Small ball, big wins: Road Warriors earn another key legion victory

WASILLA — Ken Ottinger is not shy about what style of baseball he wants his Wasilla Road Warriors American Legion baseball squad to bring to the field.

Small ball.

And it’s translating into big wins for the Road Warriors.

Thursday, during a battle featuring two of the top three teams in Alaska Legion’s American Division, the Warriors used small ball to build an early lead in the 5-0 victory over Dimond. In the first, Wasilla leadoff hitter Kyle Graham was hit with a pitch. Kendell Ruta followed with a sacrifice bunt that moved Graham to second. The next hitter, Ben Werner, drove a ball into the outfield and Graham scored from second to give Wasilla the 1-0 lead.

In the third, White led off the inning with a single. Graham followed with another sacrifice bunt. Later in the inning, James Arend singled to right field and two runners scored.

“We played small ball tonight. The kids put bunts down where they’re supposed to put bunts down. They didn’t just put it in play, they put it where they’re supposed to,” Ottinger said. “Unselfish play. Move runners over.”

Throughout the season, a number of Warriors have shown their ability to lay down a bunt just as well as they can put a ball into the gap.

“One through nine, that’s all I’m looking for as a coach,” Ottinger said of his lineup. “One through nine. Single, single, single, maybe the occasional double. I’m not looking for triples. I’m not looking for home runs. I just want singles. Put the ball in play, put pressure on the defense. And we’ve done that. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

And that’s exactly how Ottinger wants his athletes continue to play, he said.

“That’s just textbook, old school baseball. Small ball,” Ottinger said. “Anybody who knows me knows that’s how I am. I like to put pressure on the defense playing small ball. We don’t have to be big. We don’t have to be fancy. Just play baseball, and you can win a lot of baseball games that way.”

Wasilla has the second most overall wins in Alaska, 18, this season. The Road Warriors also improved to 12-5 in league play with the victory. The Road Warriors, who grabbed a state tournament berth with a 16-2 win over rival Palmer on Tuesday, clinched a top-4 seed in the state tourney with the victory Thursday. With a win over East Anchorage Friday afternoon, Wasilla will be among the top 3 seeds in the tournament, which starts Tuesday at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage. The Warriors also improved to 8-1 in their last nine league games, and have beat four teams that have already clinched state tournament berths — Dimond, South, Service and Chugiak — since July 4.

“It’s been a (180-degree change) from the beginning of the season,” Ottinger said. “This may not be the strongest ball club I’ve ever had, but it’s turning into the most unselfish.”

Arend and Hank Boyer each drove in a pair to lead the Warriors at the plate, and Boyer was among three pitchers who combined for the seven-inning, two-hit shutout.

Austin Robertson, Jacob Gilbert and Boyer saw time on the mound. Ottinger said the coach staff set a pitch total for each arm.

“We had a game plan and they executed it to perfection,” Ottinger said.

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