Friday baseball: Kenai tops Kodiak; Soldotna sweeps; Homer falls to Redington

The Kenai Central baseball team defeated Kodiak 18-3 in Northern Lights Conference action Friday at the Soldotna Little League fields in Soldotna.

When the Kardinals went up by 15 with one out in the bottom of the fourth, they were declared the winner. The coaches could have continued the game in “rollover” mode but decided to end it.

The game was moved to Soldotna due to field conditions in Kenai.

The Kardinals, the Division II runners-up at state last season, are now 1-1 overall and 1-1 in the league.

“Obviously, our goals are pretty high this year,” Kenai head coach Luke Oliver said. “We lost a couple — our starting catcher, starting third baseman and center fielder.

“But other guys are looking to step up, and that’s what we need to happen.”

Braden Smith went 3 1-3 innings for Kenai, giving up three runs on three hits while striking out one and walking four.

“He was a little out of the zone to begin with, but he settled in really nicely, put the ball where we needed it and made them swing,” Oliver said.

On offense for Kenai, Daniel Steffensen was 2 for 4 with two RBIs, Jacob Joanis had two runs, Braden Smith had three runs, Gabe Smith was 2 for 3 with three runs and three RBIs, Kelani Beddow was 2 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs, Gabe Joanis was 3 for 3 with three runs and two RBIs, Brandon Blake had two RBIs, Avery Martin had two runs and Zane Pellegrom was 2 for 3 with four RBIs.

“We’re starting to find the middle of the ball now and hitting the ball pretty hard, so hopefully we can keep that up,” Oliver said.

Gabe Smith returns after missing last season due to injury.

“I’m happy to have him back,” Oliver said. “He’s happy to be back and the team’s happy to have him back.”

Kodiak coach Jason Fox said his team lost seven seniors from last season, but Malakai Olson returns. Olson started in the state semifinal for the Post 20 Twins last summer, but gave up three runs on three hits and three walks in an inning against Kenai on Friday.

“He was just a little off,” Fox said. “He had a couple walks and then we made a few errors behind him.”

Gavin Peterson gave up nine runs in 1 2-3 innings, Jon Bradburry gave up four runs in two-thirds of an inning and Collin Gibbs gave up two runs without recording an out.

Fox said it was nice to see Zeke Saltonstall and Simon Lonheim get hits off the bench. Saltonstall had his first varsity hit.

“The guys who came off the bench put balls in play just like we wanted them too,” Fox said. “That was really promising.”

Soldotna sweeps on road

The Soldotna baseball team improved to 3-0 overall with a pair of wins Friday — 5-0 over West and 11-4 over Bartlett.

Against West, Colby Sturman had three innings of shutout ball, while Derrick Jones pitched the final four innings. Sturman gave up three hits and struck out six, while Jones gave up two hits and struck out three. Neither walked a batter.

Soldotna walked 10 times, with Jayden Stuyvesant leading the way with three walks, and Andrew Pieh, Wyatt Gagnon and Trenton Ohnemus each walking twice.

Against Bartlett, Tucker Blough was 2 for 4, Brayden Hostetler was 2 for 5 with two runs and three RBIs, Jones was 2 for 3 with two runs, Pieh had three RBIs and Easton Hawkins had two runs.

Pieh pitched 3 2-3 innings, giving up two unearned runs on four hits. He walked none and struck out three. Matthew Schilling gave up a run in 1 1-3 innings, walking two and striking out two. Levi Mickelson gave up a run in two innings, yielding three hits and two walks while punching out three.

Redington 14, Homer 8

The Mariners are 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the Northern Lights Conference after a Friday loss on the road.

Camden Wise was 2 for 3 with two runs for Homer, while Oak Anderson was 3 for 4 with two RBIs, Clyde Clemens had two runs, and Preston Stanislaw had two RBIs.

Malachi Raymond gave up nine runs in 1 1-3 innings, while Stanislaw gave up three runs — one earned — in 1 2-3 innings, and Anderson gave up two runs in two innings.