Valley shows well at SCL tourney

KENAI — Colony entered the Southcentral Conference baseball tournament with the deepest pitching staff in the region, and the Knights got complete-game performances from Jacob Butcher, Damon Hammer and Jonathan Boyer to cruise to victory.

“I’m happy for the win,” Colony head coach Jordan Chadwell said. “It’s a good starting point for the season, but we’re looking to try to win a state title. To be successful at state we have to play a complete seven innings without any mental lapses.”

Colony represents the Southcentral Conference as champions at the state tournament May 31 and June 1-2 at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

For the tournament, the Knights recorded a 7-2 win over Kodiak, beat Kenai 9-0 and topped Valley rival Wasilla 6-1 in the title game.

Colony junior Jonathan Boyer and Houston High senior Scott Kramer were named Co-Conference Players of the Year.

Hawks continue

to rebuild

Houston lost a close game to the No. 1 seed in the South Division, Soldotna. The Hawks nearly had the upset in hand, but fell 4-3. Houston played another close game against Homer, winning 15-14 after scoring three runs in the seventh to take the lead.

“They knew what the result was if they lost, and they got the job done. I’m proud of our guys. For some of these guys it’s the last baseball they’re going to play, and they helped us re-start the program four years ago. It’s nice they could get a win,” Houston head coach Bill Kramer said.

For the tournament, the Hawks lost to Soldotna, beat Homer and lost 15-0 to Kenai.

Complete games

highlight Warriors

Josh Grissom threw a complete game without allowing an earned run and struck out seven Homer Mariners in an 11-1 Southcentral Conference tournament win for Wasilla. Bryce Borngraeber followed that performance with a complete game of his own to beat Soldotna. Tyler Boensch started against Colony in the championship and pitched four innings. Boensch was relieved by Ian Stormont and Ian Zwink pitched an inning each in relief. Grissom pitched five innings against Kenai and was relieved by Zwink for two.

Overall, the Warriors beat Home 11-1 and Soldotna 4-1 to advance to the title game, but lost 6-1 to Colony, then 2-1 to Kenai.

Palmer avenges 2011 loss

Palmer was able to avenge its 2011 Southcentral Conference tournament loss to Kodiak this year. Senior David Media had an arm injury, limiting Palmer’s pitching staff. Junior Luke Heun saw much of the action on the mound for the Moose, as well as junior Cameron Christiansen.

Overall, the Moose finished the tournament with a 10-0 loss to Kenai, 4-3 win over Kodiak and 10-0 loss to Soldotna.

Contact Tim Rockey at 352-2252 or timothy.rockey@gmail.com. Follow @trockeynews on Twitter.