The Homer softball team went 1-1 on the opening day of the Division II state softball tournament Thursday at Cartee Fields in Anchorage.
The first day of the tournament is pool play and sets the bracket for Friday and Saturday.
Homer, which beat North Pole 15-12 and lost to Juneau-Douglas 19-11, finished second in Pool B, with Juneau finishing first at 2-0 and North Pole finishing third at 0-2.
In Pool A, Ketchikan was first at 2-0, while Kodiak was second at 1-1 and Delta Junction was third at 0-2.
That means the two teams from the Southeast Conference will have byes when the bracket starts today. Two teams from the Southeast Conference have swept the top two spots in the tournament ever since 2013 and Southeast has won every title since 2009.
Homer will play Delta Junction at 10 a.m. today to start out bracket play. The winner advances to play Ketchikan at 2:45 p.m. The loser starts a journey in the playback bracket at 5 p.m. The tournament is double-elimination.
In the victory over North Pole, the Mariners scored seven runs in the top of the sixth inning to overcome a 12-8 deficit.
Homer had a 3-1 lead after the first inning, 7-1 lead after the second inning and 8-1 lead heading into the bottom of the third. The Patriots struck for seven runs in the bottom of the third to tie the game at 8, then scored four more in the bottom of the fifth for a 12-8 lead.
Zoe Adkins got the win for Homer, going seven innings and giving up 12 runs on 17 hits while walking seven and striking out six.
Hannah Hatfield was 4 for 4 with four runs and four RBIs to lead Homer, while Delilah Harris was 3 for 4 with two runs. Also for Homer, Grace Godfrey had two runs, Adkins had two runs, and Ariana Davis was 2 for 4 with two runs.
In the loss to Juneau, the Crimson Bears scored nine runs in the bottom of the first inning and Homer never fully recovered.
Juneau led 9-2 after the first inning and 13-7 after the second inning. Homer cut the gap to 14-10 after the fourth inning, but Juneau was able to get five runs in the bottom of the fifth to invoke the mercy rule.
Adkins pitched 4 1-3 innings, giving up 18 hits and 19 runs while walking six and striking out one.
At the plate, Haylee Owen was 2 for 3 with three runs, Godfrey was 2 for 4 with two runs and five RBIs, Adkins was 2 for 2 with two RBIs, Davis was 2 for 3 and Hatfield scored two runs.
