By KLAS STOLPE
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Sitka High Lady Wolves recorded four wins and one loss in the Alaska School Activities Association small school state softball tournament in Anchorage over the weekend, culminating in an 11-3 run-rule championship win over Ketchikan Saturday evening.
East Anchorage beat Dimond for the large school championship, 11-2.
“The girls deserved it,” Sitka coach Jael McCarty said. “They kept their composure all tournament and they played like they loved the game.”
The title game was an “if necessary” contest, as Ketchikan had rung up an adult slow-pitch softball winning score of 22-9 over Sitka an hour earlier, giving both teams one loss in the double-elimination format.
Sitka had defeated Kodiak 13-12 Saturday morning to earn the championship round, Kodiak had defeated Ketchikan 10-8 on Friday for the Lady Kings first loss, and Ketchikan returned the favor 14-8 to eliminate Kodiak Saturday afternoon.
In the final game for the championship, Sitka senior Avery Voron got the Lady Wolves on the scoreboard with a solo home run off Ketchikan pitcher Lianne Guevarra in the top of the first inning for a 1-0 lead.
“It was absolutely crazy,” Voron said. “I was literally talking to my parents right before that at-bat, and I was saying how irritated I was that I hadn’t gotten one this season yet. I have gotten so close. It felt so good. This past weekend I was thinking about it too much. That pitch I didn’t think about it at all. I just swung, and I think that’s why it went over. I just let the bat do the work.”
The Sitka High Lady Wolves softball team is shown with their championship trophy after winning the ASAA District II State Softball Championship at Anchorage’s Cartee Fields on Saturday. BACK from left: head coach Jael McCarty, assistant coach Mindy Barry, senior Avery Voron, sophomore Tyla Gleason, freshman Chloe Morrison, sophomore Grace Harang, senior Taylor Helem, senior Kyleigh McArthur, assistant coach Dan Gray, senior Erin Blankenship, assistant coach Kris Pearson. FRONT: senior Nyla Duncan, senior Calista Gallant, senior Miah Dumag, senior Abby Forrester, sophomore Makenna Smith, junior Baylee Pearson, and sophomore Tamryn Suarez. (Photo provided to the Sentinel)
In the bottom half, Sitka senior Abby Forrester caught a fly ball by Erika Rauwolf and threw to freshman first baseman Chloe Morrison to double off Kayhi’s Kiara Hodges.
“The first game, that we lost, that was rough,” Forrester said. “Because we were playing back so far in the field and they were hitting little dinkers. So our coaches had us scoot up for the championship game and they became just routine fly balls.”
Ketchikan stranded two runners on base as Sitka sophomore pitcher Makenna Smith ended the inning by putting out Kayhi’s dangerous Shay Mendoza.
Sitka threatened in the top of the second with senior Calista Gallant hitting a two-out double, Smith being hit by a pitch and replaced by sophomore speedster courtesy runner Grace Harang, and senior Kyleigh McArthur walking to force a pitching change with Ketchikan’s Maddalynn Vierra taking the mound. Sitka sophomore Tyla Gleason singled to score Gallant and Harang and McArthur scored on a passed ball for a 4-0 lead.
“I’m so proud of us as a team and thankful that I got to score for the Lady Wolves and contribute to our state championship,” Harang said. “I usually run for the active pitcher and catcher, so I get the fun of running the bases without the stress of being at the plate. The thing that I focus the most on is watching the base coaches and my legs just carry me where I want to go. I’m very proud of us and can’t wait until next season.”
Smith got her second K of the game in the bottom half and senior shortstop Miah Dumag and senior second baseman Nyla Duncan fielded the other two outs.
Dumag led off the third with a single, Morrison reached on an error, Smith singled, and McArthur reached on an error scoring Dumag and Morrison for a 6-0 lead. Gleason doubled to score courtesy runner Harang and McArthur for an 8-0 lead and force third Ketchikan pitcher Hannah Moody to take the mound, and Voron hit a warning track out.
The Lady Kings got 3 runs in the bottom half as Jhaelah Schultz singled in Erika Rauwolf, Hodges scored on a passed ball and Moody singled in Savannah McLaren. Sitka’s Smith picked off Kayhi’s Edenshaw to end the threat and strand one runner.
Sitka struck again in the fourth as Forrester singled, Dumag walked and Duncan singled in Forrester, forcing the Lady Kings to bring Guevarra back on the mound. Dumag tagged up on a Morrison fly to score and Gallant sacrificed in Duncan for the 11-3 lead.
In the bottom half, Sitka’s Dumag took over the mound and got hitters to ground to Duncan, Gleason, and Morrison, and in the bottom of the fifth Dumag was backed up by a catch by Forrester in center, Duncan fielding a hard ground ball at shortstop, and Forrester earning the championship catch for the run rule win.
“I think I was able to pitch so much in the tournament because of the adrenaline,” Dumag said. “I knew we could do it. For the last three years we haven’t gone to state so when we made it to state I knew we had it.”
