The Kodiak baseball team defeated Soldotna 13-7 Wednesday in Northern Lights Conference play at the Soldotna Little League Fields.
Kodiak improved to 4-1 in the conference and 7-6 overall, while the Stars fell to 0-2 in the league and overall. The same two teams play at 3 p.m. today at the Soldotna Little League Fields.
The game, which clocked in a 2 hours, 50 minutes, for seven innings, came down to which team was able to better take advantage of walks and hit batsmen.
Soldotna pitchers issued 10 walks and hit three Kodiak batters, allowing the Bears to score 13 runs on seven hits. Kodiak left nine on base, but was able to register four-run innings in the third, sixth and seventh frames.
Kodiak pitchers gave up 13 walks and hit three batters, but buckled down when it counted. The Bears staff gave up just two hits and was able to strand 14 Soldotna runners. The Stars left the bases loaded in the first, third, sixth and seventh innings.
Jacob Arnold did most of the work for Kodiak in earning the win on the mound, throwing 113 pitches in 5 2-3 innings of work. He gave up three runs — two earned — on two hits while walking seven, hitting one and striking out six.
Sam Kirchenschlager and Hunter Pace each gave up two runs and three walks in 1-3 inning of work, while Alex Pace shut the door in the seventh inning, recording the final two outs without yielding a run.
Tyler Covey took the loss for the Stars, throwing 2 1-3 innings and giving up five runs — four earned — on two hits while walking five and striking out two.
Klayton Justice pitched 3 1-3 innings in relief, giving up four runs and four hits while walking three, striking out four and hitting two.
Max Conradi pitched the final 1 1-3 innings, giving up four runs on a hit while walking two, hitting one and striking out one.
Leadoff hitter Jon LeVan went 2 for 4 with four runs to lead the Bears. Austin Frick was 2 for 5 with three runs and an RBI, while Kirchenschlager scored three times, Tyler Jester had two runs and two RBIs, and Arnold helped his own cause by going 2 for 5 with two RBIs.
For Soldotna, Covey scored three runs and had an RBI despite not collecting a hit. Kenny Griffin had both of SoHi’s hits, scored a run and knocked in a run. Mason Prior had two RBIs and a run, while Justice and Sheldon Nelson added runs.
