The Soldotna baseball team finished 0-4 at the Buddy Dale Invitational at Wasilla on Saturday after a 6-5 loss to Kodiak.
Soldotna coach Robb Quelland said he looked at the tournament as an opportunity for his team to gain a lot of experience before jumping into conference play. The Stars had very little time on the field before the tournament.
“We played 43 innings in four days between the two programs,” Quelland said. “We didn’t have any injuries. All our pitchers got work on the mound. We also got to see some top-notch pitchers.”
Saturday’s game was back and forth, with SoHi leading 1-0 after one, trailing 2-1 after two, tied at 3 after three, winning 4-3 after four, tied at 5 after five and trailing 6-5 after six.
Chris Jaime started for Soldotna and went four innings, giving up three hits and three runs — two earned — while walking three and striking out one. Trenton Steadman took the loss in two-thirds of an inning of relief, giving up two runs on three hits while walking one and striking out none. Atticus Gibson pitched the final 2 1-3 for the Stars, yielding an unearned run on three hits while striking out one.
Tanner Ussing paced Soldotna at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a run and three RBIs. David Michael also scored three runs for the Stars.
Soldotna also lost 10-2 to Dimond on Friday.
Jeremiah Eneix struck out seven in four innings of work as Dimond’s starter, giving up one run (unearned) on four hits and four walks.
Trapper Thompson made it 4 1-3 innings for SoHi before being pulled, and gave up eight runs (six earned) on seven hits and four walks, while whiffing three. Seth Payment went the final 1 2-3 frames in relief, giving up two unearned runs on a hit and one walk. Payment struck out one.
From the plate, Michael notched a double and a walk, scoring both times. Ussing went 2 for 3 with a double, leadoff man Jeremy Kupferschmid drew two walks, as did Jacob Boze.
Soldotna scored first to grab a 1-0 edge in the first inning on a two-out RBI single by Thompson. The Stars loaded the bases with one out thanks to a Dimond fielding error and two walks, and Thompson brought Michael home on the base knock.
Dimond took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second, then scored three more runs in the third to go up 5-1.
Ussing later ripped off an RBI double in the seventh inning, but the damage was done.
In Thursday’s 7-5 loss to Palmer, it was Landon Guggenmos whiffing 12 in six innings for the Moose, allowing four runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks. The name of the pitcher had been misreported in the Friday Clarion.
Homer 5, Bartlett 3
The Mariners picked up a nonconference win Friday over Bartlett to improve to 2-0 this season.
Mariners starter Harrison Metz pitched well on the mound, giving up three runs in six innings on six hits, while whiffing three. Austin Ceccarelli came on in relief and got the save with one strikeout.
Seth Adkins led the offense by hitting 3 for 3, Ceccarelli went 2 for 4 and Metz hit 1 for 3 with a double.
Homer scored runs in each of the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead, but the Golden Bears rallied back to tie it in the fourth with two runs.
Homer went back in front in the top of the fifth with two runs. Hunter Warren started the frame with a single, then scored on an RBI single by Mose Hayes. Ceccarelli knocked in Hayes for a run on a single of his own to put Homer up 4-2, and was able to make it stand.
Homer 13, Hutchison 3; West 10, Homer 0
The Mariners sit at 3-1 overall after a pair of games Saturday in Anchorage.
In the victory over Hutchison, which came in five innings due to the mercy rule, Mose Hayes was dominant on the mound, recording 13 of the 15 outs via strikeout. He gave up three runs on three hits while walking one and hitting three.
“Our pitching looked sharp, though it was not as much of a test for our defense,” Homer coach Rich Sonnen said.
Harrison Metz was 2 for 3 with a double, while Hayes was 3 for 4 with a triple and Seth Adkins was 2 for 3 with a double. Austin Ceccarelli and Johnny Rummery added singles.
West applied the mercy rule against the Mariners after six innings.
Sonnen said the game was close except for two things — Homer gave up five mostly unearned runs in the second inning and the Mariners left a lot of runners on base.
Adkins pitched five innings and gave up eight runs on seven hits while striking out three. Ceccarelli finished up, giving up two runs in a third of an inning.
Hunter Warren, Adkins, Austin Dash and Gabe Dash had singles for the Mariners.
