The Homer baseball team picked apart Kenai Central in an 8-1 Southcentral Conference win Thursday in Homer.
The loss drops Kenai to 4-5 in the conference, and 4-6 overall, and are 0-2 against the Mariners in 2016.
“It was a tough day for us, we just didn’t play very well,” said Kenai coach John Kennedy. “We struggled today, but we have another game tomorrow.”
The Kards will face Palmer today at 6:30 p.m. at the Kenai Little League fields.
Thursday against Homer, Kenai could only manage a single hit, courtesy of Jakeb O’Brien. Meanwhile, Homer feasted on Kenai’s pitching with 10 hits, led by the 3-for-3 day by Joe Ravin. Adam Brinster also hit well with a 2-for-3 showing and three RBI, and Garrett Butcher and Greg Smith both added two hits apiece.
Kenai also left eight men on base, while Homer stranded just four.
Kyle Johnson earned the win on the mound for Homer, pitching two innings and giving up one run on one hit while striking out two and walking one. Butcher then tossed three innings of scoreless, hitless ball and struck out one. Brinster walked two batters in one inning of relief and Ravin closed with a scoreless inning.
Conner Jones opened for Kenai with three innings, giving up one run on five hits, and striking out two and issuing no walks. Paul Steffensen finished the game for Kenai with three innings of relief and gave up three runs on five hits.
Kenai took a 1-0 lead at the top of the order, but Homer responded with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Mariners then added three more in the third frame and another three in the fifth.
