Wasilla blasts Lathrop, Ketchikan; places 4th in state baseball tourney

ANCHORAGE — After suffering a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to South Anchorage in the first round, Wasilla took out its frustration on a pair of teams en route to a fourth-place finish in the ASAA/First National Bank State Baseball Championships at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

A day after blasting Lathrop 17-7 in the consolation semifinals, Wasilla clobbered the Ketchikan Kings 9-2 in the fourth-place game Saturday morning.

“I’m real proud. This is a tough group,” Wasilla head coach Jason Terryberry said. “The Thursday loss was a tough one, but they did a great job bouncing back. The group that they are, I expected that from them.”

The Warriors finished with a combined 19 hits and 26 runs in the two wins over squads that won their respective region. Lathrop is the Mid-Alaska Conference champion, and Ketchikan entered as the top seed from the Southeast Conference.

“Our bats came alive, and we got a couple of (wins) to end the season, which is great,” Terryberry said.

Jeffrey Forster and Buddy Dale each finished 3 for 3 during the win over the Kings. Jesse Thomas was 3 for 4. Forster scored three times, while Dale and Thomas had two runs each. Dale also drove in a pair of runs.

Dale sparked the Warriors, blasting a solo home run in the third. Thomas singled and scored, and Forster doubled and scored later in the inning to give Wasilla the 3-0 advantage.

Hank Boyer earned the win on the mound, scattering five hits over six innings against Ketchikan.

Friday, Sam Loyer the Warriors at the plate and on the mound during the lopsided win over Lathrop. Loyer was 3 for 4 at the plate, with a double, three RBI and four runs scored. Boyer and Pankratz scored two runs each.

Thomas, Forester, Zach Garnett and Blake Marks scored two runs each against the Malemutes.

Loyer pitched a complete game on the mound for Wasilla. He fanned six in six innings.