of Loyer. “If the ball’s in play, he’s going home no matter what.”

Kenai added another run in the bottom of the second, but the Road Warriors led until the bottom of the seventh.

Two days after Austin Robertson and Hank Boyer combined for nine innings of work on the mound, the duo pitched again for the Road Warriors.

“I never do that,” Ottinger said of using pitchers on two days rest. “But it’s tournament time.”

Ottinger said Wasilla did use a strategy to keep from overworking the pitchers. Robertson went six innings on Tuesday, during the first-round win over Chugiak, and Boyer finished the final three.

“We flipped the script,” Ottinger said.

Robertson made the start, once again, but only worked the first two innings. Boyer came in during the third.

Werner led Wasilla at the plate, finishing 3 for 5 with a run and an RBI. Palmer was 2 for 4, with a run and an RBI, while Burns was also 2 for 4 and drove in a run.

Thursday’s contest marked Wasilla’s third straight game against a top-4 team in the bracket. The Road Warriors beat fourth-seeded Chugiak, the defending state champion, in the opening round, and upset top-seeded Juneau on Tuesday.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.