Smith threw 3 innings, using 57 pitches, allowing 6 hits and 3 runs, striking out 3 and walking 2, and Dumag closed (2 IP, 14 P).
Voron went 2-3 at the plate with 1 run scored and 1 run batted in, while walking once. Gleason was 2-4 (4 RBI), Forrester 2-4 (1 R), Dumag 1-2 (2 R, 1 BB, 1 SO), Duncan 1-3 (1 R, 1 RBI), Morrison 0-3 (1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SO), Gallant 1-3 (1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SO), Smith 1-1, McArthur 1-2 (2 R, 1 BB), Harang 0-0 (2 R), and Pearson 0-1.
Ketchikan’s Guevarra (3.2 IP, 44 P, 4 H, 5 R, 2 SO, 1 BB), Vierra (1 IP, 22 P, 5 H, 4 R, 1 SO, 1 BB), and Moody (0.1 IP, 8 P, 1 H, 2 R, 1 BB) shared the loss.
The Lady Kings’ Shultz and Moody had 1 RBI apiece; Hodges and Shultz had 2 hits apiece; and Hodges, Rauwolf and McLaren scored 1 run each.
“It was so nice to see the girls come back from the 22-9 loss one game earlier,” McCarty said. “The umpire in that game really squeezed the zone so both pitchers on both teams really had to pipe it down the middle.”
Sitka started that first title-game loss to Ketchikan on a defensive stand.
After allowing an opening ground ball the Lady Wolves fielders got dirty.
Gleason fielded a bunt for the first out, junior second baseman Baylee Pearson picked up the next hard ground ball for an out, and Gleason got her glove busy again for the third out.
“Being at third is kind of intimidating just because you’re closer to the batter,” Gleason said. “But getting the first out felt great, I like being there. You have to have a fast reflex and I know that all these teams hit really well, especially the upper classmen, but I know that our team has good at-bats so I wasn’t worried. It’s going to be sad losing our seniors, but we underclassmen will have to step up. I’m so happy for our seniors – they deserved the championship. They pushed this whole team to the next level. I couldn’t imagine playing with anyone else.”
Sitka then loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning as Gleason was hit by a pitch by Ketchikan’s Moody, Voron bunted Gleason along and Forrester was hit by a pitch. One out later Voron and Forrester scored on a sacrifice fly by Duncan.
Ketchikan rallied for 4 runs in the top of the second inning.
The Wolves got the four runs back, and then some, in the bottom half as Morrison led off with a double, Gallant and Pearson walked, and McArthur doubled down the right field line to score all three. Gleason sacrificed in McArthur and after Voron was hit by a pitch Dumag read the delivery from Lady Kings second pitcher Vierra and deposited the yellow orb in a rope over the center field fence for 2 runs batted in.
“That felt really good,” Dumag said. “It was kind of surprising too. I thought this loss was a fluke and we would get our bats going in the next game.”
With two outs the Lady Wolves’ Duncan and Morrison reached base to cause a Ketchikan pitching change and Gallant hit a deep fly ball from the Lady Kings’ third pitcher Guevarra to end the inning at the warning track with Sitka in the lead 8-4.
Ketchikan rallied again in the top of the third to tie the score 8-8 with just one out and the bases loaded.
The Lady Wolves brought in Smith on the mound and moved Dumag to shortstop, but Lady Kings hit a 2 run single for a 10-8 lead.
Sitka stranded McArthur and Voron on base in the bottom half.
Ketchikan extended the lead to 13-8 in the fourth.
Sitka got a run back in the bottom half as Dumag led off with a single and scored after tagging up on a one-out fly by Gallant for a 13-9 tally.
Ketchikan got to the Sitka pitching in the fifth and Dumag returned to the mound replacing Smith, but in the inning the Lady Kings’ crossed the plate 9 times for a 22-9 lead.
Sitka hit three hard ground balls for outs to strand Forrester on base in the bottom half, ending the game by the 10-run rule and forcing the If-Necessary championship as both teams now had one loss.
“I was not worried at all,” Forrester said. “I knew that we would bounce back. I knew there was no way this team would ever lose twice in a row. I had full confidence that we were going to win it.”
Dumag totaled 2.2 innings pitched (86 P, 16 H, 14 R, SO 1, BB 1) and Smith 2.1 IP (59 P, 6 H, 8 R, SO 1, BB 3) in the loss.
Kayhi’s Moody (1 IP, 34 P, 3 H, 6 R, 2 BB), Vierra (0.2 IP, 10 P, 2 H, 2 R, 1 HR), and Guevarra (3.1 IP, 57 P, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB) worked the win with no strikeouts.
Clark led Kayhi with a 3-4 (4 R, 6 RBI, 1 BB) day at the plate, Hodges was 4-5 (2 R, 3 RBI), Schultz and Miller had 3 RBI apiece, Edenshaw and Miller scored 4 runs each among the 22 Lady Kings hits.
