The Soldotna baseball team will play for the first state title in program history today at 3 p.m. at Wasilla High School against Petersburg.
Thanks to a walkoff home run from Andrew Pieh, the Stars (16-4 overall) defeated North Pole 9-8 in eight innings Friday in the semifinals.
“He hadn’t really looked good in his at-bats all night,” SoHi coach Ken Gibson said of Pieh. “Most of his swings, he wasn’t looking like he was seeing the ball well. He just hit that one and it came out of nowhere. It was beautiful.”
Soldotna, which got the first victory at a state tournament last year after going winless at the 2008, 2011 and 2016 tournaments, had to overcome a 6-0 deficit after the top of the first inning to make the final.
Starter Riley Johnson steadied his team by pitching five innings and giving up eight runs — just three earned — on 10 hits while walking three and striking out three.
Gibson said Johnson’s ability to overcome SoHi’s errors and North Pole hitting the ball hard in the first inning was key.
“Those guys came out and hit him hard, and there were those errors, and he could have quit,” Gibson said. “He just hung in there and kept working on his pitches, and got better as he went.”
The Stars gradually cut into the lead, trailing 6-2 after three innings, 7-5 after four innings and 8-7 after five innings. SoHi then tied it in the bottom of the sixth when Gavin Jones doubled and scored on an error.
Trevor Ohnemus was lights out in relief for the Stars and picked up the victory. He worked three hitless, scoreless innings while walking none and striking out five.
Ohnemus was a freshman making just his second varsity appearance after doing a good job at junior varsity all season.
“He plays with a calm and stays in the moment,” Gibson said of Ohnemus. “He throws well and doesn’t seem overwhelmed, but he was definitely having butterflies and aware of the moment.”
After both teams went scoreless in the seventh, North Pole didn’t score in the eighth. Pieh quickly ended the game in the bottom of the frame when he lifted a home run to left field.
Gibson said Petersburg is a free-swinging club with some big bats.
“It’s gonna be good,” Gibson said. “The guys are up for it. They’re all excited. I told them when you win ugly like that, you know you’re a good team. There was no quit. They came back to get the win, and it was a great win to get.”
Atticus Gibson will draw the start for the Stars.
Grace Christian 11, Kenai 5
The Kardinals ended their season at 11-10 overall and tied for seventh place at state with the loss to the Grizzlies.
Kenai was 2-0 against Grace coming into the game, but Kardinals coach Luke Oliver said his squad hadn’t seen Grizzlies pitcher Laddy Elliot.
“He was locating pretty well and he had a couple offspeed pitches he was throwing effectively,” Oliver said.
Braden Smith and Simon Grenier pitched for the Kardinals.
“We were throwing strikes, but Grace was hitting the ball,” Oliver said. “We had a couple little issues with the sun. We had some fly balls get into the sun and we couldn’t catch them.
“Them hitting, a couple errors and a couple mental errors made it hard to come back.”
Gabe Smith scored a couple runs for Kenai.
“He’s aggressive on the basepaths,” Oliver said. “He’s a good ballplayer and a strong leader and we look forward to him coming back next year.”
Oliver said the season overall was a success, with his team going to state for the first time since 2012. The team made it a goal to qualify and not get an at-large bid. The Kards got the third bid out of the Southcentral Conference.
Kenai loses seniors Grenier, Maccoy Castillo, Mason Koliba, Talon Whicker, Hayden Hansen and Xander Amend.
“We wish them well on the next part of their journey,” Oliver said. “They all have plans of some sort headed into fall.”
