Warriors, Knights fall in region baseball play

WASILLA — A pair of Valley losses cleared the playoff picture in the top tier of the Southcentral Conference. But there’s still a logjam in the middle of the pack.

Kodiak clinched the top seed in the upcoming Southcentral Conference tournament with a 16-2 victory over Colony Friday night in Kodiak. Homer gabbed second, edging four-time region champion Wasilla 1-0 Friday night in Homer. Wasilla will be the third seed, thanks to the loss.

Kodiak, Homer and Wasilla each finished the regular season with a 6-2 region record.

Teams will have to wait until Monday night to see who will end up with the fourth, fifth and sixth seeds in the region tourney, which starts Thursday in Homer. Colony (4-3) faces Palmer (3-4) Monday at 4 p.m. at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

Soldotna (4-4) and Grace Christian (3-4) are also in that group.

Colony led 2-0 early a Kodiak, but the Bears answered with 16 unanswered runs.

In Homer, the Mariners overshadowed Wasilla starter Jacob Gilbert’s good night on the mound. Gilbert tossed a complete game, scattering five hits over six innings. He fanned six, while walking only one. But Homer’s Seth Adkins through a complete game shutout, allowing only two hits.

Clayton Boyett picked up both hits for the Warriors.

Moose score win

In nonleague play, Palmer beat the Eagle River open squad 20-9 Friday night at Hermon Brothers Field. Brady Shults led the Moose, finishing 3 of 4 with four runs scored and four RBI. Ben Almeida scored three runs. Lucas Adams, Luke Guggenmos and Anthony Jones collected two runs and two RBI each.

Palmer’s win including a nine-run fifth inning.

Thursday, the South Anchorage open team beat Palmer 15-6 in Palmer. Almeida finished with three runs. Jones scored twice. Kaj Taylor collected a hit, run and RBI.

Hawks fall in Soldotna

Soldotna scored a 15-5 league win over Houston Thursday night in Soldotna.

Morgan Buntin led the Hawks with two hits and two runs. Noah Plumb and Hayden Chivers also had a hit and a run.

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