Sunday: Twins fall to 1-1 at Legion state tourney

Published 9:01 pm Saturday, July 26, 2025

The Post 20 Twins fell 12-2 in six innings to Wasilla Post 35 on Sunday in the 73rd Alaska Legion Baseball State Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

The Twins, the No. 2 overall seed, had a 15-game winning streak snapped in falling to 1-1 in the Alyeska Pool.

The No. 3 Road Warriors completed pool play at 3-0 to win the pool. No. 6 West Post 1 defeated No. 7 Ketchikan 9-5 on Sunday as the Eagles moved to 1-1 and the Kings were eliminated at 0-3.

West and Kenai play at 4 p.m. Sunday for a spot in Tuesday’s 7 p.m. semifinal as the No. 2 finisher out of the Alyeska Pool.

Post 20 head coach Robb Quelland said Sunday’s game was a lesson in how quickly momentum can turn.

The Twins got off to a great start, with Jack Harper retiring three of four in the first inning.

Post 20 then jumped on Wasilla’s Jaren Venie in the first inning. Paul Steffensen doubled and Matthew Schilling singled for a 1-0 lead, then Jacob Joanis walked and Jayden Stuyvesant singled for a 2-0 lead.

In the second inning, the Twins kept on rolling as Harper faced the minimum thanks to a diving catch by left fielder Steffensen on a fly ball from Jacob Johnson.

“It should not have been caught,” Quelland said of the play.

Venie faced the minimum in the bottom of the second, then Quelland said things really started to change when Harper’s back tightened up, robbing his pitches of some movement.

In the top of the third inning, Harper issued three walks and the Twins committed three errors before Harper was lifted after two outs in the inning. Post 20 was now behind 5-2, with Harper tagged for five unearned runs.

“It was not characteristic of our players,” said Quelland of the Twins, who would go on to commit seven errors in the game. “This was one of those games.

“We generally should have one, but we haven’t had one in about a month and a half. We had it tonight.”

The troubles on defense carried over to offense. After allowing three hits in the first inning, Venie did not allow another one all night in a six-inning complete game.

In relief for the Twins, Samuel Graham allowed six runs — four earned — on four hits in 2 2-3 innings, while Tristen Roberts allowed an unearned run on a hit in two-thirds of an inning.

Chase Sivulich continued a torrid stretch for the Warriors, going 4 for 4 with three runs and two RBIs.

“Give all the credit to Wasilla,” Quelland said. “They’re a very mature team, and they’ve had their ups and downs this year, too.

“Today was one of the ones where they were able to pull it together.”

The challenge for the Twins is now to put the game behind them and stay alive against West.

“I think they can,” Quelland said. “I think they’re a resilient group. It’s been a long time since they’ve been punched in the mouth, and they took a good punch in the mouth today.”