With two ties Saturday, the American Legion Post 20 Twins moved into the semifinals of the Alaska 529 Midseason Classic at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.
The eight-team tournament has two pools. In order to make the semis, a team must finish in the top two of its pool in round-robin play.
After defeating South on Friday, Saturday the Twins tied Chugiak Post 33 5-5 and tied Klamath Falls (Oregon) Post 6 4-4 to earn a spot in the semifinals.
Both games went nine innings before being called due to the time limit of 2 hours, 15 minutes. The tournament record of 10 innings in 2:15 has happened twice.
Post 20 will play Madisonville (Kentucky) Post 8 at 2:15 p.m. Sunday in the semifinals. The Twins, who have won four state titles, are chasing their second championship appearance in program history in the prestigious Midseason Classic. In 2016, Post 20 lost to Columbia (Tennessee) in the title game.
Post 20 defeated Madisonville in round-robin play in the Lance Coz Wood Bat Tournament, but then lost to the Rangers in that tournament’s championship game.
The Twins (8-4-2) started the day with a dramatic game against the Mustangs, who are 12-2-1 overall and also have the top record in league play.
Post 20 trailed 5-1 after the top of the fourth, but battled back to tie it with a run in the fourth, two runs in the fifth and a run in the seventh.
The Twins tied it in the seventh when Matthew Schilling led off with a walk, stole second and eventually scored on a grounder by Gavin Peterson.
In both the eighth and ninth innings, Chugiak led off with a single, forcing Jayden Stuyvesant to perform escape jobs.
In the ninth, the Mustangs had the bases loaded with one out, but Stuyvesant was able to coax a double play to escape the jam.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Twins had runners on first and second with one out but couldn’t break the tie.
Schilling finished 3 for 3 with two runs and an RBI, while Stuyvesant was 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI. Peterson added two RBIs.
Jack Harper started for the Twins and gave up five runs — four earned — on five hits in four innings. Malakai BeDunnah pitched a scoreless 2 1-3 innings, allowing just a hit, while Stuyvesant kept the Mustangs off the board for 2 2-3 innings, yielding three hits.
Against Klamath Falls, it was the Falcons scoring a run in the bottom of the seventh to extend the game.
Stuyvesant escaped a jam in the bottom of the ninth. Klamath Falls had a runner on second with one out and a runner on third with two outs, but Stuyvesant prevailed.
Peterson started for the Twins and went 5 2-3 innings, giving up three runs — two earned — on six hits. Stuyvesant gave up an unearned run on three hits in 3 1-3 innings.
Jackson Koetitz led the Twins at the plate by going 3 for 5 with a run and an RBI, while Daniel Steffensen was 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI, and Jett Brophy was 2 for 5.
Klamath Falls plays Service Post 28 at 5 p.m. in the other semifinal, while Chugiak and West Post 1 play for fifth at 11:45 a.m.
The championship is at 7:30 p.m.
