The Kodiak softball team completed an impressive three-day, six-game road trip to the central Kenai Peninsula by defeating Soldotna and Kenai Central on Saturday.
The Bears played three games against the Kardinals and three games against the Stars on the trip and won them all. Four of them were Northern Lights Conference games to move the Bears to 6-0 in the league.
“One through nine, our bats are on fire,” Kodiak head coach Lauren Crall said. “All of our girls hit, so we don’t have a drop in our lineup.”
Crall also said the Bears have a nice one-two punch on the mound.
Saturday, Kodiak started with a 12-1 victory over Soldotna in conference action at the Soldotna Little League fields.
Sophomore Danica Howell got the victory, going five innings and giving up a run on seven hits while walking one and striking out four.
In the afternoon, the Bears moved to Kenai for a 13-2 conference victory. Junior Shanoah Spear got the victory, going five innings and giving up two runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out seven.
In the Soldotna game, the Stars (0-3, 1-7-1) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Brook Fischer doubled to score Kiara “KiKi” Forkner.
After that, it was all Kodiak, which had a 7-1 lead by the end of the second inning.
A big difference in the game was walks, with Soldotna pitchers Forkner, Julie Innes and Miah Mead combining to walk nine batters.
Kodiak also played better defense, which is why the Bears’ 11-7 advantage in hits turned into such a large advantage on the scoreboard.
“The walks and the defense kind of let us down today,” Soldotna coach Michael Cruz said.
Cruz was encouraged by the way his team hit the ball, though, and pointed out the walks and defense should come around as the Stars get more games.
It’s worked for Kodiak.
“At the beginning of the season, we struggled on our defense,” Crall said. “Our offense was great, so we’ve been really working on cleaning up our defense.”
Forkner finished 2 for 2 at the plate for the Stars. Cruz also likes the way Innes came in and pitched in the first inning.
For Kodiak, Ashlyn Bolen was 2 for 4 with two runs, Hailee Henslee was 2 for 4 with two runs, Spear was 2 for 3, Howell had two runs and three RBIs, and Luana Farmer was 2 for 3.
In the Kenai game, Kodiak grabbed an 11-0 lead after the first inning en route to victory. The Kards are 1-3 in the league and 3-8 overall.
Zoey Riley, Maggie Grenier and Kailey Stynsberg all had two hits for the Kardinals. Kyana Griskevich worked 3 2-3 innings in relief and gave up three runs — two earned — on four hits while walking four and striking out two.
For Kodiak, Bolen was 3 for 4 with two runs and three RBIs, Kate Holland was 2 for 4 with two runs, Spear was 2 for 2 with three RBIs, and Addelina Haagensen was 2 for 3 with two runs.
Bash on the Bay
Chugiak won the Bash on the Bay tournament Saturday in Homer, while Sitka was second, Homer was third, Delta was fourth and Palmer was fifth.
The tournament started with round-robin play Thursday and Friday. That was used to seed a double-elimination event Saturday.
Saturday, Homer lost to Delta 12-1, defeated Palmer 4-3, defeated Delta 8-7 and lost to Sitka 12-2.
The all-tournament team was Delta’s Nadia Chernich and Dalila Callahan on the corners, Sitka’s Naia Nelson and Chugiak’s Sophia Fuller in the middle, Sitka’s Alina Lebahn and Chugiak’s Teal Transburg at pitcher, Delta’s Nadia Chernich and Sitka’s Kaelynn Balovich at catcher, and Sitka’s Adriana Denkiner, Chugiak’s Shelby Strange, Delta’s Neveah Glass, Sitka’s Alina Lebahn and Homer’s Alaiyah Brost at outfield.
Soldotna pitcher Juliet Innes delivers to Kodiak on Saturday, May 6, 2023, at the Soldotna Little League fields in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
