The Kenai Central and Soldotna baseball teams opened with first-round wins Thursday at the Divsion II state baseball tournament at Wasilla High School.

The Kardinals (12-4 overall) defeated Petersburg 11-7, while the Stars (18-3) toppled Kodiak 6-2. In last season’s tournament, Soldotna defeated Kenai for a second-straight state title.

In Friday’s semifinals, the Kardinals face North Pole, which defeated Monroe Catholic 14-4, at 3:30 p.m., while Soldotna takes on Palmer, which topped Delta 28-1, at 6 p.m.

Kenai 11, Petersburg 7

Kenai coach Luke Oliver liked the way his squad came out in the tournament, which has no playback bracket and requires two straight wins to get to the final.

“We played well today,” he said. “It was a team win. We had some mishaps here and there, but we had some other people step up, so that was good to see.”

Kenai led 5-0 after the first two innings, but the Vikings had it tied at 6 headed to the bottom of the fourth. The Kardinals scored four in the bottom of the fourth, and each team scored a run in the sixth.

“We were aggressive at the plate,” Oliver said. “We’re hopeful those hot bats continue.”

Gabe Smith was 2 for 4 with three RBIs, a run and a double for Kenai. Braden Smith was 2 for 3 with a triple, two runs and two RBIs.

Gabe Joanis knocked in a pair of runs and had a double, while Avery Martin was 2 for 2 with a pair of doubles out of the No. 9 hole. Everett Chamberlain scored twice for the Kardinals.

Oliver also was happy to get through the game with his pitching plans intact.

Jacob Joanis got the start and went 4 2-3 innings, giving up six runs — three earned — on seven hits while walking two and striking out seven.

“All the kids say he has that dog in him,” Oliver said. “He’s a grinder who works through any kind of adversity that comes his way.

“He made the big pitches when it counted.”

Jackson Marion went 1 2-3 innings in relief, giving up a run on a hit while walking three. Oliver had to go to Braden Smith to get the final out in the seventh, but Smith threw just seven pitches so he is still available for the tournament.

Kaloni Beddow also made a complete return from injury for the Kardinals. Beddow had just been playing catcher at the conference tournament, but Thursday he was back to hitting.

Leadoff batter and center fielder Daniel Steffensen will remain out for the tournament due to injury.

Oliver said he didn’t get a good look at North Pole on Thursday, but he said they’re Mid Alaska Conference champs for a reason.

“I’m sure they’ll have bats and pitching ready for us,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Soldotna 6, Kodiak 2

The Bears came into the tournament at 5-12, but are a very dangerous team with Malakai Olson on the mound.

Olson, pitching for the American Legion Post 20 Twins, made the first team on the Team of Excellence last summer.

In the Northern Lights Conference tournament, he pitched the Bears to a 4-0 upset of Palmer in the first round.

Olson wasn’t able to work that magic against the Stars, who led 3-0 after the first inning and 6-1 after five innings.

“I was just happy the score wasn’t close,” SoHi head coach Ken Gibson said. “It was nice to have a couple-run cushion.

“You don’t want it to be close and he can keep it that way.”

Gibson said Olson is very good at working the upper part of the strike zone. The coach said the Stars were able to lay off the high pitches and drive up Olson’s pitch count. He finished with 109 pitches.

Matthew Schilling scored a pair of runs for SoHi, while Derrick Jones had a double, and Andrew Pieh had a triple, run and RBI.

Colby Sturman had a hit, run and RBI, while Gibson said Brett Hostetler came in during the middle of the game and delivered a hit for an RBI.

“That was a really important at-bat to keep things going,” Gibson said.

Brenden Theel worked four innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits while walking four and striking out four.

“He went deep with quite a lot of hitters,” Gibson said. “He walked a few guys.

“He threw quite a bit more pitches, but guys weren’t really hitting him.”

Pieh had not pitched at the conference tournament, but showed no rust in three innings of relief. He gave up a run on two hits while striking out two and walking none. He threw 20 of his 26 pitches for strikes.

“He was pretty lights out,” Gibson said.

The coach said he still has the luxury of a lot of good arms on the bench.

Gibson said the key against Palmer will be to stay focused and not let up. The Moose had a big comeback to defeat SoHi earlier this season.

“They have some firepower,” Gibson said of the Moose. “They’re a lot like Kenai. They will hit the ball.

“They can hurt you bad if you’re walking people.”

Soldotna lefty Brenden Theel fires a pitch during a quarterfinal win over Kodiak in the ASAA/First National Bank Division II State Baseball Championships on Thursday, May 30, 2024, at Wasilla High School. (Photo by Jeremiah Bartz/Frontiersman)