Soldotna and Palmer will play for the Northern Lights Conference championship at 7 p.m. Friday at Kosinski Fields in Anchorage.
The Stars, the defending champ, moved to the final by defeating Grace Christian 12-1 and Kodiak 13-4. The Bears had topped Homer 2-0 in the first round.
The Moose moved to the final by defeating Redington 13-7 and Houston 8-1. The Hawks had topped Kenai 7-4 in the first round.
In the second-place bracket, it’s Redington vs. Kenai and Grace vs. Homer, both at 10 a.m. Friday. The Kenai-Redington winner plays Kodiak at 3 p.m. Friday, while the Grace-Homer winner plays Houston at 3 p.m. Friday.
Soldotna 13, Kodiak 4
The Stars moved to 14-9-2 by winning their 11th straight game to advance to the final.
Kodiak led 4-1 after 1 1-2 innings, but the Stars dominated after that.
Brenden Theel pitched two innings for the Stars, giving up four runs — one earned — on four hits while walking two and striking out one.
Colby Sturman came on in relief and dominated, giving up no hits and no runs while walking one and striking out 10.
Matthew Schilling was 2 for 4 with three runs and four RBIs, while Jett Brophy was 2 for 5 with two runs and two RBIs, Brett Hostetler was 3 for 5 with two RBIs, Wyatt Gagnon was 3 for 5 with a run and an RBI, and Tucker Blough was 2 for 2 with two runs and two RBIs.
Also, Jayden Stuyvesant had two runs, Sturman had two runs and Ari Miller had two RBIs.
Houston 7, Kenai 4
The Hawks trailed 4-3 entering the seventh, but scored four times for the victory over the Kardinals (10-4) in the first round.
Kenai used four pitchers in the game.
Gabe Joanis started and gave up three runs — one earned — on no hits in three innings while walking five and striking out three. Everett Chamberlain then worked a scoreless three innings, giving up a hit and two walks while striking out one.
The Hawks then got to Jacob Katzenberger for three runs before Braden Smith came in and recorded the last three outs, giving up an unearned run in the process.
Brandon Blake led Kenai at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a run and an RBI.
Soldotna 12, Grace Christian 1
The Stars scored four times in the bottom of the fifth inning to enact the mercy rule in the first round.
Jack Harper pitched an efficient five innings for SoHi, giving up a run on three hits while walking none and striking out five.
Matthew Schilling was 4 for 4 with three runs, three RBIs, a double and a triple to lead the Stars, while Tucker Blough was 2 for 3 with a run.
Also, Jett Brophy had two runs, Brett Hostetler had three RBIs, Wyatt Gagnon had a triple, Trenton Ohnemus had two runs and Harper had a pair of RBIs.
Kodiak 2, Homer 0
The Mariners dropped to 10-8 overall after a masterful pitching performance by Kodiak’s Gavin Peterson in the first round.
Peterson pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out one.
The Mariners also pitched well. Henry Wedvik went three innings, giving up an unearned run on a hit while striking out three. CJ Burns pitched the last four, giving up a run on no hits while walking one and striking out four.
Burns, Wedvik and Austin Briscoe had the hits for Homer.
