Friday: Opportunistic Homer baseball topples Kenai Central

The visiting Homer baseball team defeated Kenai Central 12-7 on Friday in Northern Lights Conference action at the Kenai Little League fields.

The Mariners are 2-2 in the league and 7-4 overall after avenging a 12-8 nonconference loss to the Kardinals on April 25. Kenai falls to 2-2 and 5-2.

The Kards host Soldotna on Saturday, May 10, at 12:30 p.m.

Kenai was able to collect nine hits to Homer’s seven in the game, but eight Kardinals errors against two for the Mariners was the difference.

“We’re not flying out as much as we have in previous games, and that was the difference,” Homer head coach Tyler Krekling said. “We’ve got some speed on our team, so we don’t need to hit pop flies.

“We’ve got to hit it hard on the ground and make them pick up the ball.”

Homer scored three unearned runs on three Kenai errors in the top of the first inning and that set the tone for the game.

“We were very undisciplined and unfocused to start the game, and it kind of bit us,” Kenai head coach Christian Stephanos said. “It happens.

“They’ve been playing well. There’s always that one game. Hopefully they’ll respond tomorrow and the rest of the season.”

By the end of the second inning, Homer was up 6-2. Starter Clyde Clemens made it stand up, giving up four runs on eight hits in five innings.

“He just took care of his business and let the defense work,” Krekling said. “The defense played a good game and he just trusted them.”

Kenai cut the gap to 6-4 headed to the sixth, but a Kenai error opened the door to a six-run inning for Homer. The big blow was a three-RBI triple off the wall in left by Cohen Boyd.

“He’s a kid that came to every offseason workout,” Krekling said of Boyd. “It’s cool to see it start paying off.”

Krekling wasn’t planning on using Henry Wedvik to close the game. The coach blamed himself for not giving Wedvik enough time to warm up, and Kenai struck for three runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut it to 12-7. Wedvik then pitched a perfect seventh inning.

Clemens had two runs and three hits for Homer, while CJ Burns had two runs and two RBIs, Weston Marley had two runs, Preston Stanislaw had two runs, and Boyd and Austin Briscoe were each 2 for 4.

Stephanos said there was a lot to like in the play of his team, including several nice plays at shortstop by Jacob Joanis. The coach also said his squad hit into a lot of hard outs.

“Our team as a whole played well,” he said. “We just had some moments we didn’t play our best, and they took advantage of it.”

Leadoff hitter Daniel Steffensen had a solo home run to the opposite field gap to highlight a 3-for-5, two-run, two-RBI day. It was the first varsity home run for Steffensen.

“It doesn’t happen very often on this field with the wind blowing in,” Stephanos said. “You know if he put it out there, he was hitting it hard.”

Jacob Joanis was 2 for 4 with two RBIs, while Everett Chamberlain had two RBIs.

Braden Smith started and went 5 2-3 innings, giving up eight runs — three earned — on four hits. Stephanos said the errors made it tough on Smith, but he responded every time.

Blake Morris gave up three runs for Kenai without getting an out, then Chamberlain closed it out by giving up an unearned run on two hits.