Top teams on diamond set to meet in Alaska state tourney

PALMER — There’s always a little bit of mystery surrounding the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears. The school has been a state power for years. But most teams in Southcentral Alaska may not see the Crimson Bears until they hit the mainland for the state tournament.

The Bears may be hard to scout, but the report is typically the same. Juneau will contend.

With that, Colony head coach Jordan Chadwell knows his Knights will have to be ready when they open against defending state champion Juneau during the first round of the ASAA/First National Bank State Baseball Championships, which begins Thursday at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

“They’re a tough team. They’ve always been a tough team. They’ll be a challenge for us,” Chadwell said of the game, slated for a 1 p.m. start Thursday.

Colony enters the tournament undefeated and the Southcentral Conference champions, after a 9-1 win over Kodiak in the conference title game last Friday. Juneau earned the second berth from the Southeast Conference after edging rival Thunder Mountain 3-2.

Last season, Juneau doubled up Southeast rival Ketchikan 12-6 to win the state title, it’s second in three seasons and fifth since ASAA sanctioned a state tournament in 2000. The Bears have made seven appearances in the state championship game since 2000.

Last weekend, Juneau needed a solo home run in the eighth inning to edge Thunder Mountain 3-2. Ketchikan is the top seed from the Southeast this season. Regardless of finish, Chadwell said the Knights are expecting to face a quality opponent Thursday.

“You always have to assume they’ve put together a good club,” Chadwell said. “You know there’s good competition in the Southeast.”

Chadwell said if the Knights want to realize their ultimate goal, earning Colony’s first state baseball championship in school history, they will have to beat opponents the caliber of Juneau along the way.

“To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” Chadwell said. “It’ll be a good challenge for our boys.”

The Knights hope they have the pieces to make a run in the 2013 tourney.

“The kids have worked pretty hard,” Chadwell said. “This is a good opportunity to see if the hard work can pay off for them.”

Colony (10-0) has depth in its starting rotation, a group led by senior Jonathan Boyer.

Boyer is 2-0 this season with a perfect 0.00 earned run average. He’s also fanned 22 batters, while walking only five. Senior Jacob Butcher is 3-0 with a 0.45 ERA and 23 strikeouts. Sophomore Dalton McHugill is 3-0 with a 0.13 ERA and 17 strikeouts.

At the plate, Colony boasts four regulars with a .412 or better batting average, and seven who are hitting at least .308.

Ben Ross leads the squad with a .525 batting average. Ross has also smacked four home runs, and shares the team RBI lead with Morgan McJimsey at 15.

Logan Sanders is second on the squad, batting .480. Boyer is batting .471 with 14 RBI and a team-high 19 runs scored. Butcher is hitting .412 with 12 RBI and 11 runs.

The Knights and Bears share the bottom side of the state bracket with Cook Inlet Conference champion Service and Mid-Alaska Conference runner-up West Valley, who meet Thursday at 7 p.m.

Ketchikan meets Southcentral runner-up Kodiak Thursday at 10 a.m. MAC champ Lathrop faces CIC runner-up South at 4 p.m.

Knights honored

PALMER — A pair of Colony Knights earned major honors during the Southcentral Conference Championships tournament last week at Wasilla High.

Senior Jonathon Boyer was named player of the year, while Colony’s Jordan Chadwell was named coach of the year.

Boyer is 2-0 this season with a perfect 0.00 earned run average. He’s also fanned 22 batters, while walking only five. At the plate, Boyer is batting .471 with 14 RBI and a team-high 19 runs scored.

Boyer is one of three Knights named first-team all-conference. Jacob Butcher and Ben Ross also earned first-team honors.

Palmer placed a pair of players on the first team, Adam Christiansen and Luke Heun. Jaden Sears represented Houston on the first-team squad.

Homer’s Tommy Bowe, Kenai’s Dallas Pierren and Hector Rivera, Kodiak’s Austin Frick and Brandon Mahle and Soldotna’s Tyler Fritz also earned first-team honors.

Nine Valley players were named to the second-team. Dalton McHugill, Morgan McJimsey, Matt Palmer and Logan Sanders represented the Knights on the second team. Devan Elson and Mitchell Ruta were named second team for the Houston Hawks. Wasilla’s Tyler Hansen and Mitchell Chauvin, and Palmer’s Cameron Christiansen were also named second-team.

Colony earns trip to state softball tourney

ANCHORAGE — The Colony Knights earned a trip to the ASAA/First National Bank State Softball Championships, which start Friday at the Cartee Fields in Anchorage.

Colony is the fourth seed from the Railbelt Conference and opens with Cook Inlet Conference champion East Anchorage Friday at 1 p.m.

With a win, the Knights would meet either Railbelt runner-up Juneau or Chugiak, the No. 3 seed from the CIC, Friday at 5 p.m. With a loss in the first round, the Knights would meet either Juneau or Chugiak in an elimination game Friday at 3 p.m.

Lathrop, South Anchorage, West Anchorage and West Valley also qualified for the large-schools tournament.