Warriors finish 4th in state softball tourney

WASILLA — The Wasilla Warriors entered the state softball tournament with their sights set on the championship game. The Warriors fell short of their primary goal, but did score a top-4 finish in the state tournament for the second straight season.

Wasilla finished fourth after suffering a 7-4 loss to Chugiak during the final day of the ASAA/First National Bank State Softball Championships Saturday in Fairbanks.

“Third place was anybody’s game,” Wasilla head coach Tyler Gillgen said by cellphone from Fairbanks Saturday.

Katherine Johnson, Shelby Wallis, Jewel Fleckenstein and Deborah Polk each scored runs against the Mustangs.

Wasilla’s highlighted its tournament with a thrilling 12-11 win over Railbelt rival West Valley Friday evening in an elimination round. Alyssa Simmons beat a West Valley throw to home plate, to score the game-winning run and keep the Warriors alive.

“They were excited,” Gillgen said of his players. “It was a good game, good win.”

Johnson finished 4 for 5 in the victory, and scored two runs. Simmons, Wallis, Fleckenstein and Hannah Zwolinski each collected a pair of hits for the Warriors.

Wasilla finished 1-2 in the tournament. The Warriors opened with a first-round bye, and suffered a 13-3 loss to East Anchorage in their first game of the tournament.

The tournament marked the end of the prep careers of Wasilla’s six seniors.

“The six seniors really built this program,” Gilligan said recently of his super six pack of seniors: Johnson, Simmons, Wallis, Haley Jenkins, Polk and Zwolinski.

Despite the loss of the group, Gilligen is excited for the future.

“We’ve gotten the program built with these seniors. We’re going to be young next year, but were excited to go for our conference (championship) and get back to the state tournament,” Gilligen said.

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