Kardinals 11, Petersburg 7
In the opening round of the ASAA Division II State Baseball Tournament, the Kenai Kardinals knocked off the Petersburg Vikings to advance to the Semifinal round, where they will face the North Pole Patriots.
Kenai received strong hitting performances from the heart of their lineup. Braden Smith went two for two with two RBIs and two runs scored. Gabe Smith continued his outstanding offensive season with a 2-4 afternoon, scoring one run and driving in four.
The Kardinals jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first two innings and added another run in the third, but Petersburg stormed back with three runs in the third and fourth innings to tie the game 6-6. After that Gabe Smith and the Kardinals took control back, and with four more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. They never looked back, adding one more run in the bottom of the sixth en route to the 11-7 victory.
Jacob Joanis earned the win, pitching 4.2 innings and striking out seven Vikings.
Avery Martin went 2-2 at the plate, scored one run, and drove in one. Gabe Joanis and Kalani Beddow were each 1-2 with a run scored and an RBI.
Player of the Game: Gabe Smith.
Next up: The Kardinals face the North Pole Patriots in the first semifinal at Wasilla High School at 3:30 p.m.
Soldotna 6, Kodiak 2
On Thursday, the Soldotna Stars faced and downed a familiar foe in Malakai Olson and the Kodiak Bears in the quarterfinals of DII State Baseball. The Stars will face another old NLC rival on Friday when they take on the Palmer Moose.
Soldotna plated three runs in the first inning and never surrendered the lead. Senior Andrew Pieh set the tone with a one-out triple to immediately drive in a run. Wyatt Gagnon walked, stole a base, and scored on a passed ball, and Colby Sturman drove in a run when he legged out an infield single.
Then, in what has become a pattern of relentless consistency from the Star’s offense, they added one run in each of the third, fourth, and fifth innings on their way to the opening-round victory.
Pieh finished 1-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
Soldotna received a dominant outing on the mound from starting pitcher Brendan Theel, and three commanding relief innings from Pieh. Theel pitched four innings of 2-hit ball, walked four, and struck out four. He only yielded one unearned run.
Pieh entered in relief in the fifth and finished out the game. His final line was three innings pitched, two hits and one earned run allowed, with two strikeouts.
Player of the Game: Andrew Pieh.
Next up: The Stars face the Palmer Moose in the Second semifinal at Wasilla High School at 6:00 p.m.
All Kenai and Soldotna games will air on ESPN 1140 AM, 96.9 FM, and radiokenai.com. Pregame coverage begins 15 minutes prior to first pitch.
