The Palmer and Kodiak baseball teams each won twice Thursday at Soldotna Little League fields to earn Division II state berths and advance to the championship of the Southcentral Conference baseball tournament.
Palmer topped Redington 10-0 in the first round, then toppled Kenai 16-4 in the semifinal. Kenai had defeated Soldotna 6-5 in the first round.
Kodiak defeated Redington 18-3 in the first round and Grace 7-6 in the semifinal. Grace had defeated Homer 5-1 in the first round.
Palmer and Kodiak meet at 7 p.m. today for the title. The loser plays in Saturday’s second-third place game at 1 p.m. With the top three earning state bids, the championship loser already has state locked up.
The big question now is who gets the third berth.
Houston plays SoHi and Redington plays Homer at 10 a.m. today to stay alive. The Houston-SoHi winner then plays Grace at 3 p.m., and the Redington-Homer winner plays Kenai at 3 p.m. The winner of those games plays Saturday at 10 a.m. to reach the second-third game and get that state berth.
Palmer 16, Kenai 4
The Moose moved into the championship game by overcoming an early deficit against the Kardinals to invoke the mercy rule.
Kenai took a 2-0 lead after the top of the first, but Palmer tied the game in the bottom of the inning, then went up 10-2 after the second, 12-3 after the third and 16-3 after the fourth.
Gabe Jaime pitched all five for the Moose, giving up four runs — three earned — on five hits while walking four and striking out two.
Simon Grenier started for the Kards and gave up seven runs — six earned — on seven hits while walking two and striking out one. Gabe Smith pitched an inning and gave up three runs on three hits, while Caleb Smith pitched the final two innings and gave up six runs — three earned — on four hits.
Adam Smithers led Palmer’s 14-hit attack by going 3 for 4 with three runs and two RBIs. Chad Landon had a home run for Palmer, going 2 for 3 with two runs and three RBIs.
Also for the Moose, Landon Guggenmos was 2 for 2 with two runs and two RBIs, Owen Hayes was 2 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs, Dylan Garrettson was 2 for 4 with two runs, and Jason Gundersen was 2 for 4 with three RBIs.
For Kenai, Gabe Smith was 2 for 2 with two runs, and Caleb Smith was 2 for 3 and scored a run.
Kodiak 7, Grace Christian 6
The Bears rallied for three runs in the top of the sixth inning to beat the Grizzlies in the semifinals.
Kodiak led 4-1 after two innings, but Grace carried a 6-4 lead into the bottom of the sixth.
After Micah Arndt gave up six runs — four earned — in the first 3 1/3 innings, Jace Crall and Hunter Williams combined to keep the Grizzlies off the board the rest of the game.
Jack Malloy scored twice for Kodiak, while Colton Reger had two runs for Grace, with Jacob Hulst adding three RBIs.
Kenai 6, Soldotna 5
The Kardinals, the No. 6 seed, held off the No. 3 Stars in the first round.
Soldotna grabbed a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, but the Kardinals scored two runs in the second and four in the third to take a 6-3 lead.
SoHi battled back with runs in the bottom of the third and bottom of the fifth, but the Stars could not draw even.
Wes Katzenberger went the first five innings for the Kards, giving up five runs on seven hits while striking out five and walking one. Simon Grenier pitched a hitless final two innings, striking out one and walking one.
For Soldotna, Riley Johnson pitched two innings and gave up four runs on two hits while striking out one and walking two. Andrew Pieh pitched 1 1-3 and gave up two runs on six hits while whiffing two. Derrick Jones didn’t allow a run in 2 2-3 innings, while Atticus Gibson pitched a scoreless inning.
Nick Wehrstein went 4 for 4 for the Kards, while Jackson DuPerron was 2 for 4, Charlie Chamberlain scored two runs and Xavier Amend had two RBIs.
For Soldotna, Daltyn Deborski was 2 for 4 with two runs, while Josh Pieh was 2 for 3 with three RBIs. Jacob Belger also scored a pair of runs for the Stars.
Palmer 10, Houston 0
The Moose, the No. 2 seed, defeated the Hawks, the No. 7 seed, in the first round by invoking the mercy rule after five innings.
Palmer led 2-0 after the first, 3-0 after the second, 4-0 after the third, 6-0 after the fourth and 10-0 after the fifth.
Landon Guggenmos had a double, two triples and scored twice for Palmer, while Stuart McQuillin also scored twice for Palmer.
Kodiak 18, Redington 3
The Bears, the No. 1 seed, invoked the mercy rule after five innings in the first round against the Huskies, the No. 8 seed.
Kodiak led 4-3 heading to the bottom of the fourth, but scored 14 runs in that frame to take control of the game.
Kodiak pitchers Jason Foxworthy, Malakai Olson, Gage Lorring and Jon Flerchinger did not allow a hit, but they did combine to walk nine batters.
Hunter Williams was 2 for 4 with two runs and five RBIs for the Bears, while Jace Crall was 2 for 3 with three runs and two RBIs, and Ryan Stephenson was 3 for 3 with three RBIs.
Grace Christian 5, Homer 1
The Grizzlies, the No. 4 seed, got past the Mariners, the No. 5 seed, in the first round.
Grace led 2-0 after the second, 3-0 after the fourth and 5-1 after the sixth.
Laddy Elliott and Brandon Plaster combined to hold the Mariners down on the mound, while Homer’s Austin Ceccarelli went the distance for the Mariners. Harrison Metz scored the lone run for Homer.
Palmer’s Owen Hayes jumps over Kenai pitcher Simon Grenier. Hayes was able to take third base safely for a triple Thursday, May 27, 2021, at the Southcentral Conference tournament at the Soldotna Little League fields in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
