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Juneau’s American Legion team prepares for state tournament
- Klas Stolpe
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Auke Bay Post 25 closes season as top-ranked team heading into tourney play
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
Juneau’s Auke Bay Post 25 American Legion baseball team sits atop the Alaska standings after completing a road sweep in Anchorage over the weekend and will enter Saturday's Legion state tournament at Mulcahy Stadium with the No. 1 seed. They'll face Southeast foe Ketchikan Post 3, which grabbed the final eighth spot for play among the 14-team AA league.
Juneau added to their seven-game win streak by defeating Dimond Post 21 on Thursday 11-1, Wasilla Post 35 on Friday 7-4 and Kenai Post 20 on Saturday 7-6. They won by a Chena River Post 57 forfeit on Sunday and defeated Ketchikan 6-2 Tuesday to bring their win streak to 12 in a row.
“I am impressed that they still have not completely come together and are still playing pretty good together,” Auke Bay Post 25 head coach Joe Tompkins said. “I think they need to trust each other and have trust in themselves, pay attention to details no matter how big or small and have fun.”
Against Dimond, Marcus Mendoza started and went 1.2 innings, allowed one hit and one run, walked three batters and struck out one. Drew Cadigan-McAdoo relieved and earned the win (3.1 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 SO). Micah Nelson led with two hits. Isaac Kirsch led with three runs batted in. Madden Mendoza earned three walks. Bode Winkelman, Madden Mendoza and Nelson led with two runs scored each.
Against Wasilla, Hunter Carte earned the win (6 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 6 BB, 4 SO) and Cayman Huff relieved (0.2 IP). Riley Fick hit a go-ahead home run over the right field fence in the sixth inning, breaking a 4-4 tie, and Carte and Huff held Wasilla scoreless the rest of the way. Nate Fick led with two hits, Madden Mendoza and Kirsch two RBI, and Nelson three runs and three walks.
Against Kenai, Huff earned the win (2.1 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 BB) and Cadigan-McAdoo relieved (5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 SO). N. Fick and Cadigan-McAdoo led with two hits apiece, N. Fick had two RBI that came with a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth inning for the win. Carte and Madden Mendoza scored two runs apiece, and Jacob Katasse led with three walks.
Teams are now divided into two pools for the playoffs, the Denali and the Alyeska.
The Denali Pool features #1 Auke Bay (58 Pts / 14-2 League / 17-3 Overall), #4 Palmer Pioneers Post 15 (46 / 10-6 / 12-12), #5 Kenai Twins Post 20 (46 / 10-6 / 19-8) and #8 Ketchikan Kings Post 3 (40 / 8-8 / 10-10).
The Alyeska Pool features #2 Service Cougars Post 28 (55 / 13-3 / 14-8), #3 South Wolverines Post 4 (49 / 11-5 / 11-10), #6 Chugiak Mustangs Post 33 (43 / 9-7 / 15-10) and #7 Wasilla Road Warriors Post 35 (43 / 9-7 / 10-15).
Teams play round robin in their pools to determine the final four.
Saturday: 10 a.m. - #5 Kenai vs. #4 Palmer; 1 p.m. - #6 Chugiak vs. #3 South; 4 p.m. - #7 Wasilla vs. #2 Service; and 7 p.m. - #8 Ketchikan vs. #1 Auke Bay.
Tuesday: 10 a.m. - #8 Ketchikan vs. #4 Palmer; 1 p.m. - #7 Wasilla Post 35 vs. #3 South; 4 p.m. #6 Chugiak vs. #2 Service; 7 p.m. - #5 Kenai vs. #1 Auke Bay.
SEMIFINALS
Wednesday, July 29: 1 p.m. - Denali 2nd vs. Alyeska 1st; 4 p.m. - Alyeska 2nd vs. Denali 1st.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Thursday, July 30: 1 p.m. - semifinal winners.
ALL-STAR GAME
Friday, July 31: 6 p.m. - Alaska Airlines appreciation night at the All-Star Game.
NORTHWEST REGIONALS
Aug. 5-9 at Medford, Oregon.
LEGION WORLD SERIES
Aug. 13-18 at Shelby, North Carolina.
The bottom five teams from the AA league play in the double-elimination Matson Invitational, Tuesday through Thursday. They include #1 Dimond Lynx Post 21 (37 / 7-9 / 10-14), #2 West Eagles Post 1 (34 / 6-10 / 10-16), #3 Eagle River Wolves (28 / 4-12 / 6-17), #4 East Thunderbirds Post 34 (27 / 4-11 / 9-14) and #5 Chena River Ducks Post 57 (16 / 1-14 / 1-16).
The last-place Fairbanks 49ers Post 11 (5-11 / 7-11) have no post-season play. In fact, the team disbanded on Monday, July 13, forfeiting their final six games despite still being in the playoff hunt. Five players and coaches had wanted to finish the season, but other athletes elected not to continue. This was the second season in a row Fairbanks dropped out.
Alaska Legion Baseball Department Chair Russ Baker said on social media: “American Legion Baseball strives to have every team gain a spot in our state championship tournament by competing on the field. Forfeits or quitting when the going gets tough goes against the goals and values of the American Legion… Personally, I am very disappointed.”
The winner of the Matson advances to the Aug. 6-10 NWCART at Casper, Wyoming.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at sports@juneauindependent.com