Sitka had 7 hits. Dumag went 2-3 (2 R, 2 RBI), Voron 2-3 (1 R, 1 BB), McArthur 1-2 (1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB), Duncan 1-2 (2 RBI, 1 BB), Morrison 1-2 (1 R), Gleason 0-2 (1 RBI), Gallant 0-2 (1 R, 1 BB), Pearson 0-0 (1 R, 1 BB), and Smith 0-2.
The two pitchers were caught all season by McArthur.
“Behind the plate I needed to help the pitchers out as much as I could,” she said. “All season our pitchers were pretty consistent, and even if they mess up I’ve got to back them up and keep them going. I’ve been catching for Miah since middle school so it was fun to start as well as finish my softball career catching for her. I was nervous for these games, but I was confident that we had what it took to win. I’m proud of my team, and proud to be a player for the Sitka Lady Wolves.”
In Sitka’s Saturday morning 13-12 semifinal squeaker over Kodiak, with the score tied 10-10 in the bottom of the fifth, Dumag homered on a 3-2 count to score 3 runs. Forrester had homered an inning earlier, changing the game momentum.
“It felt pretty good,” Forrester said. “Actually, it felt really good because Miah and I have this competition of who can get the most home runs and I tied it up. And then she had to go on and hit another one.”
Forrester and Dumag also were named to the all-state tourney team.
Dumag started on the mound and went 2 innings (6 H, 5 R, 1 SO) and Smith relieved for 5 (5 H, 7 R, 5 SO), including striking out the final batter with two runners on base.
“I enjoyed pitching at state and was happy with how well my team backed me up on the field,” Smith said. “Miah helped me gain more self-confidence on the mound by being super encouraging the whole season.”
The title was especially sweet as these Lady Wolves were middle schoolers when Sitka last played at state and won the title, in 2015.
The Lady Wolves acknowledged all the help it took to win state, including their Little League coaches, former high school coaches Bob Potruski, Gary Spurgeon, and Caitlyn Henke, and the community of Sitka.
Their coach from junior league softball, Rebecca Austin, said, “If any group of girls was going to win state it would be those girls. Because they’re committed. They dig deep when the going gets tough. They each bring something special to the table that seems to complement what others are bringing. And they are just plain crazy.”
Austin lived in Sitka from 2005-2015, was a nurse and also worked at the UAS Sitka campus. She now lives in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia, but has photos of the Sitka team on her refrigerator and follows their exploits.
“My philosophy is that you have to plant the seed of passion in the early years,” she said. “So when they were younger it was about developing essential skills and mixing it up with fun. We used to have bow-making parties with myself and coach Alicia Gresli We used to also focus on the importance of a healthy life.”
The group would do gym sessions together and they traveled a lot in the summer. Gleason, Morrison and Blankenship were included in a group that went to a Seattle university summer softball camp.
“They learned so much there,” Austin said. “It’s about starting the love of the game at the grassroots level, then you see the results like we saw yesterday.”
Austin said the Sitka seniors provided leadership even back then.
“We would always laugh about sayings that we came up with,” Austin said. “We were playing Ketchikan and were trying to encourage a younger pitcher. She pitched a great pitch and Calista Gallant said, ‘Feel what you felt and do it again.’ Gosh we all laughed so hard. That became our saying. I still have the shirt they gave me at the end of the season with that saying on it. They were such an energetic and rambunctious group. Kept me on my toes. Never a dull moment and ferry trips were tiring. But at the end of the day they talked about winning a championship.”
When Saturday’s final out was rung up, the team charged together.
“It is crazy that we are done,” Voron said. “It was our last game and our last season.”
Said Forrester, “It was a crazy, wonderful feeling. Being able to go out with a bang, and loving this team so much, it’s just such a joy that we can celebrate it together.”
TOURNAMENT SCORES
DII: Thursday - Ketchikan 11 Homer 7, Sitka 12 Delta Junction 7, Sitka 12 Kodiak 4, Homer 24 Hutchison 1, Kodiak 6 Delta 3, Ketchikan 23 Hutchison 2. Friday - Kodiak 14 Hutchison 1, Homer 11 Delta 6, Kodiak 10 Ketchikan 8, Sitka 9 Homer 1, Homer 13 Hutchison 1 (Eliminated), Ketchikan 14 Delta 10 (E). Saturday - Ketchikan 9 Homer 1 (E), Sitka 13 Kodiak 12, Ketchikan 14 Kodiak 8 (E), Ketchikan 22 Sitka 9, Sitka 11 Ketchikan 3.
DI: Thursday - South 14 Wasilla 2, Dimond 14 West Valley 9, East 16 Wasilla 0, Dimond 9 Chugiak 6, South 13 East 3, Chugiak 10 West Valley 4. Friday - Chugiak 12 Wasilla 2, West Valley 9 East 7, South 6 Chugiak 5, Dimond 17 West Valley 3, West Valley 11 Wasilla 8 (E), East 10 Chugiak 2 (E). Saturday - East 13 West Valley 1 (E), Dimond 11 South 3, East 2 South 1 (E), East 7 Dimond 2, East 11 Dimond 2.
