Valley softball squads back on the diamond

MAT-SU — With three trips to the ASAA state softball tournament each during the last five years, the Colony Knights and Wasilla Warriors have become accustomed to advancing to postseason play.

This season, both Mat-Su squads are looking to young teams to carry the programs back to the final tournament.

Colony, which finished 0-2 in state tourney play last season, returns only two seniors, but a host of younger talent.

Shortstop and pitcher Dani Buckley and first baseman Mary Domboski represent a senior class that should be aided greatly by a group of juniors that includes pitcher Reanna Stewart, third baseman Jackie Schachle and catcher Jessie Lachelt.

“We’re young, but we have a pretty solid team if they start playing like they can,” Colony head coach Mike Stewart said.

Buckley and Schachle should represent the heart of the Knights batting order, and Reanna Stewart is Colony’s top pitcher, the head coach said.

Added to the mix are freshmen Devan Clark, Chantelle Jones and Sage Stefanski, all of whom should receive ample playing time.

Overall Stewart said he’s pleased with what he’s seen from his current crop of talent.

“We’ve got a lot of speed and the defense is pretty good,” Stewart said. “So far the pitching hasn’t been bad.”

Colony is off to a 1-1 start, splitting a pair of games against Interior opponents at the Bumpus Ballfields last weekend. The Knights opened the season with a 9-3 win over North Pole, but had to watch West Valley score 13 unanswered runs during a 17-5 win over CHS on Saturday.

Wasilla, under the guidance of first-year head coach Cindy Wisdom, is in search of its first state tourney berth since 2007. The Warriors were actually the last Valley team to record a win in the state softball tournament, a 5-1 victory over East Anchorage during the first round in 2007.

This season, Wisdom will look to her four seniors and two juniors to lead the club.

The senior class includes Zandra Christiansen-Vavlis, Kelsey Cline, Sam Porreca and Tori Tillery.

April Gearing and Brittany Steel are the varsity juniors.

Overall, Wisdom said 28 players came out for a team.

“It’s more than I expected,” Wisdom said, who took over a program that was in danger of being shut down for the season.

The Wasilla head coaching position was vacant until Wisdom stepped in at the last minute.

After Wisdom accepted the position, she was pleasantly surprised about the amount of talent the Warriors had.

“Most of the girls on varsity are pretty seasoned ball players,” Wisdom said. “I was impressed.”

Wasilla opened the season with three games last weekend. North Pole edged the Warriors 8-6 and 8-5 on consecutive days. West Valley beat WHS 8-0.

Colony and Wasilla are the only schools with prep softball teams this season. Palmer was forced to cancel the season for the second straight year after failing to find coaches to lead the Moose sqaud. Houston has not fielded a team since 2004.

The Valley’s two prep squads will meet Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Bumpus.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.