Squaring off against a number of teams in two different softball brackets, the Sitka High Lady Wolves scored victories over five rivals and lost only a single game in a two-tiered tournament in Anchorage this past Thursday through Saturday.
Sitka led off with a 10-3 win over Palmer, but then fell 2-0 against the Dimond Lynx, an Anchorage team, before defeating Delta 12-5 after some dominant hitting by Sadie Saline.
After taking second place in the initial bracket, Sitka then shifted into a second bracket, beating Homer 8-2 to start out and routing Ketchikan 11-4, with 7 runs scored in the third inning alone. Sitka High rounded out the weekend with a 9-2 win over Kenai Central, which gave the Lady Wolves the top spot in that second bracket.
Kaelynn Balovich, the team catcher, cited Sitka’s tough defense as a major factor in the team’s performance up north.
“Our defense was really good this weekend compared to past weekends. It was good, we had very few errors,” Balovich said at practice Tuesday morning.
With opportunities to face so many different teams, she said the games were a worthwhile learning experience for the team, too.
“It was fun to really see different hitters, because when you're right there, you can see everything, and see what different teams do offensively,” she said.
In the future, Balovich hopes to see her team warm up more quickly and start hitting balls in every inning.
“Normally we won't start hitting until the second or third inning of a game, so if we start hitting in the first inning, that'd be better. And then I think our pitchers are doing really well right now,” she said.
A highlight of the tournament for Sitka was the 11-4 win against the Kayhi Kings, the only Southeast team the Wolves faced in the Anchorage tournament.
“We had all of our batting starting pretty early,” outfielder Chalice Brenton said. “I know that we were struggling a little bit at first, to get the defense down, but after we talked about it, after the first game, we kind of got it together after that… Seeing Ketchikan definitely hyped us up a lot more, which is why we did perform in that game the way that we did.”
Though Sitka did well against their opponents last week, Brenton thinks the team has room to improve on offense.
“As a whole, our biggest thing is batting right now, and I do see us getting a lot better,” she said.
Against Kayhi, she noted, the team’s defense proved staunch, and did not allow the Lady Kings to get many runners onto bases at all.
“Every time that we took the field, there were three (batters) up, three down. We did not let them get the runs that they needed, and barely actually let them bat,” Brenton recalled. “And then when we went on, it was just hits after hits. Everyone's getting on base. I hit a home run, everybody was very together in that game.”
Coach Jael McCarty said the squad is on track to keep performing well as the season develops.
“It's just energy. And at this point of season, we're always looking to improve a little every day so that we peak at the right time,” McCarty said. “That's just the trajectory, that we're always moving a little bit farther up the mountain until we get to state. So they're always excited to play Ketchikan -- iron sharpens iron. When you play a good team, you make each other better, you motivate each other to get better. And they won that battle. There's going to be a ton more battles with Ketchikan, so we'll see how that goes.”
Alina Lebahn pitched for the Lady Wolves against Kayhi, and said the Wolves’ performance in the first inning set the tone for the rest of the match.
“We had a clean first inning, which kind of led to a cleaner game… It's kind of a mental thing, and it just works out. If you start a clean game, then the other team doesn't get that chance to get ahead of you in the beginning. So if you start clean, then you're the team that is ahead, and you just keep going and you have momentum on your side,” Lebahn said.
She hopes to repeat that strong first inning opener in future games, and said the team should focus on “keeping our bats hot the entire game, the entire lineup. Once we keep our bats hot, we're good; we're golden.”
As Sitka’s starting pitcher, Lebahn said she focuses not just on her throwing, but on how her role on the pitcher’s mound interplays with the rest of her team.
“When I pitch, I try to pitch to where my team can work behind me,” Lebahn said. “I'm not trying to pitch perfect strikeouts every time. I'm just trying to make it to where they put the ball in play for my team to make plays behind me.”
The Lady Wolves face Juneau at home today at 4 and 6 p.m. at Moller Field, and will host Ketchikan next week.
