SoHi, Kenai, Homer chase state berths at Southcentral tourney

Published 10:30 pm Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Three berths to the Division II state baseball tournament will be up for grabs Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Southcentral Conference baseball tournament at Redington Jr/Sr and Houston high schools.

Soldotna, with a 9-1 league record, is the top seed at the tournament, while Kenai is No. 3 at 7-3 and Homer is No. 6 at 3-7.

The top three teams at the tournament earn berths to Division II state, which will be June 2 to 4 at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage. The Alaska Schools Activities Association also has three at-large berths to dole out to the tournament.

The Stars, whose lone loss in the league is to Kenai, open against No. 8 Redington at 1 p.m. at Redington. The Stars qualified for state last season for the first time since 2016 by finishing third at the Southcentral Conference tournament.

The Kardinals open with a 10 a.m. game against Homer at Houston. Kenai has 15-5 and 9-3 victories over the Mariners this season.

Kenai will be seeking its first state tournament berth since 2012. Homer went last season after getting an at-large berth.

In other first round games, No. 2 Palmer faces No. 7 Grace at 10 a.m. at Redington, and No. 4 Kodiak faces No. 5 Houston at 1 p.m. at Houston. Last season, Palmer won the Southcentral Conference tournament, while Kodiak finished second.

Southcentral Conference baseball tournament

host by Palmer High School

Thursday’s games

Game 1 — Palmer vs. Grace, 10 a.m. at Redington

Game 2 — Kenai vs. Homer, 10 a.m. at Houston

Game 3 — Soldotna vs. Redington, 1 p.m. at Redington

Game 4 — Kodiak vs. Houston, 1 p.m. at Houston

Game 5 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 4 p.m. at Redington

Game 6 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m. at Redington

Friday’s games

Game 7 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 10 a.m. at Redington

Game 8 — Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 10 a.m. at Houston

Game 9 — Game 7 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 3 p.m. at Redington

Game 10 — Game 8 winner vs. Game 5 loser, 3 p.m. at Houston

Game 11 (Championship) — Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m. at Redington

Saturday’s games

Game 12 — Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 10 a.m. at Redington

Game 13 (2nd-3rd place game) — Game 12 winner vs. Game 11 winner, 1 p.m. at Redington