Warriors win 3rd straight softball title

WASILLA — It took three straight wins for the Wasilla Warriors to win their third straight region title.

And they all came on the same day.

After falling to West Valley Friday morning in the semifinals, Wasilla scored a win over rival Colony in an elimination game and then consecutive victories over West Valley to earn the conference title during the Railbelt Conference Championships at Wasilla High School.

“This was supposed to be a building year for us,” Wasilla head coach Tyler Gilligan said of a program that graduated seven seniors last year. “The girls worked their tails off and turned this building year into a great year for us.”

Not only did Wasilla play four games Friday — winning three — but managed it while using only one pitcher, sophomore Jordan Malave. Giligan said he’s never seen anything like it in the Railbelt.

“Not in our conference. Not with any success at least,” Gilligan said.

And Malave made it through four games despite nursing quad and hamstring injuries.

“Jordan did an incredible job,” Gilligan said.

Gilligan said he did consider replacing his ace at one point during the final game. With the Warriors trailing 6-1 in the fifth, Gilligan had Malave checked by the athletic trainer.

“Jordan has the heart of a lion and she wanted to push through. But I needed to make a judgment call as a coach,” Gilligan said.

Gilligan said the athletic trainer said Malave could continue, and the sophomore powered forward. And that sparked her teammates, Gilligan said.

“At that point the girls really turned it on,” Gilligan said.

The Warriors scored seven unanswered runs and cemented the title with an 8-7 come-from-behind victory over the Wolfpack.

“The bats just came alive,” Gilligan said. “Everyone was hitting. The base running was spot-on. Balls hit the gaps and they were stretching singles into doubles.”

Gilligan praised his entire team for its work to rally and get the title.

“It’s amazing. Absolutely amazing to witness,” Gilligan said.

Wasilla entered the tournament as the top seed and opened with a 15-0 victory over Lathrop Thursday afternoon. In the semifinals, West Valley edged Wasilla 5-3. That dropped the Warriors into an elimination match with Colony, which stayed alive with a 15-0 victory over Palmer on Thursday night. The Warriors bounced back from the loss to West Valley, and eliminated the Knights with a 9-1 win.

In the championship game, the Warriors scored a 5-4 walk-off win over the Wolfpack. Danika Gilbert scored on a West Valley error in the bottom of the seventh to give the Warriors the win. That forced the if-necessary game in the double-elimination tournament, and Wasilla overcame the six-run deficit to win.

The Warriors now look ahead to the large-schools state tournament, which starts Thursday in Fairbanks.

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