By KLAS STOLPE
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Sitka High softball and baseball teams travel to Ketchikan and Juneau, respectively, this weekend.
The Lady Wolves (8-2) have a chance to secure the top softball record in the Southeast Conference heading into the double elimination format Region V Tournament, May 23-25 on Sitka’s Moller Field.
Sitka needs to win at least one of their two conference contests at Ketchikan (6-4) on Friday or Saturday.
Thunder Mountain (6-4) is expected to win their final two games against Juneau-Douglas (0-10), so if Kayhi wins two games it would mean a three-way tie for the top conference standings with Sitka holding a 3-win advantage over TMHS, which holds a 3-game advantage over Kayhi, which holds a 3-game advantage over the Wolves. The tiebreaker would be run differentials.
“We won’t be doing anything different,” Sitka coach Jael McCarty said. “Just going to treat this as one game at a time, one inning at a time, one pitch at a time.”
Sitka freshman Chloe Morrison, sophomore Tamryn Suarez (27), senior Kyleigh McArthur, senior Miah Dumag (3), sophomore Tyla Gleason, and senior Nyla Duncan (7) meet at the pitchers mound against the Thunder Mountain Falcons on Saturday at Juneau’s Dimond Park Fields. The Wolves play at Ketchikan this weekend. (Sentinel Photos by Klas Stolpe)
The best season record would mean an automatic bid to the Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA) State Tournament on Anchorage’s Cartee Fields, May 30 - June 1 as the Number 2 seed from Southeast.
It would also give the Lady Wolves the top seed in the aforementioned home SE Region V tourney. The winner of the region tourney becomes the SE number 1 seed to the state tourney and the runner-up would be the SE number 2 seed. If Sitka failed to reach the region championship game they would still be the SE number 2 state seed, and only the tourney champion would advance with them, not the runner-up.
“We are always playing to win,” McCarty said. “And so far that is just what we have done.”
Last season Thunder Mountain won the small school (DII) state softball title and Ketchikan placed second. In 2017 and 2016, TMHS was state champion and JDHS second. Sitka won the 2015 state title with Ketchikan second.
The Wolves boys (7-2) will be hoping to fine tune their game a few octaves against the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears (5-4) this weekend on Juneau’s Adair Kennedy Field, before returning to that diamond for the double elimination format Southeast Region V Tournament on May 23-25.
“These games are big for seeding at the Region Tournament,” Sitka coach Ken Carley said. “For us to get where we want to be we have to win one of the three against JDHS. They have the tie breaker on us.”
The Ketchikan Kings (11-1) clinched the Southeast Conference’s best baseball record last weekend with two wins over JDHS, guaranteeing themselves a trip to the ASAA State Tournament at Anchorage’s Mulcahy Stadium on May 30 - June 1.
The Kings, idle this weekend, will be the top seed at the Region Tourney in Juneau. Thunder Mountain (1-8) is expected to win at Petersburg (0-9) this weekend.
Winning the regular season means Kayhi has qualified for state as at least a Number 2 seed.
If the Kings win the region tournament they would be the Number 1 state seed and the runner-up would be the state Number 2.
“We have to make the championship game and win it if our opponent is someone other than Ketchikan,” Carley said. “If things continue as expected it means we would start off regions against Petersburg.”
JDHS would open play against Thunder Mountain. Ketchikan has an opening day bye.
“Our defense is just starting to come around,” Carley said. “It’s all about defense at regions. If your pitcher is throwing strikes, you’re going to do well if your defense is backing you up.”
Sitka baseball seniors are shown during their last home series at Moller Field last week. The team travels to Juneau for their final regular season games against Juneau-Douglas on Friday and Saturday. From left are Kevin David, Cole Riggs, James Comas, Austin Morrison, Brayden Massey-Jones, Morgan Simic, Bryce Kelly, and Wayne Young. The Region V tournament is at Juneau’s Adair Kennedy Field, May 23-25.
The Wolves also have to deal with losing star senior pitcher, shortstop, and power hitter Bryce Kelly for the remainder of the season due to team disciplinary actions, according to sports and district officials.
Sophomore Keaton Koelling will move into full shortstop duties but the entire team has to play up during region tournament as all opponents are not eliminated until they fall twice.
Power hitting sr. Morgan Simic and soph. Trevin Carley may see fewer pitches in the strike zone as the league knows their power now, and junior speedster Gavin Flores will have to be even more daring on the base paths.
Pitching becomes even more important as a mound jockey can throw only 106-120 pitches before he has to rest four days (1-30 pitches no rest required; 31-55, one day rest; 56-80, two days rest; 81-105, three days rest). There is a mandatory one-day rest for any pitcher that pitches two consecutive days (even if they pitched less than 30 pitches during each of the previous two days).
The Wolves are looking to jr. Kyler Brenton, sr. Austin Morrison, soph. Emanuel Barragan, and sr. Cole Riggs to keep their counts short but sweet, and effective.
This is the second straight season the Kings will advance to the large school (DI) state tournament, and the fourth time in the past five years.
Juneau-Douglas won the state title last season over South Anchorage, with the Kings third. Sitka won the 2017 state title over South with JDHS fourth. South won the 2016 state title over Chugiak, with Sitka third and Ketchikan fifth. Chugiak defeated South for the 2015 state title, with JDHS third and Ketchikan sixth.
“We like to look at our pre-season and regular season as all preseason,” Sitka assistant coach Matt Way said. “Every year the goal is to win a state championship so our focus is on having our team ready to play our best at regionals. This weekend we get a chance to play on the field that the regional tournament will be held on. This is a big opportunity for us to see how our defense handles the glacier silt surface as well as let us seek where we need to make adjustments to have our team ready to win regions.”
