The Division II state baseball tournament will be at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai for the first time from Thursday to Saturday.
The Soldotna baseball team will be aiming for a fourth straight Division II title before moving to Division I next season.
The first Division II state tournament was in 2021, when the Stars placed fifth. Since then, SoHi has not lost a game there.
The Stars, at 15-9-2, come in on a roll. SoHi has won 12 straight games, including rolling to the Northern Lights Conference title over the weekend.
Soldotna opens against Houston, an at-large berth from the NLC, at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. SoHi defeated the Hawks 10-0 in the only meeting this season.
Kenai Central, No. 2 from the NLC, is the only Division II team to beat the Stars this season. The Kardinals are 14-4 and on a four-game winning streak after storming back to take second at the NLC tournament.
The Kards play Homer, an at-large berth from the NLC, at 6:15 p.m. Thursday. Kenai is 3-1 against Homer this season.
Other first round matchups are Monroe Catholic, No. 2 from the Mid Alaska Conference, against Kodiak, an at-large berth from the NLC, at 10 a.m. Thursday.
North Pole, No. 1 from Mid Alaska and a finalist last year, plays Palmer, No. 3 from the NLC, at 12:45 p.m. Thursday. The Moose are the only team other than the Stars to win the Division II tournament, taking it in 2021.
Division II state tournament
at Coral Seymour Memorial Park, Kenai
Thursday’s games
Game 1 — Soldotna vs. Houston, 3:30 p.m.
Game 2 — Monroe vs. Kodiak, 10 a.m.
Game 3 — North Pole vs. Palmer, 12:45 p.m.
Game 4 — Kenai vs. Homer, 6:15 p.m.
Friday’s games
Game 5 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 10 a.m.
Game 6 — Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 12:45 p.m.
Game 7 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Game 8 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 6:15 p.m.
Saturday’s games
4th/6th place — Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 11 a.m.
3rd/5th place — Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser, 1:45 p.m.
Championship — Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 4:30 p.m.
