No. 1 seed Kodiak and No. 2 seed Homer advanced to the semifinals of the Northern Lights Conference softball tournament at Soldotna Little League fields on Friday.
Kodiak defeated No. 4 Soldotna 14-3 after the Stars had topped No. 5 Kenai 17-9 in the first round. Homer defeated No. 3 Palmer 14-6 after the Moose had topped No. 6 Houston in the first round.
In the playback bracket later Friday, SoHi ended Houston’s season with a 15-7 decision, while Palmer ended Kenai’s season with an 18-4 decision.
Today, Kodiak and Homer play at 11 a.m. for a spot in the 3 p.m. championship game.
Palmer and SoHi play at 9 a.m. in the playback bracket. The winner plays the Homer-Kodiak loser at 1 p.m. for a spot in the championship. The two teams in the championship earn state berths.
If the Kodiak-Homer winner loses the championship game, the if-necessary game is at 5 p.m.
Homer 14, Palmer 6
The Mariners advanced to the semifinals by topping the Moose in five innings.
Palmer led 2-0 going into the bottom of the third, when the Mariners were able to strike for three runs. The Moose went up 6-3 in the top of the fourth, but Homer blew the game open with 11 runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Zoe Adkins pitched all five innings for the Mariners, giving up six runs — three earned — on six hits while striking out four.
Adkins was 2 for 3 with two runs and two RBIs, while Delilah Harris was 2 for 3 with three runs and two RBIs, Becca Trowbridge had two runs, Emily Owens had two runs and three RBIs, Sophie Ellison was 3 for 4 with two runs, Alaiyah Brost was 2 for 3 and Charlotte Fraley was 2 for 3 with three RBIs.
Kodiak 14, Soldotna 3
The Bears defeated the Stars in five innings to move to the semifinals.
Kodiak led 6-1 after the first inning, then 12-3 after three innings.
Isabelle Cruz pitched the first two innings for the Stars, giving up eight runs on four hits while walking six and striking out two. Miah Mead pitched the last 1 2-3 innings, giving up six runs on five hits while walking four.
Lexi Stormo was 3 for 3 for Soldotna, while Cruz was 2 for 3.
Soldotna 15, Houston 7
The Stars (9-12) stayed alive in the tournament by winning in the playback bracket in six innings.
Soldotna had an 8-7 lead going to the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Stars put up five runs there to take command of the game.
Miah Mead pitched one-third of an inning, giving up three runs on two hits while walking two. Isabelle Cruz pitched the last 5 2-3 innings, giving up four runs on eight hits while walking three and striking out seven.
At the plate for SoHi, Emily Hinz was 2 for 4 with two runs, Brook Fischer was 4 for 5 with four runs, Lexi Stormo was 4 for 5 with three runs, Cruz was 4 for 4 with two runs and three RBIs, Makynzi Deborski was 2 for 2, Abygale Shaeffer had two runs and Madison Richmond had two runs.
Palmer 18, Kenai 4
The Kardinals saw their season end at 4-18 overall with a loss to the Moose in 3 1-2 innings. Palmer scored six runs in the first, seven runs in the second and five runs in the third.
Kenai pitchers Libby Brinner, Lola McEwen and Avery Ellis had trouble holding back the Palmer bats.
At the plate for Kenai, Zoey Riley had a hit and a run, Giselle Thomas had a hit, Maggie Grenier had a hit and a run, Kyana Griskevich had a hit, run and RBI, Ellis had a hit, Shelby O’Brien had a run and RBI, and Izzie Katzenberger had a hit and RBI.
Soldotna 17, Kenai 9
The Stars topped the Kardinals in five innings in the opening round.
Miah Mead pitched all five innings for Soldotna, giving up eight runs on seven hits while walking eight and striking out one.
At the plate for SoHi, Emily Hinz was 5 for 5 with five runs and two RBIs, Bailey Conner was 3 for 4 with three runs, Mead was 3 for 5 with three runs, Brook Fischer was 5 for 5 with three runs and two RBIs, Lexi Stormo was 3 for 3 with four RBIs and Isabelle Cruz was 2 for 4.
For the Kardinals, Avery Ellis gave up 13 runs — seven earned — on 10 hits while walking seven and striking out three in 3 1-3 innings. Caitlin Crabb pitched 1 2-3 innings, giving up four runs — three earned — on five hits while striking out one.
At the plate for Kenai, Kyana Griskevich had a pair of RBIs, Lola McEwen was 2 for 2, Ellis had two RBIs and Avia Miller scored a pair of runs.
Soldotna second baseman Emily Hinz gets a force out but is too late to turn the double play Friday, May 27, 2022, against Kodiak at the Northern Lights Conference tournament at the Soldotna Little League fields in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
