Wolverines edge Warriors in state baseball tourney

ANCHORAGE — When there are two opposing pitchers dealing some of their best stuff, sometimes you’ve got to take a chance and roll the dice.

The Wasilla Warriors took their shot, but fell just short.

In the bottom of the final inning with the game-tying run on third, the Warriors tried to squeeze the runner home, but South Anchorage catcher Julito Fazzini tagged Wasilla’s Nolan Monaghan at the plate to help secure a 1-0 win over the Warriors during the first round of the ASAA/First National Bank State Baseball Championships at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage Thursday.

“Heartbreaking,” Wasilla head coach Jason Terryberry said after the loss. “We played them close. At the end there we had a guy on third. We didn’t get the break we needed. That’s the way the game goes.”

With the Warriors trailing by a run heading into the bottom of the seventh, Monaghan led off with a double to the deep left center field gap. Wasilla’s Buddy Dale followed with a sacrifice bunt that pushed Monaghan to third.

With one out, and Wasilla senior Blake Marks at the plate, the Warriors rolled the dice. Monaghan sprinted toward the plate, but as Monaghan tried to steal home, South starter Tommy Koloski fired a pitch high above Marks. Fazzini reached up for the ball, and was able to tag Monaghan on the side, just before Monaghan hands reached the plate as he slid into home.

The play at the plate marked as an exclamation point on a quarterfinal contest that featured a pitcher’s duel and errorless defense. Both Koloski and Monaghan went the distance for their teams. Koloski allowed three hits, while fanning seven without walking a hitter en route to the shutout win. Monaghan scattered five hits over seven innings, struck out nine and walked four batters.

“Give South credit, their pitcher threw strikes,” Terryberry said. “Nolan did a great job. (South) got a clutch hit when they needed it, and got a runner across.”

That lone run came in the top of the fifth inning. South’s Matt Kley drew a lead-off walk. After a sacrifice bunt moved the South runner ahead, Kley scored from second on Lian Lincoln’s two-out single to right field.

Monaghan’s start comes on the heels of pitching back-to-back no hitters. He notched his first career no-hitter in May during a 10-0 win over Kodiak that clinched the Warriors the top seed in the Southcentral Conference tournament. Last weekend, Monaghan pitched his second consecutive no-hitter during an 11-1 win over Soldotna in the Southcentral title game.

South had nine baserunners in the game, but other than the fifth, Monaghan and his teammates were able to work themselves out of innings. In the top of the third with runners on first and second, and one out, Monaghan notched one of his nine strikeouts to bring it two a pair of outs. Monaghan ended the inning when he threw out a runner at second.

South also had two baserunners in the top of the fourth, but Monaghan struck out the final two hitters to end the inning. In the first inning, South’s Jonny Homza drew a walk. But Wasilla catcher Jeffrey Forster gunned Homza down after Homza tried to steal second.

“It’s the nature of our ball club. We all battle. Each and every one of them, as a team and individually,” Terryberry said.

At the plate, Monaghan, Sam Loyer and Hank Boyer had a hit each for the Warriors.

“They all played tough,” Terryberry said of his team. “It’s nothing to be down about. They played a great game.”

With the loss, Wasilla moves into the consolation semifinals and will play Lathrop Friday at 10 a.m. at Mulcahy. Lathrop, the Mid-Alaska Conference champion, suffered a 15-0 loss to Juneau-Douglas in the first round.

Each quarterfinal winner won by shutout Thursday. West Valley upset Southeast Conference champion Ketchikan with a 4-0 victory over the Kings. Chugiak blanked Kodiak 7-0 in the late game Thursday.

Friday, South faces Juneau in the first semifinal at 4 p.m. in the other semi, West Valley meets Chugiak at 7.