It was a championship weekend for high school baseball and softball on the Kenai Peninsula, with Soldotna’s baseball team capturing its fourth straight Division II state title and both the Soldotna and Kenai Central softball programs recording their best finishes in school history.
On the diamond at Coral Seymour Memorial Park, the Stars topped Kenai Central 8-2 in the Division II baseball championship to complete a 15-game winning streak and cap off a dominant state tournament run. Soldotna finished the season 18-9-2, with head coach Ken Gibson improving to a perfect 12-0 in state tournament play. The Stars beat Kenai for the second year in a row in the title game and went 2-1 against the Kardinals this season.
Trenton Ohnemus pitched a complete game in the final for the third straight year, helping anchor a SoHi pitching staff that consistently overpowered opponents throughout the postseason. Offensively, Soldotna’s lineup produced runs up and down the order, with key contributions from multiple spots. Kenai battled through tough conditions and a weather-delayed start to the title game and finished a strong season at 16-5, bidding farewell to a senior-heavy roster that helped power the program to back-to-back state title game appearances.
In Anchorage, the Soldotna softball team advanced to the Division II championship game for the first time in program history and finished second after a back-and-forth title battle with Sitka. It was SoHi’s best-ever state tournament result, surpassing a third-place finish in 2010. The Stars won three games at state, including a playoff bracket final win over Kenai Central.
Kenai’s softball team also made history, taking third in its second-ever appearance at state. After initially thinking their season had ended at the conference level, the Kardinals were added to the bracket just days before the tournament and made the most of the opportunity, picking up two wins—including a victory over Ketchikan to reach the bracket final—and finishing with a 20-19 overall record.
Both teams played through cold, rainy weather and showcased strong offensive performances across the weekend. Soldotna’s lineup produced double-digit run totals in multiple games, while Kenai matched that output in wins of their own. The Kardinals also brought home the tournament’s sportsmanship and academic awards.
In total, the Peninsula’s baseball and softball programs combined for five wins and a championship in just three days—highlighting the continued rise of local teams at the state level.