Warriors hold top seed in state legion tourney

WASILLA — The Wasilla Road Warriors enter the Alaska American Legion State Tournament with the top seed for the second consecutive year, but this season the Road Warriors will open the tournament against the team that ended their state run last year.

Wasilla will face eighth-seeded South Anchorage Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

Last season, South Anchorage beat Wasilla 13-0 during an elimination round in the tournament. Regardless of what happened last season, Wasilla head coach Myrl Thompson said he’s expecting a tough match in round one. Part of that is thanks to a major change in the tournament’s format. In the past, the field has included 10 teams and first-round byes for the top seeds in the state. But Alaska American Legion is debuting a new eight-team double-elimination tournament this season.

“The tournament’s different. They’re all strong teams. Anybody in this tournament can beat anybody,” Thompson said.

Wasilla won the regular-season title with a 15-3 record. Service, Chugiak and Eagle River all finished tied with 13-5 records. Tiebreakers left Service with the No. 2 seed, and Chugiak and Eagle River seeded third and fourth, respectively. Kenai and Dimond both qualified with 12-6 records, and are seeded fifth and sixth. Juneau (11-7) and South (10-8) round out the field as the seventh and eighth seeds, respectively.

The Road Warriors could be the hottest team in the state, winners of 11 straight.

“I think we’re getting to where we’re playing pretty good ball all the way around,” Thompson said. “The kids aren’t tired. The pitching arms aren’t tired. We’re starting to gather steam when we want to be.”

Wasilla will face either Eagle River or Kenai in its second game. With a win Friday, Wasilla would move forward to play Sunday at 4 p.m. A loss would drop Wasilla into the loser’s bracket and the Road Warriors would play Saturday at 4 p.m.

All of the tournament games are at Mulcahy Stadium.

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