By KLAS STOLPE
Sentinel Staff Writer
In a game of heroes and heroics the Sitka Little League Majors (10-12 years old) Baseball All-Stars earned the state title over Eagle River’s Knik L.L. with a show of plate power, mound magic, and fancy fielding in a 6-5 extra inning extravaganza that sealed a three-games-to-one series title.
“An amazing group of kids,” a teary-eyed Sitka manager Rich McAlpin said as a light rain mixed with his emotions. “Knik gave us everything, they are a great squad from up north, that is a classy outfit over there… but Sitka, our boys hung together. Our defense came through and our guys came through on the offensive end. A great group… and now we’re heading to California. Can you believe it?”
The belief became reality in the bottom of the eighth inning when Emmit Johnson, one of three 12-year-olds and co-captains on the team, came to bat with two outs and the score tied 5-5.
On base were co-captains Chance Coleman and Bryce Calhoun.
Johnson timed a single into left to score Coleman for the state title.
“I wasn’t even thinking I was so excited,” Johnson said. “I said to myself ‘I really need this, I need this hit.’ I just went up there, and I had so much adrenaline, and crushed it. I’m just so happy we won. It’s pretty cool. I will remember this for the rest of my life, my teammates will, it is the coolest thing ever.”
The 2019 Little League Alaska Majors (10-12 year old) Baseball All-Stars State Champions from Sitka pose for a photo Monday night at Moller Field after defeating Knik 6-5. Standing from left: Samson Smith, Emmit Johnson, Trey Johnson, Caleb Calhoun, Kai Hirai, Evan Grant, coach Ryne Calhoun, Bryce Calhoun, Brett Ross, coach Bob Calhoun, Josh McAlpin, Rawl Weathers, coach Rich McAlpin, and Mason Mcleod. Kneeling are Chance Coleman and Josh Gluth. (Sentinel Photos by Klas Stolpe)
The first inning of the game was a pitching duel as Sitka’s B. Calhoun struck out two batters in the top half and got another to lift a fly to outfielder Trey Johnson. The rangy fielder had been feeling ill the entire day but wouldn’t have missed this game for the world – and he didn’t miss the catch.
Knik’s Liam Lierman struck out two batters in the bottom half and got the third to line out.
Calhoun would strike two more out in the top of the second and Coleman fielded a pop fly for the third out.
In the bottom of the second inning Coleman found a key moment to demonstrate the perfect swing.
Sitka had just filled the bases as Caleb Calhoun doubled, Josh Gluth singled, and T. Johnson walked. Then Brett Ross hit a two-out single to score C. Calhoun for a 1-0 lead.
Coleman slowly walked to the plate.
In his first appearance of the game he had gone down swinging against the heat from Knik’s Lierman.
This time, Coleman capitalized on a fastball and put it over the right field fence and followed his three teammates around the bases on a grand slam trot that gave the home team a 5-0 lead. It was his second home run of the series; the first came in the series opener.
“I feel great, I didn’t even know I could do it,” Coleman said. “I’ve always wanted to hit a grand slam, and to do it in a state championship game… I just feel great.”
Knik got 2 runs back in the top of the third inning as Lierman singled and Dallin Roberts showed his power with a long drive over the centerfield fence to cut the lead to 5-2.
Sitka’s B. Calhoun steadied himself and fielded a hit that came back to the mound and then threw past the third out to retire the side.
In the bottom half of the third inning Knik’s Lierman struck out two Sitka batters and forced another to ground out.
In the top of the fourth Knik’s Jack Mullen blasted a hard ground ball that appeared to be extra bases but Sitka second baseman Josh McAlpin softly caressed the hit in his glove and made the throw to first.
In the stands, his older brother, Braden Case, a member of the last Sitka Majors team to win state, was enthusiastic.
“It’s awesome,” Case said later. “When I was his age this was one of the most memorable summers I ever had as a kid. He’s going to remember this for the rest of his life. It’s just pretty cool to see him do it.”
Ten years ago Case’s team also beat Knik at state and then lost in the championship game at the regionals in San Bernardino to Mercer Island, Washington.
“It’s pretty cool to see him do it,” Case said. “I was rooting for him big time. I was a little loud over there on the stands.”
Younger brother J. McAlpin heard him all game.
“It just feels good,” he said. “I just hope we do good, like he did.”
McAlpin acknowledged that his older sibling had bragging rights so far.
“Just because he’s already been there, so he has the experience,” McAlpin said. “I just hope we do the same thing.”
McAlpin’s play was infectious as B. Calhoun fanned the next batter, and C. Calhoun made another running foul ball catch along the first base fence.
Knik returned the favor in the bottom half of the fourth as Lierman struck out two Sitka batters and got another to hit a meek roller.
