Warriors top seed in region baseball tourney

WASILLA — Early in the season, much of the talk around the Southcentral Conference hinted at an overall parity in the eight-team baseball league.

The three-time defending region champion Wasilla Warriors thought differently. The Warriors weren’t ready to give up their seat at the top of the Southcentral ladder.

“That fueled the fire for my boys,” Wasilla head coach Ken Ottinger said earlier this year.

And now, the Warriors are headed into the region tournament as the lone undefeated team in the Southcentral. Wasilla (9-0) opens the three-day double-elimination tournament Thursday at 10 a.m. against Kodiak (5-5) at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer.

Beyond Wasilla there is parity in the conference, particularly in the Southcentral South Division where all four teams are separated by only two games. Kenai (7-3) the top seed from the South plays host Palmer Thursday at 1p.m. in the quarterfinals. The Moose finished the regular season 1-9, and are the No. 4 seed from the North Division. Soldotna (6-4) is the South’s No. 2 seed and faces Houston (2-7), the North No. 3, Thursday at 10 a.m. at the Palmer Senior Field.

Wasilla and Kodiak, share the top side of the bracket with Houston and SoHi.

Both Homer and Kodiak finished 5-5 in the South. Homer got South’s No. 3 seed and opens against Colony (4-6), the No. 2 seed from the North, Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Palmer Senior Field.

Palmer and Kenai are the bottom side of the bracket with Homer and Colony.

The winners of each quarterfinal game play again Thursday in the semifinals, slated for 4 and 7 p.m. at Hermon Brothers. The conference championship game is Friday at 7 p.m. at Hermon Brothers. The winner of that game earns the first of two bids to the state tournament.

The second-place game in the double-elimination games is Saturday at 1 p.m., and the winner of that contest also goes to state.

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