Homer 4, Kenai 3
The Kenai Central Kardinals fell to the Homer Mariners on Wednesday night in the season’s first game for both teams.
Jacob Joanis and Braden Smith pitched two scoreless frames to open the game, while Kenai’s offense scored one run each in the first and second innings to take a 2-0 lead.
The Mariners battled back in the third, scoring twice to tie the game 2-2. Homer added two more runs in the top of the 6th inning.
Trailing 4-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Kardinals pushed one run across the plate but couldn’t bring in a game-tying run. Final score 4-3.
Homer rode solid pitching by Camden Smith for 6 innings. Smith, whose curveball induced multiple ground ball and fly ball outs, earned the win, finishing the game with 2 strikeouts and 3 walks.
With the loss, the Kardinals fall to 0-1 on the season and 0-1 in conference play. Homer is now 1-0 on the season and sits atop the Northern Lights Conference at 1-0.
The game was originally scheduled to be played in Homer, but the Mariners’ field conditions were inadequate, so it was moved to the Soldotna Stars’ field. Due to the change, Kenai will swap their scheduled home game against the Mariners later this season for a road game.
Next, the Kardinals face the Kodiak Bears in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday.
Friday’s game will air on KKIS 96.5 FM at 3:45 p.m., and Saturday’s game on ESPN 1140 AM and 96.9 FM at 11:45 a.m. All games can also be streamed online at radiokenai.com.