The next base runner would appear in the top of the fifth inning, and even then Knik batter Lierman didn’t stay long on the base paths as he timed a pitch from B. Calhoun and sent it over the center-right field fence to cut the lead to 5-3.
Sitka needed relief and available ace Trey Johnson was still feeling down.
“We asked Trey to come in, in a pinch,” Sitka manager McAlpin said. “He was battling a headache and wasn’t feeling good and I just begged him to gut it out, and he did. He threw some big pitches.”
Taking the mound Johnson got Knik’s Aiden Ayojiak to strike out but the last pitch took a wicked curve past the catcher and Ayojiak reached on a dropped third strike. Then Knik’s Roberts singled, and Kyle McEwen singled to load the bases. Tyler Cage hit a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 5-4 with one out.
Johnson lost the next pitch and struck Cole Smith in the upper back to reload the bases.
During a brief time out the team gathered around Johnson on the mound. When play resumed Johnson battled a full count and two foul balls before getting Knik’s Ryan Mullen to pop out.
Then Johnson blew past the third out to retire the side.
“It was tough,” Johnson said. “It was kind of, well, I had a headache all the way through it and I kind of battled through. So, at the end I felt better, but yeah… the team was rooting for me… and that really helped.”
Knik’s Lierman put Sitka down quickly in the bottom half of the fifth and then would help his own cause in the top of the sixth inning. After Sitka’s Johnson struck out the first batter, Lierman put his second home run of the night over the fence to tie the score at 5-5.
Neither team crossed the plate in the seventh inning as Johnson stayed strong on the mound for Sitka with help from fielders E. Johnson and Gluth, and Knik reliever Owen Dockstader did the same with help from shortstop Aiden Lawson and center fielder Ayojiak.
Under new Little League rules, after the seventh inning the batting team puts their last out from the previous inning on second base to start play with no outs.
Knik opened the eighth with a sharp single by Cage for runners on first and second. Then C. Calhoun made an athletic catch on a foul ball by Cole Smith for one out. On his next pitch T. Johnson found it coming back from Knik’s Ryan Mullen in a hurry and fielded the ground ball, turned and threw to shortstop Coleman at second base who hurried the ball on to C. Calhoun for a double play.
Then in the bottom of the eighth, Coleman started on base and after two ground ball outs he was joined by his age-mate and co-captain B. Calhoun on a walk, and then third amigo E. Johnson stepped to the plate and put his bat on the ball for “the coolest thing ever.”
When Coleman crossed the plate he turned and ran toward Calhoun approaching home and they, joined by teammates, mobbed Johnson rounding third base.
The 2019 Sitka L.L. Majors Baseball All-Stars team now joins the 1989 and 2009 Sitka squads as state champs.
They will travel to the Northwest Regionals in San Bernardino, California, August 4-10.
The winners of the eight U.S. Regions (Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New England, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest, West) and eight International Regions (Asia-Pacific, Australia, Canada, Caribbean, Europe-Africa, Japan, Latin America, Mexico) gather at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for the World Series on August 15-26.
The 2019 Sitka Majors All-Stars are Bryce Calhoun, Caleb Calhoun, Chance Coleman, Emmit Johnson, Josh Gluth, Evan Grant, Kai Hirai, Trey Johnson, Josh McAlpin, Samson Smith, Mason McLeod, Brett Ross, and Rawl Weathers. Manager is Rich McAlpin, coaches are Ryne Calhoun and Bob Calhoun.
The 2009 Sitka Majors All-Stars included Braden Case, AJ Inman, Joey Inman, Ethan Vastola, Alec McGraw, Erickson Fish, Louis Belley, Izzy Jensen, Tevin Bayne, Trevor Dalton, Kyle Fitzsimmons, and Josh Young. Coaches were Bruce Belley and Larry Fitzsimmons. They defeated Knik 13-7 and 12-6 for the state title. At the West Regionals they went 2-2. They lost to Montana’s Boulder Arrowhead 14-4, beat Idaho’s Post Falls 12-11, and beat Wyoming’s Laramie 12-1 to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Washington’s Mercer Island 15-1. Mercer Island advanced to the L.L. World Series and went 0-3.
The 1989 Sitka Majors All-Stars included Ken Carley, Wade Winger, Kevin Pearson, John Collins, Barry Kesti, Joe Caparoon Charles Paul, Spencer Overturf, John Abbott, Jenson Yocum, Wes Bowen, George Bourdekofsky, Rich Didrikson, and Jeremy Larson. Coaches were Mike Bowen and Bill Steinbach. They beat Knik 10-6 and 13-2 to win state. They lost to South California’s Sand Pedro Eastview 18-3 in the opening round of the West Region in a 16-team single elimination format.
