Wolves Topple Juneau to Clinch Region V Title

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Created on Tuesday, 28 May 2024 15:34

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By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
    Following a loss against Juneau-Douglas on Friday, Sitka High rallied and secured the Region V baseball title on Saturday by defeating the Crimson Bears in two closely contested games at Moller Field.
    After an 11-1 win over Thunder Mountain Thursday, Sitka took a 10-5 loss to J-D on Friday, which dropped the Wolves into the losers’ bracket of the double elimination tournament.

Sitka’s dugout surges and congratulates pitcher Bryce Compagno-Calhoun, number 16 at center, after he shut down a rally attempt by Juneau in the Region V baseball tournament, Saturday at Moller Field. (Sentinel photo)

Wolves junior Bryce Compagno-Calhoun pitches against Juneau-Douglas in the Region V tournament championship, Saturday in Sitka. (Sentinel photo)

    When the Southeast rivals squared off again Saturday morning the region title was on the line: a Juneau win would make them the champions. A Sitka win would advance the Wolves to a third game against the Bears to decide the championship.
    The game began with two scoreless innings. A hit by Sitka junior Chance Coleman sent a runner home in the third, giving Sitka a scant lead, but Juneau scored a run to tie the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth. With Bryce Compagno-Calhoun on the mound for Sitka and Lamar Blatnick pitching for Juneau, both sides struggled to get runners on bases, and it was rare for either team to send more than four batters to the plate in a single inning before accruing three outs.
    With the game tied 1-1 in the seventh and two outs on the scoreboard Coleman hit a double. Junior Tanner Steinson followed with a single that sent Coleman running home for Sitka’s second run.
    Looking back on the decisive moment in the seventh, Steinson said he was locked onto his goal when he stepped up to bat.
    “Going into that I was just focused on getting the bat on the ball and driving in the winning run. And I did just that – that felt great,” Steinson said. “Right off the bat I knew that he was going to score off of that hit. It was electric, everyone was going crazy. It was awesome.”
    Next at bat was Bryce Compagno-Calhoun, who tripled and gave space for senior Evander Elixman, who was base running for Steinson, to make it home.
    In the bottom of the seventh, Juneau attempted to rally, but Compagno-Calhoun and Sitka’s defense held firm. While the Bears put multiple runners on base, the pitcher struck out two batters to end the game with a 3-1 win for Sitka, forcing a final game for the championship later in the day.
    Sitka threw a combined three strikeouts in the third and final game against Juneau, two from Caleb Calhoun and one by Chance Coleman. Sitka gave up only one hit in the last game of the bracket, and took the win 3-2, securing the ASAA Region V title. As opposed to the Bears, Sitka made five hits in that game, with Caleb Calhoun, Bryce Compagno-Calhoun and Chance Coleman all batting in runners.
    In first game Saturday Compagno-Calhoun threw five strikeouts and gave up only four hits across all seven innings of the game.
    “My defense really helped me. The hits weren’t super hard and my defense just backed me up,” the pitcher said. “... Our bats didn’t really wake up until the last thing, but I just tried to keep everyone off balance, and it seemed to work out.”
    He was glad he was able to make a hit in a critical moment in the seventh.
    “I went up really aggressive. And I was like, ‘If the pitch is right there, I’m swinging,’ and hit a line drive and it got through the second baseman and yeah, I saw it get into the gap and I just kept on running there,” Compagno-Calhoun said. “It felt great, right on the barrel.”
    Sitka coach Kenny Carley credited his team’s mindset for much of their performance.
    “You have to have it in your mindset that you’re going to get on base and they did it; they did it well. They got us the one to take the lead and an insurance run on top, which is huge,” the coach said.
    Looking back on Friday’s defeat, Carley said the team appeared unprepared and struggled when fielding, but the squad internalized the lessons of the loss and rebounded the following day.
    “I’ve never seen anything like (Friday’s game). I’ve seen a couple guys be off, but it was everyone on the roster. Our pitchers did OK, but hitting-wise, fielding, it was ugly... What we talked about after the game last night is what we had to work on today, and it seems like it sunk in.”
    The Wolves went into the regional tournament with a guaranteed spot in this week’s state competition – thanks to their stellar regular season record – but after the regional win they’ll start off as the top seed, and as a result should face a slightly easier bracket in Anchorage.
    “We just need to go up there, be confident in ourselves when we play, and just be aggressive and just play our game,” Compagno-Calhoun said.
    Playing third base for the Wolves was senior Grady Smith, who told the Sentinel he most enjoys baseball games that come down to the wire.
    “I feel like when it gets in those tense situations that people don’t want the ball to get hit to them because they don’t want to mess up. For me, it’s like, I want to be that guy. I want to make the good play,” Smith said. He helped anchor Sitka’s defense in a game where the Wolves’ tight fielding prevented Juneau from rallying late.
    He’s glad the team earned the upcoming experience of a state tournament.
    “A lot of these guys, I don’t know if they have played or pitched that much or have much experience up there at state, so, I mean, I just want them to get that experience and, hopefully, we seed it out and get a good road to the championship game,” Smith said.
    He will continue playing baseball at Feather River College in California in the fall along with Sitka graduates Dylan Marx and Nik Calhoun. Sitka softballer Dalila Callahan, who graduated with Smith earlier this month, also will attend FRC and will play softball there.
    The state championship tournament will be played in Anchorage, Thursday to Saturday this week.
    Steinson thinks the Wolves have a shot at a state title if they play their best.
    “Just play our hearts out. Just do great, because when we play 100 percent we are the best team in Alaska,” the catcher said.

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