The Soldotna softball team opened up its regular season by splitting a Northern Lights Conference doubleheader against visiting Kodiak on Saturday.
The Stars won the first game 13-6 before dropping the second game 16-9. The first game was originally supposed to be played Friday, but was postponed due to weather.
Tara Lyn Frates pitched the entire game for SoHi in the opener, picking up her first official win.
“Being a pitcher and a senior, she was able to help us get off to a good start,” Soldotna coach Kelli Knoebel said.
The coach said the Stars also did a good job being patient at the plate, getting runners on base with walks.
Ashley McDonald had four walks, three runs and an RBI; Casey Earll had a hit, three walks and three RBIs; and Bailey Smith had a hit, walk and four RBIs. Frates also added a hit for the Stars.
In the second game, Knoebel got a look at McDonald and freshman Reece Wick on the mound in the first inning, and Kodiak was able to take a 16-0 lead after one. The coach said the bad start was due to inexperience, as of the nine starters, only two had played their position before on varsity.
“That could have easily been the game, but we showed character and came back and fought,” Knoebel said.
Frates shut the Bears down the rest of the way. Smith, who finished 3 for 4, led off the second with a double and scored on a Casey Card single to serve notice the Stars were not done.
Eagle River softball shuts out Kenai
The Eagle River softball team defeated host Kenai Central 15-0 in four innings Saturday in nonconference play. The Kardinals dropped to 0-3 on the season.
Kenai coach John Manley said the problem was Kenai’s bats. Kenai’s only hit came from Alyssa Stanton.
Savannah Jones pitched the whole game for Kenai and struck out four.
“Her pitching had nothing to do with the outcome of the game,” Manley said. “She pitched well enough to win. We didn’t support her on offense.”
Manley also said the defense was solid, with Stanton, Kaylee Lauritsen, Lexi Carrasco, Zaharah Wilshusen and Leinani Rapoza all turning in solid games.
Kenai did not get to play Dimond on Friday due to rain. That game will not be rescheduled.
Eagle River softball sweeps Homer
Homer softball hosted Eagle River on Friday and was swept to fall to 2-4 on the season.
Coach Bill Bell said the Mariners played well in both games but could not pull out the victory.
In the first game, Homer grabbed a 4-2 lead after the first inning but could not hang on in a 10-4 loss in five innings.
Annalynn Brown pitched all five innings for Homer, giving up nine hits and 10 earned runs while striking out four and walking six. For Eagle River, Avery Brown pitched all five innings and gave up four hits and four earned runs while striking out five and walking four.
At the plate for Homer, Briana Hetrick led the way by going 1 for 2 with a run and two RBIs.
For Eagle River, Libby Argudin was 2 for 4, Alina Cook had three runs, Serenity Argudin was 2 for 2 with two runs, Avery Brown was 2 for 3 with three RBIs, Keegan Sharpe had two RBIs and Ellie Tirado had two runs.
In the second game, Homer again had an early lead — this time 2-0 after the first inning — but the Wolves again came back to post a 6-2 victory in five innings.
Becca Chapman pitched 4 1-3 innings for Homer, giving up six hits and six earned runs while striking out four and walking one. Alina Cook pitched for Eagle River, going five innings and giving up four hits and two earned runs while striking out nine and walking five.
Serenity Argudin was 3 for 3 with three runs for Eagle River, while Cook helped her own cause with two RBIs.
Powerful Dimond bats take down Homer
The Dimond softball teams swept host Homer in nonconference action Saturday by scores of 15-0 and 13-5. The Mariners fell to 2-6.
Homer coach Bill Bell said it is important that the Mariners experienced facing a squad like that.
“The Dimond players came out hitting hard,” Bell said. “We haven’t seen hitting like that in a long time. We certainly learned a lot.”
In the first game, Makenzie Akin and Alice Ma combined to hold Homer to just two hits, while the Lynx got to Annalynn Brown for 18 hits and 15 earned runs in four innings.
Brown had both of the hits for Homer. For Dimond, Alice Ma was 2 for 4 with two runs, Mikeala Lawrence was 3 for 3 with four runs and three RBIs, Megan Luther was 4 for 4 with four runs and four RBIs, and Hailey Shangin was 4 for 5 with two runs and five RBIs.
The Mariners were able to show more offense in the second game, scoring five runs on two hits. Becca Chapman gave up 12 hits and 13 earned runs in two innings for Homer.
On offense for Dimond, Ma was 3 for 3 with three RBIs, Luther had two runs and three RBIs, and Shangin was 3 for 3 with three runs and two RBIs.
