Warriors beat Colony, place 3rd in state baseball tourney

SITKA — Wasilla used a win over a Valley rival to post one of its best state tournament finishes in program history.

Wasilla beat Colony 6-2 during the third-place game of the ASAA/First National Bank State Baseball Championships in Sitka Saturday. With the win, the Warriors earned their second top-3 finish in the history of the ASAA-sanctioned state baseball tourney. Wasilla finished second in 2001.

“I told my guys they exceeded all expectations,” Wasilla head coach Jason Terryberry said by cellphone. “I feel really good about it.”

Wasilla opened its tourney with a 5-4 win over West Valley in the quarterfinals, but host Sitka beat Wasilla 14-0 in the semifinals. Sitka continued on to win the 2014 tourney.

“Sitka earned it,” Terryberry said.

Terryberry said he was proud to see his players rebound following the tough loss to Sitka.

“That was one of the big things, bouncing back after that Sitka game,” Terryberry said. “We got beat down by Sitka, but they were the better team. Knowing we were playing Colony, a team we’re familiar with, I told them this is the time to redeem yourselves.”

Wasilla freshman Hank Boyer pitched into the sixth inning and six different Warriors finished with at least one hit to help Wasilla finish third with the win over the Knights.

“They all chipped in,” Terryberry said. “It’s kind of like we did all year. It wasn’t a few guys trying to do everything.”

Wasilla took an early 1-0 lead. After Colony jumped ahead 2-1, Wasilla scored twice in the top of the third, and held a 3-2 advantage. The Warriors also added three runs in the sixth inning.

Colony, looking to tie a program-best with a third-place finish, settled for fifth with the loss. The Knights finished third in 2008.

The Knights started their tourney with a 7-6 win over Lathrop. Eventual runner-up South beat Colony 4-0 in the semifinals.