The Soldotna and Kenai Central baseball teams will represent the Kenai Peninsula starting today at the Division II state baseball tournament at Wasilla High School.
The Stars, the No. 2 seed out of the Southcentral Conference, open play at 4 p.m. against Grace Christian, which also plays in the Southcentral Conference but received an at-large bid to the state tournament.
Soldotna (14-4 overall) defeated the Grizzlies 20-3 on May 14, but Grace Christian must be taken seriously because there is no room for error at the state tournament. The best a team can do after losing on the first day is fourth place.
The Stars went to state in 2008, 2011 and 2016 under the old one-division format.
Last year, the Alaska School Activities Association split baseball into two divisions. Soldotna qualified for state last season and defeated Monroe Catholic 8-4 in the first round for the first state victory in the history of the program.
The Stars then lost to Palmer, the eventual champion, and North Pole to finish fifth at the tournament.
The Kardinals (11-8) are the third seed out of the Southcentral Conference. Kenai opens tourney play with North Pole, No. 1 from the Mid Alaska Conference. Kenai and North Pole have not played this season.
The Kards made their only state appearance in 2012, when Kenai lost on the first day to Service, defeated Monroe Catholic on the second day, then lost to Lathrop on the final day to take sixth place.
Soldotna and Kenai are on the same side of the bracket.
On the other side, Palmer, No. 1 from the Southcentral, plays Kodiak, a Southcentral team in on an at-large berth, at 6:30 p.m. At 1:30 p.m., Monroe Catholic, No. 2 from the Mid Alaska Conference, plays Petersburg, a team from Southeast in on an at-large berth.
Division II state baseball tournament
at Wasilla High School
Thusday’s games
Game 1 — Palmer vs. Kodiak, 6:30 p.m.
Game 2 — Monroe Catholic vs. Petersburg, 1:30 p.m.
Game 3 — North Pole vs. Kenai Central, 11 a.m.
Game 4 — Soldotna vs. Grace Christian, 4 p.m.
Friday’s games
Game 5 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 1:30 p.m.
Game 6 — Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 11 a.m.
Game 7 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Game 8 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 4 p.m.
Saturday’s games
Fourth-sixth place game — Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 10 a.m.
Third-fifth place game — Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser, 12:30 p.m.
Championship — Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 3 p.m.
