Leading off the regular baseball season on the turf at Moller Field, Sitka Wolves swept to victory in a three-game series against the Ketchikan Kings Thursday and Friday. Sitka blanked Kayhi 10-0 in the first matchup. The Wolves struggled in the second game, winning 3-2 after a close call late in the match, but then routed the Kings 17-0 Friday evening to close out the series.
Playing in cold, rainy weather Friday afternoon, Sitka initially struggled to build momentum and neither team ever scored more than a single run in an inning of game two. The Wolves and Kings scored once each in the second inning, and Sitka took the lead in the third with another run, but both squads were scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings.
“It was a little messy at first,” said Bryce Compagno-Calhoun, who pitched for the Wolves in Friday’s first game. “I mean the mound was all wet and stuff, but I just went out there and had a lot of fastballs and curveballs, just trying to deal, just get it where Tanner (Steinson, Sitka’s catcher) was framing it.”
Compagno-Calhoun threw about 10 strikeouts in the game, which was a major factor that slowed Ketchikan’s offense and allowed the Wolves some breathing room. In Thursday’s game, Sitka pitcher Caleb Calhoun threw 14 strikeouts.
Overall, Compagno-Calhoun thinks Sitka’s team is in good shape at this point in the early season.
“Right now, we're looking really good. I mean, our hitting wasn't the best right now, but we've really picked up our defense since the preseason tournament… I just hope we get through this game and then prepare for Juneau and the upcoming weeks,” the pitcher said.
While Sitka’s pitching was on point, the team’s bats didn’t light up at the right times, coach Kenny Carley said after Friday’s first game.
“We just never started hitting. It wasn't really dominant pitching (by Ketchikan). We were hitting the ball hard, but right at people every time we swung,” Carley said. “We hit a couple nice gap shots... Everything we hit seemed like it was hit hard but basically happened to be at the wrong place.”
Chance Coleman relived Compagno-Calhoun and closed out Friday’s first game on the pitcher’s mound. While Kayhi got some runners onto base and scored once, it was too little, too late.
“It was pretty nerve wracking, since I’ve barely pitched in my high school career. My arm hasn't really allowed me to pitch, but I was confident. I knew I had it in me, and I just went out there and tried to do what I can. I walked one batter and hit the next, or whatever, and then had a nice hit,” Coleman said.
Following a hit by a Ketchikan batter, right fielder Jackson Harmon and first baseman Caleb Calhoun “had a perfect relay home. That was awesome. I mean, without that, it would have been a tie game. I’m just happy they had a perfect relay and I did what I could, I felt good,” Coleman said.
The relay gave Kayhi their third out of the seventh inning, ending the game with Sitka up 3-2.
“Today, actually, we were pretty dead on offense,” Coleman noted. “I mean, we're definitely better than that. Last night, we had 11 hits through five innings. Today, we only had three or four hits. We should have hit better today, but it'll come and I think we're going to be very solid on offense for the whole year.”
In the bottom of the sixth, Josh Gluth batted in a third run for Sitka. He said after the win that he thinks the team can perform better than it did in that close matchup.
“I'm just trying to make sure I make solid contact, put it in play, give myself a chance to get on," Gluth said. "I don't think our games should be that close. We should be more like the first game and try to do that every single time... Defensively we made the routine plays, and even after those little hiccups, we were able to bounce back, make sure we still got it.”
Chance Coleman thinks the team has a fair shot at regional and state titles this year. Those tournaments will take place in late May and early June, respectively.
“We just need to do what we can. I mean, we have a very talented team, and I think if we just play like we can, then we shouldn't have a problem,” he said. “Good defense and offense and timely hitting, and we should win most games. Hopefully we win the most important one at the end, the state championship.”
The Wolves fly to Juneau Thursday for games Friday and Saturday.
