Warriors grab pair of midweek wins

WASILLA — As the Alaska Road Warriors prepare for another clash with state power South Anchorage, the Valley-based American Legion baseball squad bagged a pair of midweek victories to move up to the top of the standings alongside the Wolverines.

Alaska clubbed Eagle River 14-1 at Loretta French Field on Wednesday and followed with a slim 3-2 win over East Anchorage Thursday at McManus Field in Wasilla.

The Road Warriors travel to Anchorage to play the Wolverines tonight at 6:30 p.m.

Road Warriors head coach Myrl Thompson said Alaska scored the win over East despite an impressive performance by the Thunderbirds starter.

“He pitched a heck of a game, had us off-balanced,” Thompson said.

Mitchell Chauvin earned the win in relief for the Warriors, after hitting the mound in the second inning. Ben Ross knocked in the game-winning run, using a double to allow David Newman to score.

Designated hitter Morgan McJimsey also posted a run-scoring single for the Warriors.

Ross finished 4 for 5 during the win over Eagle River. Russ Ruta was 2 for 5 with three runs scored. Jacob Butcher finished 2 for 5. Josh Grissom pitched five scoreless innings to earn the win.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com, follow him at twitter.com/matsu_sports and find him by searching Valley Sports Huddle on Facebook.