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GCLL junior baseball takes series lead over Ketchikan in state championships
- Klas Stolpe
- 6 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Kohan pitches Juneau to 10-0 win in game three, team can close title on Sunday
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
Juneau’s Gastineau Channel Little League Junior Baseball All-Stars defeated Ketchikan Little League 10-0 in six innings on Saturday at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park field and have taken a two games to one lead in the best-of-five state championship series.
“The team knows that they are playing good baseball and they are relaxed,” GCLL manager Zach Kohan said. “And they have confidence. That is all you can ask for as a coach. My job is to just not get in their way. They are having fun and they are a good group of guys. They have chemistry, they play other sports together. They are friends outside of sports. It is just a great group of kids. We as coaches are just having a lot of fun being around it.”
GCLL pitcher Gavin Kohan went the distance in the run-rule shortened game in six innings with five strikeouts, and Bridger Lockhart relayed the pitching signs behind the plate in the often unsung position of catcher.
“If I am being honest I don’t think I did too good of a job, I just missed a couple I tried to frame,” Lockhart said. “Mainly I just stayed positive, tried to give him encouragement and that will lead to throwing strikes. And just trusting the defense. It is nice, reassuring, to know our defense can make plays. We have been doing it in practice. Our first game we just had butterflies and were a little bit nervous. So it is nice to see us dialed in and really focusing on that.”
Juneau put their first runs across in the top of the second inning as Eli Hayes and Colin Daniels earned walks. After an out, Wyatt Hickok walked and Logan Fanning earned a walk, scoring E. Hayes. Mast Mallott reached base on a fielder’s choice out and Rawley Cox reached on an error that scored Hickok and Fanning for a 3-0 lead.
GCLL added a run in the bottom of the third with G. Kohan hitting a one-out single and scored on a two-out single by Daniels for 4-0.
In the fourth inning Fanning walked, Mast Mallott singled and both scored on a two-out double by Max Hayes for 6-0. Elias Lockhart hit a sacrifice that scored Reagon Talatoa for 7-0 and M. Hayes scored on a passed ball for 8-0.
The final two runs came in the sixth inning as Mallott singled to center field and would steal two bases while Cox and Talatoa earned walks. A single by M. Hayes scored Mallott for 9-0 and Talatoa scored on a passed ball for 10-0.
Mallott caught a Ketchikan fly ball at first base to start the bottom of the sixth inning, and after two runners reached base B. Lockhart caught a pop-up behind the plate and Mallott caught the final out in the air at first base.
Ketchikan used pitchers Ezra Jurzack (2.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 W, 1 SO, 2 hit batters), Kyle James (1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 W, 2 SO, 1 HB), and Newt Berntson (2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 W, 2 SO). Ketchikan’s Drake Abigania, Parker Jones, Takeshi Schramm, Forrest Eide, Mason Garrison, Jurzack and Berntson had one hit each.
Game four is at noon Sunday on Adair Kennedy Memorial Park field. Depending on the outcome, game five would follow. GCLL had opened the best-of-five series with a 15-5 run-rule loss in six innings on Thursday, then defeated Ketchikan 13-3 by run-rule in five innings on Friday.
The winner of the series travels to the Regional Championships in Bend, Oregon, July 22-30.
At the Junior Softball State Championships in Palmer the GCLL Junior All-Stars fell 19-10 in six innings on Saturday to Anchorage’s Abbott-O-Rabbit. AOR swept GCLL with earlier wins on Thursday, 16-1 in four innings, and Friday 13-3 in five innings and will represent Alaska at the regional championships in Tucson, Arizona, July 23-29.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at sports@juneauindependent.com
