Daily Sitka Sentinel

Sitka Softball Tops JDHS in Tourney Opener

By KLAS STOLPE

Sentinel Staff Writer

The Sitka High School softball team topped Juneau-Douglas 6-5 in the opening day of the double elimination format Region V Softball Championships at Ketchikan on Thursday.

Sitka junior Miah Dumag and JDHS senior Leah Spargo pitched complete games.

Sitka junior Avery Voron celebrates an out with junior Miah Dumag on Thursday during a 6-5 victory of Juneau Douglas at Dudley Field. (Photo by Dustin Safranek, Ketchikan Daily News)

Dumag threw 98 pitches, 67 for strikes, allowing 5 runs on 12 hits, and struck out three batters and walked one. Spargo took the loss (6ip, 78p, 52s, 5h, 6r, 4er, 9so, 1bb).

“We were playing heads-up on defense,” Sitka coach Gary Spurgeon said. “We were talking to each other before and during the plays.”

Juneau scored the game’s first 4 runs in the top of the fourth inning but the Wolves were unfazed and put 4 of their own on the board.

Sitka junior Nyla Duncan led off with a single to center field, junior Avery Voron singled to right field and junior Abby Forrester doubled to right field, scoring Duncan.

Senior Emily Young doubled to right field scoring Voron and Forrester. Junior Calista Gallant sacrificed Young along to third base and Dumag sacrificed her across the plate.

Dumag then took care of the Crimson Bears in the top of the fifth. After allowing a lead off single to Skyler Hickok, Dumag fielded a tough fly ball for an out and threw to first before Hickok could get back for the second out, then fielded the third out on the ground.

Sitka added 2 more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning as junior Kyleigh McArthur was hit by a pitch and sacrificed along to second by senior Whitney McArthur. Duncan was hit by a pitch, and Voron hit a hard single to score K. McArthur. Duncan stole third base and scored on a Forrester sacrifice ground ball to Spargo on the mound.

Juneau got a run back in the top of the sixth as Morgan Balovich led off with a double, and scored on a single by Elisa Fabrello.

Dumag again shut down Juneau in the top of the seventh, getting Spargo to ground out to Young at third base, fielding a ground ball by Asianna Mazon, and after giving up a single to Hickok, striking out Abby Meiners to end the game.

“I was proud of them for staying positive and mentally prepared for tonight,” Spurgeon said. “They faced a very tough team and hats off to JDHS who played a great game.”

Duncan scored 2 runs, Voron, Forrester, Young and K. McArthur 1 each. Forrester and Young had 2 runs batted in, Voron and Dumag 1 apiece. Voron had two hits, Duncan, Forrester, and Young one each. Duncan and Voron each stole one base.

Young fell to Spargo’s pitches twice, and Duncan, Voron, Forrester, Dumag, Morgan, K. McArthur and W. McArthur once. 

JDHS was led by two hits from Hickok, Balovich, Sophia Schauwecker and Amanda Van Syke. Balovich scored 2 runs, Meiners, Mia Lorie and Schauwecker each. Van Syke had two RBI, Spargo, Balovich and Fabrello one apiece.

The Wolves played today at 2 p.m. against Thunder Mountain, a 7-2 winner over Ketchikan Thursday. The Sitka/TMHS winner (score not available at press time) advances to Saturday’s championship game.

The loser will play at 6 p.m. tonight against the winner of today’s 11 a.m. elimination game between JDHS and KTN,  to also advance to Saturday’s championship.

TMHS earned the first berth to the state tournament, May 31-June 2 in Fairbanks, by having the best conference record. The state’s second berth will be the tournament champion or, if TMHS wins the tourney, the runner-up.